Abstract
Why buy this report
- Get insight into trends in market performance
- Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change
- Identify market and brand leaders and understand the competitive
environment
Product coverage
Asian speciality drinks; Bottled water; Carbonates; Concentrates;
Fruit/vegetable juice; Functional drinks; RTD coffee; RTD tea
Executive summary
Strong Growth but on a Slowing Trend
During 2007, whilst still remaining strong, sales growth in soft drinks showed
a slowing trend. The health and wellness trend continued to boost
fruit/vegetable juice and RTD tea, whilst carbonates and bottled water showed
more maturity, with volume growth slowing as a result. The fastest growth was
seen in fruit and vegetable juice in terms of total volume growth, which
benefited from the preference for health-positioned concept.
RTD Tea Sees the Most Dynamic Growth
Driven by the demand for healthy tea drinks, Asian still RTD tea was the one
of fastest growing category in 2007. Total volume sales of Asian still RTD tea
grew by 16% in 2007, and domestic players played an important role. A large
proportion of volume growth came from green tea, Oolong tea and herbal tea.
After several years of strong demand for RTD tea products, consumer demand for
RTD tea is reaching its peak.
Companies Are Forced to Diversify
Growing competition forced many soft drinks manufacturers to enter new product
groups. The marketplace witnessed the entry of many manufacturers of packaged
food and dairy products, especially in the developing areas of soft drinks.
This forced soft drinks companies to diversify their products to remain
competitive. For example, companies which were traditionally involved in
carbonates expanded to take advantage of the growing potential of RTD tea and
fruit/vegetable juice to capitalise on the rising demand for healthy drinks.
As a result, developing soft drinks product groups were the focus of much more
competition in 2007, with more players and more diverse products.
Coca-Cola China Ltd Maintains Its Leading Position
Coca-Cola China Ltd maintained its leading position in soft drinks in China in
2007, followed by Hangzhou Wahaha Group. Ting Hsin International Group further
expanded its core brand Master Kong into all regions in China, to emerge as
the company ranked third in 2007. The battleground for beverages moved from
carbonates to bottled water and RTD tea, with manufacturers turning their
attention towards these healthier beverages, as consumer interest continues to
surge. A number of new players have entered these categories, vying for a
slice of the growing pie.
Health and Wellness to Continue to Shape Growth
The soft drinks market is expected to see continued strong growth during the
forecast period, albeit at a slower rate than that seen during the review
period, due to its maturity. As during the review period, health and wellness
trends are expected to have a major impact on growth, and also on new product
innovation. Carbonates is expected to struggle to strongly increase sales, due
to its unhealthy image. Notably, fruit/vegetable juice, RTD tea, Asian
specialty drinks and bottled water are expected to benefit from their healthy
positioning.
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