Report highlights changes in the global soft drinks market

Over the past 10 to 20 years, the ripples of change in the global soft drinks market have become more and more frequent, with new categories emerging constantly and genuine novelty flooding the shelves, according to a report from Innova Market Insights.

The report highlights that in the global shift in soft drinks, juices and carbonates may still be the two most active sub-categories worldwide, but growth is clearly much faster in alternative areas. For example, Ready-to-drink (RTD) sports drinks saw launch numbers increase at a CAGR of 26 percent over 2014-2018, compared with 12 percent CAGR for iced tea and coffee and 10 percent CAGR for ‘other’ soft drinks, including novelties such as herbal drinks, jelly drinks and vinegar drinks.

According to the report, flavour trends are also said to demonstrate the changing face of the market. The fastest growing flavours in recent years include matcha tea (+49 percent CAGR 2013-2018), apple cider vinegar (+21 percent CAGR) and kombucha (+21 percent CAGR), all of which are concepts from Asia that are now considered to be distinguishing themselves on a global platform.

As well as the emergence of new categories, overlap between existing varieties is said to be continuing. ‘Hello Hybrids’, one of Innova’s Top 10 Trends for 2020, is perhaps nowhere as important as in the soft drinks arena, the report suggested. “Category definitions are blurring all the time,” said Lu Ann Williams, Director of Innovation at Innova Market Insights. “For example, in the US, Odwalla has recently developed the Smoobucha, which is a blend of fruit smoothie with fermented kombucha.”