BEVERAGE CONSUMPTION TRENDS

Beverage industry consumer preference trends

Over the past few years the beverage industry has seen some shifts in consumer preference trends. Within the past year healthy beverages have taken the spotlight, many of which are focused not only on low calories but also health benefits such as low sugar and sodium.

As you can imagine, the increase in health conscious individuals has introduced greater demand for less sugary drinks and sodas. Consumers are now showing patterns that indicate a higher demand for water and other low calorie and nutritious options. While soft drinks still hold a large chunk of the refreshment category, data shows that their hold may be slipping as their volume and market share go down. Vending Times reports that the “volume slipped by 1.5% from 12.8 billion gallons in 2014 to 12.6 billion gallon sin 2015, which lowered CSD market share to less than 40%.”

One of the biggest threats to carbonated soft drinks is bottled water. According to Vending Times, bottled water is projected to take over as America’s largest beverage category by volume by 2017 if not by the end of this year. They also note that bottled water sales increased by 8.9% in 2015 and now total $14.2 billion (wholesale).

Other drinks that are making splash in the market are sports drinks, many companies are taking not and have begum developing new healthy beverages to satisfy the evolving demands of consumers. Pepsi has even announced its launch of products like organic Gatorade, according to Business Insider. Additionally, niche categories including selections like energy drinks and ready-to-drink coffee are outperforming most traditional mass-market categories such as carbonated soft drinks and fruit beverages. Other changes being made to beverages include downsizing cans and bottles to offer consumers a more moderate serving size. Lucky for you, eVending machines are equipped to handle many shapes and sizes of products keeping you equipped and ready to handle the ever evolving beverage industry.