Global functional beverage development and new product development forecast

Beverages are the biggest demand of consumers. Products with vitamins, minerals, natural caffeine, plant extracts, no preservatives, natural, organic, low content positioning (low sugar, low cholesterol, low calories), organic health juices that are good for heart and gastrointestinal health, and products with added dietary fiber will continue to be popular and show a growing trend.

Current situation of special purpose beverages in Europe and the United States

Since 2020, functional beverages (officially called special purpose beverages in China, beverages are generally divided into sports drinks, nutrient drinks and other special purpose beverages, such as beauty, weight loss, eye protection, antioxidant, etc. Energy drinks are called functional drinks in Japan) and sports drinks have shown great vitality and development prospects in the European and American markets.

According to data, in the European and American markets, energy drinks have clearly achieved a growth of more than 10%. It is worth noting that the consumption growth rate of functional beverages with natural ingredients has increased, and consumers are very interested in energy drinks with all-natural ingredients. In 2011, data from natural and organic food and beverages in the United States showed that sales were close to US$39 billion, an increase of 9% over the previous year and an increase of 63% compared to 5 years ago. In 2015, sales are expected to reach or even exceed 78 billion yuan.

Special purpose beverages in Europe and the United States are mainly brands such as Red Bull and Monster. Monster, Red Bull, Rockstar, Fullthrottle, and Nqfuir are the top five energy drink brands in the U.S. market. Among them, the fastest growing are super-strong formula energy supplements, such as Pioneer 5-hour, Red Bull, 6-hour Power, Monster Hitman, etc. All-natural energy drinks have also been launched in the European market. For example, Nestle and juice drink brand Jamba launched full-nutrition juice energy drinks, plant energy drinks and organic energy drinks such as Steam and Scheckter. Starbucks launched energy-enhancing double coffee energy drinks in the U.S. market, and launched female energy drinks under the brand Refreshers. Sanbazon in the United States launched a series of fruit energy drinks with acai juice as the carrier.

Protein drinks are another representative of functional drinks. The protein content in protein drinks is 5%-15%. Drinking protein drinks can meet the needs of those who absorb basic nutrients, and it has also become a weight management and healthy lifestyle. Red Bull and Monster occupy the top two positions in the world's energy drinks. In the North American market, Monster has surpassed Red Bull in market share. It is worth noting that direct sales companies led by Amway in the United States have also entered the energy drink industry. The combination of 6 Chinese herbal plant extracts, caffeine, and B vitamins is refreshing for consumers.

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The efficacy of special-purpose beverages in Europe and the United States:

Inspire energy, such as American Monster Energy Drinks;

Fatigue people who are sensitive to caffeine and niacin;

Provide energy and wakefulness for working people;

Supplement vitamins, suitable for young people, especially women.

The current situation of the development of special-purpose beverages in Japan

In the past, the Japanese special-purpose beverage market was dominated by small-volume functional beverages such as oral liquids from Taisho Pharmaceutical, Muto Pharmaceutical, and Sato Pharmaceutical. Caffeine, B vitamins, and taurine were used in the formula, and specific functional appeals were the main focus. With the entry of Red Bull into the Japanese market, Suntory introduced Starbucks Double Coffee Energy Drink and Women's Energy Drink to Japan, and Asahi also introduced Monster Energy Drink to Japan. The functional beverage market in Japan began to develop towards the large-volume beverage functional beverage market. Then Asahi, Suntory, Kirin, Coca-Cola Japan, Calpis, and House have successively entered the beverage functional beverage market. New products are emerging in an endless stream, such as Meiji's maca series of functional beverages, Suntory's large-volume energy drinks, Asahi's maca combined with caffeine branched-chain amino acids functional beverages, and even Calpis, a traditional lactic acid bacteria beverage manufacturer, has launched energy drinks based on acai juice.