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April 2010
People always drink – but what?
- World’s biggest beer tasting: European Beer Star Award 2010
- Demand for courage to try trend products and cross-innovations
Some 1,400 exhibitors of beverage raw materials, technologies, logistics and marketing ideas meet approx. 34,000 potential customers from 10–12 November. Where? At Brau Beviale in Nürnberg of course, the industry’s most important capital goods exhibition in the world this year, which as such also reflects developments on the international beverage markets. The best example of these is the European Beer Star Award, which is presented for the seventh time in 2010. The star launched jointly by Private Brauereien Bayern, the honorary sponsor of the exhibition, and the German and European federation shines more brightly from year to year. 836 beers from more than 30 countries entered for the last award.
People will always drink – a fact that has a calming effect on the beverage industry particularly when times are difficult. According to the German Association for Nutrition (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung), the recommended daily consumption of fluids is 1.5 l, which may be as much as three litres or more in summer and in southern countries. Unfortunately, however, a large demand for body fluids does not as such mean smooth business in the European beverage industry. It is a matter of producers convincing consumers to consume a certain category of drinks and ultimately their own brand. In saturated markets like Western Europe, North America and Australia, 66 % of the required body fluids are covered by packaged drinks. On the other hand, packaged drinks account for just 22 % in maturing markets like Eastern Europe and Latin America, and only around 10 % in markets still to be developed, like Asia, the Middle East and Africa (Euromonitor International).
The most popular in the world: hot tea and bottled water
A global examination shows that hot tea was the leading packaged drink in 2009 with a 16.1 % share of consumption, closely followed by bottled water (15.6 %). These were followed by carbonated soft drinks (13.3 %), beer (11.4 %), hot coffee (10.3 %), milk (9.8 %), fruit and vegetable juices (4.9 %), concentrates (3.9 %), ready to drink (RDT) tea (2.2 %), wine (1.8 %) and functional drinks (1.2 %). The remaining 9.5 % are shared by a variety of other types of drinks. An extremely dynamic market: for example, bottled water grew by an impressive 5.4 % over the last ten years, whereas the share for milk dropped by 1.2 % (Euromonitor International).
Added benefit brings market shares: drink for beauty and fitness!
The motto for the successful is to recognize trends early and adjust to them. The so-called functional drinks – drinks with added benefit – experienced the highest global growth rates over the last five years. Fibres, minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, plant extracts, etc. are added to these drinks. The consumer pays increasing attention to the naturalness and purity of these additives. One example is L-carnitine, a functional additive that supports fat burning in beauty drinks and is essential for the energy metabolism. L-carnitine is produced in the body itself and obtained from food, e.g. red meat. Studies show the positive effect of L-carnitine on the human organism – in sports activities and in weight control. L-carnitine is also said to positively influence cardiovascular health. A Thai beverage producer already uses these properties and adds L-carnitine and fibres to a “Beauti Drink”, whereas other “Beauti Drink” variants contain chlorophyll, the coenzyme Q10 and collagen. The company says it is also very successful outside Thailand and plans to expand production capacity by 50 % this year.
The energy drinks market also profits from the demand for drinks with added benefit. This market is dominated by a wide variety of tastes. Particularly popular at the moment are the so-called juicy energy drinks with a large fruit juice content, which mostly use natural sources of caffeine like guarana. The world’s top ten markets for the about 3.3 billion l of energy drinks consumed based on sales figures are: the USA, Thailand, Japan, China, Germany, Great Britain, Indonesia, Poland, Spain and Australia. This segment has grown by approx. 2 billion l since 2003 and further growth of a good 1 billion l is forecast by 2013. Sales figures in Norway alone rose by almost 100 % in 2009 (Euromonitor International).
Water with that certain something
In the water market, added benefit can mean enrichment with vitamins, minerals or oxygen, for example. The annual global per head consumption here is currently 0.6 l. The USA, Germany and Japan account for 83 % of worldwide consumption at present. Just how fast growth can be in this segment is shown by the Czech market, where the per head consumption rose by 200 % from 2 to 6 l from 2006 to 2009 (Euromonitor International). Bottled water also remained a growth market in difficult economic times, with worldwide consumption increasing by 2 % last year. The declining trends in Western Europe and North America were absorbed by Asia, especially China, where sales grew by 18 % in the third quarter of 2009 alone. Although consumption dropped more heavily in Western Europe, particularly in Spain and France, almost 30 % of bottled water was still sold there (Canadean).
Germany – non-alcoholic also popular
Sales of bottled water in Germany dropped only slightly. Every German drank 137.4 l (2008: 138.1 l). Overall, the per head consumption of non-alcoholic drinks reached 291,4 l (2008: 292,4 l). Soft drinks with 117 l roughly maintained the previous year’s level. The average consumption of fruit juices and nectars was 37 l (2008: 37.4 l) (wafg, Wirtschaftsvereinigung Alkoholfreie Getränke). The most popular German fruit juice in 2009 was orange juice, which outstripped apple juice. The top 3 juices, orange, apple and multivitamin, together account for a market share of about 70 % of fruit juices (consumer researcher GfK, Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung).
World champions at beer drinking: Czechs, Austrians and Germans
Industry insiders estimate that the worldwide beer market will grow from the present 1.922 to 2.222 million hl in 2013. If only the figures in hectolitres are considered, China has long been the world’s biggest beer market, followed by the USA, Brazil, Russia, Germany and Mexico.
The world’s top 5 brewing concerns in 2009 were Anheuser-Busch InBev with a sales volume of about 350 million hl, SABMiller (almost 250 million hl), Heineken (approx. 200 million hl), Carlsberg (approx. 125 million hl) and Tsingtao with slightly more than 50 million hl. These concerns hold a share of approx. 50 % of the world beer market (Plato Logic).
Despite the estimated drop in consumption of about 7 % in 2009, the Czechs are still world champion beer drinkers. In 2008, the average Czech drank 155 l, followed by the Austrians with 106.4 l in 2009 and the Germans with 104.7 l. Beer sales in Germany dropped by some 2.9 million hl last year to just under 100 million hl, a loss of 2.8 %. Beer mix drinks also dropped by 3.1 %, the first ever decline for these drinks.
Russia: hard times for alcohol
Sales are also declining in the formerly strongly growing East European beer markets of Russia and the Ukraine. Beer consumption in 2009 dropped by 6.2 % in the Ukraine and by as much as 10.7 % in Russia. In general, it will be difficult for all kinds of alcoholic drinks in Russia in the future. The trebling of the excise duties on beer or the fixed minimum price for vodka is intended to help halve alcohol consumption by 2020. Nevertheless, Russia is still in search of new “beer knowledge”. For example, a Japanese brewery together with the University of Ookyama and the Russian Academy of Sciences has tested the first space barley, whose seeds are supposed to have spent five months on board the International Space Station ISS. The barley was ultimately grown and harvested on the earth and is now being used to produce beer for adults and barley tea for children.
Such cross-innovation approaches can also help the beverage industry to look beyond the boundaries of its own market. The German Future Institute recommends the synthesis of existing knowledge but newly combined to lead to more innovative solutions – also food for thought for exchanging views at Brau Beviale 2010.
The most popular in the world: hot tea and bottled water
A global examination shows that hot tea was the leading packaged drink in 2009 with a 16.1 % share of consumption, closely followed by bottled water (15.6 %). These were followed by carbonated soft drinks (13.3 %), beer (11.4 %), hot coffee (10.3 %), milk (9.8 %), fruit and vegetable juices (4.9 %), concentrates (3.9 %), ready to drink (RDT) tea (2.2 %), wine (1.8 %) and functional drinks (1.2 %). The remaining 9.5 % are shared by a variety of other types of drinks. An extremely dynamic market: for example, bottled water grew by an impressive 5.4 % over the last ten years, whereas the share for milk dropped by 1.2 % (Euromonitor International).
Added benefit brings market shares: drink for beauty and fitness!
The motto for the successful is to recognize trends early and adjust to them. The so-called functional drinks – drinks with added benefit – experienced the highest global growth rates over the last five years. Fibres, minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, plant extracts, etc. are added to these drinks. The consumer pays increasing attention to the naturalness and purity of these additives. One example is L-carnitine, a functional additive that supports fat burning in beauty drinks and is essential for the energy metabolism. L-carnitine is produced in the body itself and obtained from food, e.g. red meat. Studies show the positive effect of L-carnitine on the human organism – in sports activities and in weight control. L-carnitine is also said to positively influence cardiovascular health. A Thai beverage producer already uses these properties and adds L-carnitine and fibres to a “Beauti Drink”, whereas other “Beauti Drink” variants contain chlorophyll, the coenzyme Q10 and collagen. The company says it is also very successful outside Thailand and plans to expand production capacity by 50 % this year.
The energy drinks market also profits from the demand for drinks with added benefit. This market is dominated by a wide variety of tastes. Particularly popular at the moment are the so-called juicy energy drinks with a large fruit juice content, which mostly use natural sources of caffeine like guarana. The world’s top ten markets for the about 3.3 billion l of energy drinks consumed based on sales figures are: the USA, Thailand, Japan, China, Germany, Great Britain, Indonesia, Poland, Spain and Australia. This segment has grown by approx. 2 billion l since 2003 and further growth of a good 1 billion l is forecast by 2013. Sales figures in Norway alone rose by almost 100 % in 2009 (Euromonitor International).
Water with that certain something
In the water market, added benefit can mean enrichment with vitamins, minerals or oxygen, for example. The annual global per head consumption here is currently 0.6 l. The USA, Germany and Japan account for 83 % of worldwide consumption at present. Just how fast growth can be in this segment is shown by the Czech market, where the per head consumption rose by 200 % from 2 to 6 l from 2006 to 2009 (Euromonitor International). Bottled water also remained a growth market in difficult economic times, with worldwide consumption increasing by 2 % last year. The declining trends in Western Europe and North America were absorbed by Asia, especially China, where sales grew by 18 % in the third quarter of 2009 alone. Although consumption dropped more heavily in Western Europe, particularly in Spain and France, almost 30 % of bottled water was still sold there (Canadean).
Germany – non-alcoholic also popular
Sales of bottled water in Germany dropped only slightly. Every German drank 137.4 l (2008: 138.1 l). Overall, the per head consumption of non-alcoholic drinks reached 291,4 l (2008: 292,4 l). Soft drinks with 117 l roughly maintained the previous year’s level. The average consumption of fruit juices and nectars was 37 l (2008: 37.4 l) (wafg, Wirtschaftsvereinigung Alkoholfreie Getränke). The most popular German fruit juice in 2009 was orange juice, which outstripped apple juice. The top 3 juices, orange, apple and multivitamin, together account for a market share of about 70 % of fruit juices (consumer researcher GfK, Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung).
World champions at beer drinking: Czechs, Austrians and Germans
Industry insiders estimate that the worldwide beer market will grow from the present 1.922 to 2.222 million hl in 2013. If only the figures in hectolitres are considered, China has long been the world’s biggest beer market, followed by the USA, Brazil, Russia, Germany and Mexico.
The world’s top 5 brewing concerns in 2009 were Anheuser-Busch InBev with a sales volume of about 350 million hl, SABMiller (almost 250 million hl), Heineken (approx. 200 million hl), Carlsberg (approx. 125 million hl) and Tsingtao with slightly more than 50 million hl. These concerns hold a share of approx. 50 % of the world beer market (Plato Logic).
Despite the estimated drop in consumption of about 7 % in 2009, the Czechs are still world champion beer drinkers. In 2008, the average Czech drank 155 l, followed by the Austrians with 106.4 l in 2009 and the Germans with 104.7 l. Beer sales in Germany dropped by some 2.9 million hl last year to just under 100 million hl, a loss of 2.8 %. Beer mix drinks also dropped by 3.1 %, the first ever decline for these drinks.
Russia: hard times for alcohol
Sales are also declining in the formerly strongly growing East European beer markets of Russia and the Ukraine. Beer consumption in 2009 dropped by 6.2 % in the Ukraine and by as much as 10.7 % in Russia. In general, it will be difficult for all kinds of alcoholic drinks in Russia in the future. The trebling of the excise duties on beer or the fixed minimum price for vodka is intended to help halve alcohol consumption by 2020. Nevertheless, Russia is still in search of new “beer knowledge”. For example, a Japanese brewery together with the University of Ookyama and the Russian Academy of Sciences has tested the first space barley, whose seeds are supposed to have spent five months on board the International Space Station ISS. The barley was ultimately grown and harvested on the earth and is now being used to produce beer for adults and barley tea for children.
Such cross-innovation approaches can also help the beverage industry to look beyond the boundaries of its own market. The German Future Institute recommends the synthesis of existing knowledge but newly combined to lead to more innovative solutions – also food for thought for exchanging views at Brau Beviale 2010.
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Reference to editorship:
Petra Trommer
Franziska Weissbrodt
Phone +49 (0) 9 11.86 06-83 29
Fax +49 (0) 9 11.86 06-82 56
