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Energy, Soda and Functional Beverage Still on the Rise
And the challenges for the citrus industries in South Africa, Turkey and Australia are creating opportunities as well.
Jan van Iperen
October 28, 2024
For Professionals in the Juice and Citrus industry
It’s clear that influencers and celebrities can boost the sales of a new beverage. But the consumers have changed: this only works for the long run when the functionality and claims are sound and safe. People make their decision based on reading labels, talking about the ingredients, and the way a brand operates beyond the product.
Challenges in this juice and beverage industry are beyond sourcing: it is all about proofing the story behind the brand.
In Today's newsletter:
🧃 Juice News
In 2022, PepsiCo paid $550 million for an 8.5% stake in energy-drink maker Celsius Holdings, while Keurig Dr Pepper acquired a 30% stake in Nutrabolt, the maker of C4 Energy, for $863 million.
Ghost was founded as a lifestyle sports nutrition brand in 2016 by Dan Lourenco and Ryan Hughes. It will be a part of Keurig Dr. Pepper’s U.S. refreshment beverages segment, which made up nearly 60% of the company’s total sales in 2023.
Yes, according to new research from the University of Washington: which finds that taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages reduces purchases of soda by nearly 50%. What’s more, the results suggest that soda taxes could be effective at reducing health disparities, given that sugary drinks contribute to health issues such as obesity and Type 2 diabetes.
“The challenge is that ketones typically taste terrible, and it's very expensive,” said co-founder Devon Price. “So we developed a way to make the exact same ketone your body makes and through a biofermentation process from organic sugar cane. It’s a unique process that we have a patent on.”
The poor taste from some ketone drinks is caused by the chemical bond created by ketone esters. In contrast, Kenetik is a blend of D-Beta-hydroxybutyric acid (D-BHB), the same ketone molecule that the body naturally produces and R-1,3-butanediol, a ketone precursor the body fully converts into D-BHB.
Derived from an antioxidant found most abundantly in pomegranates, it is what gastroenterologists call a "postbiotic" — something our guts produce in small amounts after digesting foods, including berries, walnuts, and pecans, which contain bioactive compounds called ellagitannins. Recent studies suggest few of us (40% at best) have the microbiome to produce good amounts of urolithin A from our diet.
Short-term studies have found that urolithin A supplements can help worms live longer, mice run longer, and humans get stronger.
Poppi and Olipop, two of the most popular prebiotic soda brands, have exploded in popularity since 2020. Olipop's annual sales were around $3.7 million in 2020; 2024 sales have already topped $325 million as of October 5. Poppi has had a similar trajectory. It's grown from less than $1 million in sales for 2020 to nearly $260 million in 2024. Both have grown their market share in the US.
While some brands have partnered with influencers to push their "healthy" sodas, celebrities are using their star power to launch new beverages.
🍊 Citrus News
Hot, dry conditions during the summer of 2023 led to smaller fruit sizes, which can impact volume by as much as 10%. Additionally, the season saw two hundred-year floods within the year, a freeze in Senwes that wiped out millions of cartons, and strong winds in the Eastern Cape that led to fruit drop.
According to Chadwick, the biggest factor affecting orange volumes was the elevated price for processing fruit. A crop failure in Brazil, coupled with already low juice stocks, drove up orange juice prices. Brazil, which produces up to 20 million tons of oranges annually, accounts for more than 70% of the world’s orange juice.
The Turkish citrus season is kicking off and there are challenging factors for most of the various citrus fruits, says Coskun Eren, marketing manager for Turkish fresh produce exporter Eren: "The cultivation of our citrus products this season has been marked by significant challenges, primarily due to extreme weather conditions and ongoing climate changes. High temperatures and irregular rainfall patterns have contributed to slower fruit growth and reduced yields.
Australia's primary export markets include Japan, China, Hong Kong, and South Korea, which collectively absorb about 60% of its orange exports. These markets are known for their stringent regulatory standards, particularly in the fruits and vegetables sectors.
🔬 Research Worth Reading
A Multifactor Analysis including data on volatiles, sugars and anthocyanin showed that sucrose is the sugar more strongly linked to anthocyanin accumulation. A group of volatile compounds, mainly esters (ethyl acetate, ethyl-2-methyl butanoate and ethyl-2-butenoate) along with ethanol, are present at increased levels, sometimes even doubling in the most intensely pigmented samples compared to the slightly pigmented ones.
These findings provided essential validation for the efficient utilization of citrus waste, ensuring them promising potential as feedstock for sugar platforms.
David Gerrard, Head of Commercial North America for Invaio Sciences, encourages growers to consider the company’s Trecise™ technology for targeted delivery of OTC into trees. He says there are several benefits when compared to drilling systems including no unintended exposure, the need for less active ingredient, and a smaller injection site that makes it appealing for young trees.
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