It’s an odd question to ask of a bottle of water: What can you do for me?
But that’s exactly what today’s consumers are demanding of beverages, even water, as they look to them for something that goes beyond refreshment.
“It’s not just about quenching thirst anymore,” explains Sharon Kuncl, vice president of merchandising for Naperville, Ill.-based distributor Eby-Brown Co. Consumers want beverages that are functional, enhanced, perhaps even fortified enough to stand in for a meal.
“When we talk about the beverage category, for the consumer it really has been a year of looking at functional beverages and, ‘What can this product do for me?’ ” she says. “The trend that we’re seeing is really trying to go toward that healthier consumer lifestyle.”
Retailers are finding real opportunities with the rise of all-day snacking and the appeal of juices, smoothies and coffee drinks as snack and meal substitutes. For example, research group Mintel reported that one-half of juice drinkers turn to that beverage to increase their servings of fruits or vegetables and boost their vitamin and mineral intake. Mintel forecasts that 2014 will bring more “stealth-health products”: foods and beverages that are fortified with added nutrients, such as protein-enhanced juices.
Kuncl says retailers are likely to find success not only in promoting healthy beverages for immediate consumption but also in offering impulse options alongside those beverages for later in the day.
“As consumers are coming into your store and grabbing that orange juice, they may grab that bottle of water for later,” she says. “I’m hearing both on the warm side as well as the cooler door [that] there may be opportunities there for that grab-and-go option.”
On Tap for This Year
As far as trends for 2014, Kuncl cites the following:
▶ Water returns: Sales of water in both the take-home and cooler-door segments saw a resurgence last year, and she expects that to continue. Enhanced waters, in particular, will likely offer consumers that extra something they’re looking for. Nestlé’s resource Natural Spring Water, promoted as “more than hydration,” is catching on as a lower-cost option to some direct-store delivery waters, Kuncl says.
“It’s giving that consumer a value proposition while still being able to provide a functional-beverage alternative,” she says. “Our retailers are definitely grabbing onto that a little more.”
▶ Drinkable snacks: Premium juice smoothies, such as those from Naked, are gaining ground with a trend toward all-day snacking and consumer desire to keep some of those snacks guilt-free. “It’s not only a beverage item but also a good-for- you item,” Kuncl says. “We’re seeing that flow into that meal-replacement piece.”
Cold coffee beverages from either the refrigerated section or foodservice side also serve as meal substitutes. Consumers in the 18- to 29-year-old age range drink iced beverages as a thirst quencher and also as an afternoon pick-me-up, she says.
“The McDonald’s and the Dunkin’ (Donuts) of the world are looking at that iced-coffee customer as an all-day customer, and we should too,” she says. “I think that’s a good opportunity for stores going into this year.”
▶ Juiced up: Eby-Brown has seen strong sales in premium refrigerated juices, particularly orange juice. The cause might again be meal replacement.
“They’re feeling good about themselves because they’re picking up orange juice as opposed to a cupcake,” Kuncl says. In turn, pop-the-top-style ambient juices appear to be on the decline. “People are looking toward that pure premium, deli-style, carafe-style product.”
▶ Time for tea: Retailers will find a lot more entries competing for space in the bottled-tea section, offering flavors that are natural and fruity but less sweet than in the past.
“The movement we’ve seen has been away from more of the extra-sweet teas and more toward natural-flavored teas,” and consumers also are moving toward less expensive teas, Kuncl says.
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