- Juice News
- Posts
- New Players in the Energy Drinks Market Shake Things Up for
New Players in the Energy Drinks Market Shake Things Up for
And Chile and Morocco gain market share in the world of citrus, while Britvic and Carlsberg get green light for their power merger.
Jan van Iperen
December 19, 2024
For Professionals in the Juice and Citrus industry
You’re reading this… which means that you have – in whatever capacity – an interest in a part of the juice, beverages, citrus industry. Aren’t you super excited that not 1 day is boring?
It still amazes me how many factors define what we do and what we can do. Never a dull moment… and when it becomes dull, we are either standing still or we are not looking over the fence.
Yes, the end of the year is coming closer, so time for even more reflection… how about you?
In Today's newsletter:
🧃 Juice News
Once synonymous with the energy drink industry, Red Bull GmbH and Monster Beverage Corp. are losing market share in an industrywide shift toward health and wellness, where their high-octane, sugared beverages are losing appeal. The legacy players are trying to protect their turf — they still control more than half the US market — as new sugar-free brands surge in popularity. The rise of new entrants began during the pandemic “when consumers started prioritizing their wellbeing,” said Sally Lyons Wyatt, Circana’s chief adviser on consumer goods and foodservice insights.
PepsiCo, which makes Mountain Dew and Starry sodas, scored a major win in March when the sandwich chain announced it would be serving beverages from the company after years of being a customer of Coca-Cola Co. With more than 20,000 stores, it has more US locations than any other restaurant chain.
Carlsberg will take both the soft drink and beer businesses and combine them into a single integrated company called Carlsberg Britvic.
That will mean that the newly-created business will be able to operate across beer and soft drinks and make the most of the synergies between the two.
Both beer and soft drinks, for example, are commonly served in cans: creating an opportunity for joint procurement of cans and even the possibility to run canning for both drinks on the same line. R&D is another potential area for sharing resources: such as on sustainability and flavor development.
In light of the boom in sales of all things gut health, this research will likely cause concern for food and beverage manufacturers who won’t want to be associated with bad gut health.
However, the food and beverage industry is heavily regulated, and all sweeteners used in products are approved by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Furthermore, many consumers who drink diet soft drinks are aware that they’re not the ‘healthy’ choice, but they are deemed to be healthier. In short it’s unlikely we’ll see a major shift in consumer behavior.
Emerging markets present significant growth opportunities for Coca-Cola. As disposable incomes rise in these regions, there is potential for increased consumption of packaged beverages. Coca-Cola's global scale and experience in adapting to local tastes position it well to capture this growth. The company can leverage its strong distribution networks and marketing capabilities to increase penetration in these markets.
“It is almost criminal in our minds that these grapes are being dropped on the ground, not purchased, and imports still find their way into our marketplace,” said Debbie Zimmerman, executive director of the Grape Growers of Ontario.
A total of 71,000 tonnes of grapes were produced by growers in the province in 2024.Of that, only 64,000 were purchased, said Zimmerman.
The culprit: Finished bulk wine, also known as juice, from foreign jurisdictions such as Australia, Chile and Argentina. These products can be purchased on the open market at lower prices and blended with the domestic juice.
Before the acquisition, UPDC Beverages packaged beverages for brands like Mitra-9, a sparkling kava-infused lemonade, which is considered a functional beverage—a drink category that offers health benefits beyond basic nutrition, often including ingredients like vitamins, minerals, probiotics or herbs. Golden Grail will issue 20 million shares of common stock to the former owners of UPDC Beverages as part of the transaction.
🍊 Citrus News
In marketing year (MY) 2024/25, due to the increase in area planted and assuming regular yields, Post estimates that lemon production will grow by 2.6 percent, reaching 197,000 metric tons (MT). Chilean lemon exports will increase 3.3 percent, totaling 93,000 metric tons. In MY 2024/25, Post estimates orange production will increase by 2.2 percent and total 190,000 metric tons, due to higher orange area planted and assuming regular yields. Orange exports will follow and increase by 3.0 percent totaling 103,000 metric tons. In MY 2024/25, mandarin production will increase by 13.1 percent and total 250,000 metric tons due to higher area planted. Likewise, mandarin exports will reach to 218,000 MT which represents a 14.1 percent increase from MY 2023/24.
In the latest update on orange prices across the European Union, significant fluctuations have been observed in various member states. The data, updated on December 18, 2024, reveals a mixed trend in the pricing of oranges, reflecting both increases and decreases depending on the country. This variation is influenced by multiple factors, including local production conditions, market demand, and external trade dynamics.
The increase in exports is primarily due to a decline in orange production in Brazil, the world’s leading orange juice exporter. Additionally, the global crisis has had a considerable impact on the market dynamics.
The Netherlands, the world’s largest importer, is the main destination for Morocco’s orange juice exports. In the first nine months of 2024, 8,200 tons were shipped to this country. Switzerland (1,400 tons), France (600 tons), Germany (500 tons), and Senegal (140 tons) are also among the top five importers of Moroccan orange juice. The first three countries have shown the highest growth in imports of Moroccan products in recent years. Moreover, while EU countries accounted for 74% to 85% of Morocco’s orange juice export structure in previous years, this figure increased to 96% in 2024.
For 3 decades (1987-88 to 2017-18) India has experienced quantum jump of more than 5 fold in production due to adoption of new technologies whereas, productivity witnessed less increase from 8.5 tonnes/ ha to 11.50 tonnes/ha. Mandarins, sweet oranges, limes and lemons are major citrus fruits in the country with grapefruits and pummelos in limited cultivation. Indian citrus industry is dominated by mandarins (‘Nagpur’, ‘Kinnow’, ‘Coorg’ and ‘Khasi’ mandarin) followed by sweet oranges and limes
🔬 Research Worth Reading
Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists led by Kranthi Mandadi are seeking novel solutions to huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening disease.
Mandadi is a professor in the Texas A&M Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology and a researcher at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Weslaco. In the past few years, he and his collaborators have found new potential treatments for HLB.
Due to the expansion of the citrus juice production industry and the increased trade of this product, the potential for fraud in citrus juices has also risen in recent years. To combat adulteration of citrus juices, analytical methods play a crucial role. This manuscript explores the application of targeted and untargeted analytical methods in the detection of different types of citrus juice adulteration.
These findings provide insight into multiple mechanisms by which endophytic Bacillus PGPB L1 is able to combat HLB disease, to promote citrus plant growth, and to optimize the root flora for soil health which offering an innovative strategy for sustainable management of this severe disease and improving citrus plant growth and productivity
UAVs as a spraying platform are rapidly gaining popularity in orchard disease control, as it provides an aerial perspective of the orchard, allowing operators to oversee large areas swiftly and following a predetermined flight path, ensuring that disease control agents are applied accurately. A study conducted by Garza et al. (2020) discovered that UAVs equipped with RGB cameras can detect diseases in citrus trees by capturing Triangular Greenness Index (TGI) images.