Healthy and natural attributes top the list of consumer needs and interests for beverages, according to respondents of Beverage Industry’s annual New Product Development Survey.
Similar to the drops, twists and turns of popular amusement park rides, product fads can leave beverage-makers gasping for breath — and redirecting budgets. Take for example, pomegranate, formerly the most super of the superfruits, which has plausibly suffered the most due to consumers’ frequently fickle preferences.
Answering consumer demand, creating new formulations and leveraging growth opportunities are among the reasons why beverage-makers plan to launch more new products in 2012 compared to 2011, according to the results of Beverage Industry’s annual New Product Development survey. A planned increase in launches was cited by 59 percent of respondents, which is a 14 percent rise from last year’s survey results.
One of the keys to success can be as simple as: “location, location, location.” For developers of new beverages, the phrase is not as cliché as it sounds. Not only are consumers shopping across more channels than ever, retailers are offering more spaces for beverages, too.
Who could have predicted that leggings would once again be fashionable? Or that Beanie Babies would make a comeback? Trends can be difficult to predict. But after years of closely studying the beverage industry, experts offer their findings on the newest beverage-related trends.