Sensing the growing opportunities in the country, multinational companies, such as PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, are focussing on expanding their presence in the Indian packaged food & beverage sector. For instance, ITC Ltd, a diversified conglomerate in India, recently declared its business goal of capturing over 20% of the Indian market for juices through its packaged juice brand – B Natural. The company is promoting the brand as ‘100% fruit juice’ while focussing on offering regional flavours in packaged juice products.
PepsiCo India is also focussing on leveraging the growing opportunities in the country. It plans to double the sales of its flagship juice brand Tropicana by 2020. As the lucrativeness of Indian packaged juice market dawns upon domestic and international brands, the Indian packaged juice market is expected to witness innovative trends in the upcoming years.
Healthy Beverage Options in India
Modern Indian consumers’ purchasing decisions are inclined towards beverage options that help them maintain a healthy lifestyle without compromising on taste. India’s top packaged juice brands are adding lower-calorie and lower-sugar product lines to their portfolio to target health & fitness aficionados in the country.
Increasing prevalence of lifestyle diseases has made Indian consumers rethink their dietary habits. According to the World Health Organization, every year, over 5.8 million deaths in India are on account of non-communicable diseases, such as cancer, diabetes and heart diseases.ii Factors, such as unhealthy diets and sedentary lifestyles, are resulting in making diabetes a critical challenge with over 8.7% diabetic population including 20-70-year-old Indians.iii These health statistics are likely to make a significant impact on the manufacturing strategies of packaged juice companies active in India.
Sensing the growing consumer preference for fruit-based drinks, market players are playing the health card to envisage incremental growth in the Indian packaged juice market. For example, Coca-Cola India recently launched Minute Maid Smoothie to expand its portfolio of Minute Maid in the country. Available in banana and mango variants, Minute Maid Smoothie contains real mango juice and banana juice, topped up with health-benefitting nutrients such as Vitamin E, B3, B6, Calcium, and Zinc.
Availability and Affordability
While packaged juice products are witnessing high demand in metropolitan and Tier I cities, consumers in rural parts of India are more inclined towards fresh juices. Additionally, higher prices of packaged juices and a strong, traditional belief that fresh juices are healthier among consumers in Tier II and Tier III cities are restricting market players from reaching the country-wide consumer base.
A huge percentage of the Indian population lives in villagesiv, where mid- and low-priced packaged juice products are likely to cement their place in the foreseeable future. Leading players in the Indian packaged juice market, such as PepsiCo India and Dabur India Ltd are aiming to adopt new marketing strategies to find more traction in Tier II and Tier III markets in India.
Dabur recently declared its plans to launch a new ready-to-drink fruit juice brand with different packaging design and consumer proposition. In its statement, the company announced that packaged juice products marketed under the new brand will be priced 30% lower than those marketed under its packaged juice brand, Réal, thereby, this brand is aiming at better growth prospects in Tier II and Tier III cities. PepsiCo India is looking at expansion opportunities in rural markets, by leveraging availability and awareness about the benefits of packaged juices among the consumers, through its packaged juice brand, Tropicana.
Indigenous, Local Juice Flavours
With the growing market for juice in the country and rise in per-capita juice consumption, leading juice brands are introducing innovative flavours to attract a larger consumer base in the country. Taking into account the Indian history of traditional beverages, market players are adding ethnic flavours to their packaged juice product portfolio of mainstream flavours.
Soaring popularity of Indian traditional flavours such as Jaljeera and Aam Panna (raw mango) in packaged juice drinks by Paper Boat, by Hector Beverages Pvt. Ltd is making the trend predominant in the Indian market. For instance, Dabur recently declared its decision to add Indian ethnic flavours, such as Masala Pomegranate and Masala Guava, under Réal. Another Indian packaged juice brand – B Natural announced the launch of B Natural 100% Pomegranate Juice, which has no preservatives, sugar, colour or flavouring agents.
Competitive Environment
Sensing the lucrativeness of the fruit-based beverage sector in India, a mounting number of stakeholders are paving their way through the Indian market for packaged juice. Existing players in the Indian packaged juice market are developing innovating marketing and distribution strategies to envisage faster growth in the region. By adopting innovative strategies, such as celebrity endorsement, or launching new sub-brands and flavours, top brands are improving the nationwide penetration and latching onto a stronger position in the Indian packaged juice market.
Packaged juice brands, such as Tropicana and B Natural have already disclosed their plans to expedite their expansion across the country. Meanwhile, PepsiCo India announced to have entered into strategic partnership with its Indian bottler, Varun Beverages Ltd (VBL) to improve its distribution reach in India. The company is planning to ride on the distribution might and contiguous reach of VBL across the nation, as VBL will now sell and distribute the entire range of Tropicana juices in northern and eastern states of India.
Amid competitive environment in the Indian juice sector, Coca-Cola India is planning to bring Middle-Eastern juice brand – Rani Float, which it acquired in 2012. Besides a slew of new entrants in the Indian packaged juice market, such as Raw Pressery and Paper Boat, the Coca-Cola India is planning to take on its leading rivals in Indian juice market, which includes PepsiCo’s Tropicana and Dabur’s Réal, with the launch of Rani Float juice in the country.
International Juice Trends
Premium juice brands, such as Suja Juice, Naked Juice and Edit Fruit Juice, are innovating the manufacturing and marketing processes and formulations of their low-sugar, organic and non-GMO juice products in response to growing health-consciousness among consumers. Additionally, premium juice products are hitting the shelves in international convenience chains, such as 7-eleven. This is one of the most popular trends in the global packaged juice market, which is soon expected to emerge in India.
Sustainability is another emerging trend in the Indian packaged juice market, which has gained ground on the global platform. International beverage brands, such as Naked Juice, Nestlé Waters and Snapple, are shifting to sustainable packaging by increasing the use of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Global beverage companies such as PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have already reflected this trend in the Indian packaged juice market, as they have declared their global agendas to recycle 100% of their packaging in the coming future.
The Indian government has developed strict packaging and labelling requirements for packaged fruits and vegetables products, including packaged juice products.v Apart from complying with the regulatory framework, introducing healthy, as well as affordable packaged juice products, remains the major focus for market players in the Indian juice market. Bringing innovation in regional flavours and packaging design may bode well for new beverage brands entering the Indian market for packaged juice in the upcoming years.
