he growing fruit juice and health drinks market

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

P N V Nair, Mumbai
With people turning more health conscious, the non-carbonated beverage segment h
as become one of the fastest growing and most exciting businesses at the moment.
For some time now, manufacturers have experimented with some of the formulation
and taste issues, offering the consumers better tasting, more healthful alterna
tives. Evolving from drinks containing a hint of herbs or vitamins, beverages ha
ve become an important delivery vehicle for efficacious amounts of nutritional i
ngredients. Beverages are unusual products in that everyone expects to try new v
arieties, even from established brands.
While all segments of the beverage market are evolving, the growth seems to be d
irected more towards healthy, light and low-calorie drinks, in particular organi
c and fruit juice varieties.
The Rs 500 crore non-carbonated beverage market in the country is composed of fr
uit drinks, nectar and juices. While the fruit drink segment is estimated at Rs
250-300 crore (branded and packaged), the juice market is valued at Rs 150 crore
and the nectar is a small category of about Rs 35-50 crore. And the popular bra
nds vying for a share in the sector are Parle's Frooti, Godrej's Jumpin, Coca Co
la's Maaza, Pepsi's Tropicana, and Dabur's Real, Nastle's Milo, Soy milk from Pr
oSoya and branded fruit juices from Surya Foods among others.
The Rs 1,100 crore health food drinks (HFD) market, classified into two categori
es of white and brown segments, has remained stagnant for the last several years
despite GSKCH (GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare) and Cadbury's attempts to a
ctivate the category. While Cadbury's Bourvita has been at the forefront of the
HFD market, GSKCH has also been active. Apart from repositioning its Horlicks br
and from health drink to a fun drink, GSKCH more recently has launched its brown
drink Boost in 100gm sachets as well in Tetrapak as a ready-to-drink product. G
SKCH's Horlicks and other brands like Boost, Viva, Maltova, together have a 75 %
share of the health food drinks market. Horlicks alone, as a white beverage, is
believed to have an over 50 % market share.
Nestle's Milo, however, being a brown drink faces direct competition from Cadbur
y's Bournvita and GSKCH's Boost. The market has marginally moved from the white
malted beverages to the brown segment. The latest to join the race is GCMMF, whi
ch has relaunched its health food drink branded as Amul Shakti.
What follows is an overview of the latest product offerings from different bever
age companies.
Parle's Frooti No 1 fruit drink
Frooti from Parle Agro is the largest distributed fruit drink with 85 % market s
hare in India. It reaches more than 10 lakh retail outlets in up to class C town
s through more than 1,500 distributors and wholesalers directly and indirectly.
India's first real fruit drink in Tetrapak is available in three delicious varie
ties - mango, orange and pineapple - Frooti Mango from premium Indian mangoes, F
rooti Orange from chilled imported orange concentrate from Brazil and Frooti Pin
eapple made from ripe juicy pineapple.
The company's another revenue earning brand includes Bisleri water. The Bisleri
brand of mineral water is being made available across the country. It has a mark
et share of 40 %.
Dabur's Real fruit juice in 9 flavours
Dabur's flagship brand Real fruit juice is a market leader in the packaged fruit
juice category. Real was launched in 1996 and the brand has carved out a niche
for itself by claiming to be the only fruit juice in packaged form that is 100 %
preservative free. Real with a market share of 55 % offers to its consumers the
largest range of 9 juices that comprise orange, mango, pineapple, mixed fruit,
grape, guava, tomato, litchi and cranberry.
Real Junior, available in 125 ml packs, targets children below six years. It has
two favourite flavours of mango and apple enriched with calcium. Real Activ, a
100 % fruit juice with no added sugar, gives the goodness of fruits without addi
ng extra calories. Today, it is the preferred juice drink for the health and fit
ness conscious young adults. Real Activ is available in orange, apple, and orang
e-carrot variants. Real Activ orange carrot juice, India's first packaged fruit
+ vegetable juice, is a combination of juicy oranges and sweet carrots.
Coolers, a fruit-based beverage, offers traditional 'cooling' recipes in a ready
-to-drink format. It is available in three variants - Aam panna, pomegranate (an
ar) and watermelon Real juices are offered in hygienic double seal spill proof c
aps in Tetrapak packaging. Once packed, the 6-layer Tetrapak carton helps retain
the freshness of the juice for a longer period of time, thus maintaining the ta
ste and nutrition of the juice. The fruits that go into the juices are sourced f
rom the best sources across the world, the company claims.
Dabur Food produces around 50 million litres of juice annually through its state
-of-the-art facility at Birganj, Nepal. In August 2004, the company commissioned
a multi fruit processing facility in Siliguri, in West Bengal, set up by Pasade
nsa Foods, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dabur Foods Ltd. Spread over 11 acres an
d geared to process 150 tonnes of fruit per day, it has the capacity to produce
192 tonnes of pulp/concentrate. The plant procures fruits worth Rs 6 crore from
West Bengal, North-East, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. I
t has the highest capacity utilization by processing pineapple, litchi, guava, m
ango and grape round the year.
Godrej's Jumpin & Soyfit in several flavours
The Foods Division of Godrej Industries produces and markets fruit drinks, fruit
nectar and Sofit Soymilk. The Jumpin range of fruit drinks come in flavours suc
h as maqngo, apple, pineapple, litchi and orange. They are packaged in hygienic
and aseptic Tetrapak that assures top quality. Ice-cold Jumpin can be enjoyed st
raight or mixed in a punch or a cocktail. They are available in packs of 200 ml.
Godrej Xs fruit juice is packed with extra tang and extra fun.
Xs range of fruit nectar has more fruits making it thick and tasty. Also the vit
amins and carbohydrates present in it provide extra energy for a fit and healthy
living. Available in orange, mango, litchi and pineapple flavours, Xs come in T
etrapaks of 200 ml and 1000 ml.
Godrej has launched Sofit Soymilk for the health conscious. Sofit Soymilk made f
rom carefully selected soybeans, is a valuable source of proteins and vitamins.
Being low in saturated fat and cholesterol free, is becoming a popular drink. Av
ailable in mango, apple, malt and plain flavours, Sofit is sold in Tetrapaks of
200 ml and 1000 ml. The 1000 ml pack is priced at Rs 50. Sofit is made by mixing
soymilk with real fruit pulp, to give all the health benefits of soy to the con
sumers with the refreshing taste of fruits, claims the company. Soymilk is free
of lactose which is present in cow/buffalo milk. The company is in the process o
f launching more health products.
Nestle's Milo with 'badam shakti'
Nestle is relaunching its chocolate health food drink Milo by re-energising it w
ith 'badam shakti'. According to company sources, Milo is all set to get a new l
ease of life with a new packaging, formulation and a distinct positioning. Curre
ntly, Milo is available in a SKU of 500gm priced at Rs 96. In the past, Nestle h
ad exited from categories like packaged water business and discontinued a few of
its brands, including Nescafe Choc Café and Milkmaid dessert mixes, due to their
poor performance.
By giving Milo a new distinct local positioning and introducing the brand in con
venient sachets at lower price point, it is clearly moving away from being a ver
y urban-focused player and targeting newer markets and driving rural demand.
PEPSI'S TROPICANA
Pepsi's Tropicana brand fruit juice has registered double digit growth and has o
utpaced the growth of the packaged fruit juices market in India. India is a very
important market for Tropicana and is among the top 10 biggest markets for the
brand. The company sources orange juice concentrates from Brazil. Tropicana is a
vailable in orange, apple, grape and cranberry flavours and a cocktail in Ruby-r
ed. They come in Tetrapaks of one litre and PET bottles of 500 ml and one litre.
Pepsi also markets an energy drink for the sports personnel, called Gatorade, a
nd a sugar-free Diet Pepsi. Pepsi, in association with Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL)
is planning to launch Lipton iced tea in a couple of months. The move is to tak
e on its arch rival Coca Cola which was successful in its business in tea and co
ffee, both hot and cold in association with McDonald's.
ProSoya's Soymilk Staeta
ProSoya Foods India, promoted by the Canada-based ProSoya Inc. has launched its
low carbohydrate soymilk under the brand name Staeta in the major metros and sel
ected cities in January 2004. The company has a manufacturing tie-up with Godrej
Foods at the latter's Bhopal plant. The company is targeting a Rs 100-crore tur
nover in five years from the present Rs 4 crore. The Indian Soy food market is e
xpected to grow at about 200 % as awareness about health is growing.
Coca Cola's Maaza very popular
Maaza was launched in 1976, a drink that offered the same real taste of fruit ju
ices and was available throughout the year. In 1993, Mazza was acquired by Coca
Cola India. Mazza currently, dominates the fruit drinks industry. Over the years
, Mazza has become synonymous with mango. The drink became a hit with successful
advertisement campaigns like "Taaza mango, maaza mango,' and 'Botal mein aam, m
aaza hain naam.'Consumers regard maaza as wholesome, natural, fun drink which de
livers the real experience of fruit. It5 is available in SKUs of 200 ml RGB, 250
ml RGB, 125 ml Tetrapak and 200 ml Tetrapak.
Besides, Coca Cola is also in the business of tea and coffee under the brand nam
e Georgia Gold. The brand is available at all McDonald's outlets across the coun
try. After the hot beverage did well, the com-pany entered the ice tea and coffe
e market with Georgia brand last year, again in association with McDonald's. Cok
e's non-CSD portfolio also comprises powder soft drink concentrate Sunfill, and
the bottled water brand Kinley. The company is expected to launch a new low calo
rie cola and introduce more varieties of flavoured bottled water over the next f
ew months.