While organic products were once a niche product, today organic has become a growth market. Globally, Europe and the USA are the largest markets for organic food and beverages. Europe's organic market has more than doubled in value since 2010. Read here what developments - fuelled by Covid-19 - await us in the "organic" market in the future.
Organic products are very popular: In 2020 sales of € 52 billion were achieved with organic products in Europe - that is 15.7% percent more than in the previous year. In 2021, for example German consumers spent € 15.87 billion (+5.8%) on organic food and beverages.
Source: BOELW Industry Report, 2022
COVID-19 is raising consumer awareness of the relationship between nutrition and health. This has led to a surge in interest in products that benefit from a "health image", including organic products, functional foods and fruits and vegetables.
Organic foods are considered healthier and safer than conventional alternatives. Whenever there is a food or health crisis (such as SARS), consumers look for disease prevention and improved nutrition.
Source: Trends & Opportunities in the European Organic Market, Katya Witham, Mintel 2021
The reasons for the buying decision for organic products varies among European countries: according to Mintel, 50% of Spanish consumers that are buying organic products say that they choose it because these products do not contain artificial additives and preservatives, 46% of French consumers take organic because they want to avoid pesticides, chemicals or hormones in their food, and 44% of German consumers primarily want to support regional agriculture.
Source: Organics in Europe: The challenge of a new generation, Mintel, November 2019
Organic drinks - a trend that is here to stay
Globally, the organic beverages market alone was valued at USD 20.31 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach USD 47.78 billion by the end of 2027. This represents a projected CAGR of 13% between 2022 and 2027.
High product demand and rising disposable income levels in developing countries are some of the major factors driving the growth of the organic beverages market. Demand for non-sugary and decaffeinated beverages will also drive product demand in the coming years, according to the report.
Source: https://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/organic-beverage-market
In Europe and North America, organic juices have recorded the most launches within the beverage segment in the last year, with 100 per cent juice being described by Mintel as the new "growth machine" in the market.
Among fruit juice launches between April 2021 and March 2022, 23.5 per cent of products have an organic claim in Europe and 18.46 per cent in North America. By comparison, in the Middle East it was 6.13 per cent, in Latin America 5.67 per cent and in Asia and the Pacific 3.08 per cent.
Source: "What's next in Organic Juice?", Julia Buech, Mintel 2021; GNDP Analysis, Mintel 2022
Fruit juice - organic with benefits on the rise
The diversity of the German fruit juice market was also increasingly evident last year in the range of high-quality fruit juice specialities. New innovations ranging from shots to blends with added benefits helped the segment increase its market share from 33.7 per cent in 2020 to 35.9 per cent in 2021. Smoothies are also developing strongly within their market share with an increase of 16.2 per cent. Organic juices round off the broad product range: Here, orange juice in particular was able to increase in volume by 6.2 per cent to 24.3 per cent, as the Association of the German Fruit Juice Industry (VdF) proves in a press release. According to the VdF, fruit juice scores particularly well with consumers for regionality (51 per cent), organic (42 per cent) and reuseable (49 per cent).
Source: Association of the Fruit Juice Industry, Pressinformation, 21.03.2022
Organic drinks new: Big Players go organic
The organic lifestyle has developed from the former, sometimes ridiculed, ecological movement to an organic product as a trendy status symbol. The products on the market reflect this trend: For example, the number of non-alcoholic beverages with an organic label increased from 1,893 to 4,284 in Germany between 2007 and 2021.
Source: Statista 2022
Organic drinks with alcohol: light and organic
The organic range is also expanding in the area of alcoholic beverages, and there is more and more a mix of organic ingredients, unconventional flavors, sometimes health-promoting additives and a comprehensive overall benefit for well-being and health. It can be innovative and trendy: cider based on 100 percent organic ingredients, a higher juice content and new flavor combinations are increasingly in demand. With alcohol levels of around 5% volume, this light alcoholic beverage category in different flavors also appeals to consumers' need to drink light and fruity refreshments.
Mix at home: but in organic, please!
With the pandemic and the forced closure of clubs and bars, another trend has established itself: Drinks such as long drinks and cocktails are increasingly being mixed at home. Originally, this development began during the lockdowns through delivery services of the gastronomy - but in the meantime it has already reached the retail. Besides basic products for own mixed drinks, RTD drinks have also gained momentum on the market.
Experts assume that this trend will continue. AUSTRIA JUICE has reacted promptly to this trend and developed popular basic products for mixed drinks in organic quality, like Organic Cola, Organic Tonic, Organic Berry, Organic Bitter Orange, Organic Bitter Lemon and Organic Ginger Ale.
With the home trend, the time has also come to combine mixed drinks with health benefits - such as vitamins, electrolytes or minerals like magnesium, which are associated with "mental wellness".
Source: "Boosted mixers embody the mood of cautious celebration", Alex Beckett, Mintel, March 2021
However, it is not only alcoholic drinks that are mixed at home, but also coffee - for example with oat milk, nut-based drinks, yoghurt or milk - as well as fruit juices or tea.
Source: "Beverage Mixing at Home is an Emerging Opportunity", Daisy Li, Mintel, December 2020
Tea: Botanicals - best in its purest form!
With the development that organic is becoming more mainstream, tea is also gathering new shares in the beverage market. Because health-promoting ingredients from natural sources are still higher in the popularity scale than added vitamins and minerals. According to a Mintel survey, 54 percent of UK consumers say the health benefits in tea should come from all-natural ingredients. The 16 to 34-year-olds in particular are prepared to pay more for these quality features than older target groups: 45 percent of this age group would invest more in all natural teas, at the age group of 65+ years only 26 percent would accept a higher price.
Source: “Tea and Other Hot Drinks - Attributes Worth Paying More for When Buying Tea”, Mintel 2019 ”
It is popular to drink tea from pure, plant-based ingredients with an explicit benefit for health and wellbeing: with good reason, 33 percent of the plant-based teas launched worldwide were also given a functional claim last year - for all teas, it was only 23 percent.
Less and less sugar is demanded in teas: Three quarters of tea drinkers in the European markets say that sugar in ready-to-drink teas should be further reduced.
Source:“ The future of tea ”, Julia Buech, Mintel 2020
Conclusion:
The organic market shows unbroken growth rates worldwide. Conscious consumption is the credo that remains: Organic drinks will score most in the future if they not only use organic ingredients and manufacturing processes, but also actively promote environmental protection and sustainability initiatives. The pandemic has driven awareness of health, regionality and organic even further. Alcoholic or non-alcoholic mixed drinks - from cocktails, long drinks to fruit juice creations - are increasingly mixed and enjoyed at home. The new demand is that these drinks and components must also increasingly meet the organic standard. AUSTRIA JUICE has responded to this with the development of a new product range of mixers such as tonic, cola or bitter lemon in organic quality.
Julia GuglerAuthor
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