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UK: New Functional Beverages Look to Emulate
Success of Soya Drinks
The success of soya drinks in the UK is expanding the functional
drinks market with two new product launches this month.
Tesco has launched functional milk under its private label whilst
Pepsico has added a novel functional juice to its Tropicana range.
Like soya drinks, the new functional drinks contain sterols that
actively lower cholesterol levels.
Soya drinks were
originally bought by consumers suffering from lactose intolerance.
Scientific evidence linking soya consumption
to lower incidence of heart disease has allowed manufacturers to
market soya drinks as functional beverages. They are very popular in
the UK where up to two-thirds of the population have high cholesterol
levels. Chilled soya milk
is the fastest growing segment with sales expanding by over 20% a year.
The popularity of soya milk led Unilever to launch a competing
functional milk in 2004. Fortified with plant sterols, Flora Pro Activ also actively lowers cholesterol. It is positioned alongside
chilled soya milk in supermarkets and is targeted at consumers who are
health-conscious but do not like the taste of soya.
Tesco’s new functional milk drink is targeted at the same consumer
segment. Its cholesterol-lowering milk is fortified with Reducol, a
plant sterol. The functional ingredient is derived from forestry
by-products and is guaranteed GM-free. The new milk is part of a
cholesterol-lowering dairy product range marketed under the Tesco brand.
Pepsico is also looking to capitalise on growing demand for functional
beverages by launching a fortified juice drink under the Tropicana
brand. The orange juice is fortified with Benecol, a stanol-ester
ingredient that actively lowers cholesterol. The novel orange juice is
also targeted at health-conscious consumers.
Alpro’s Soya & Fruity is believed to have
influenced the launch of
the new Tropicana functional juice. Alpro launched Soya & Fruity as a
fortified blend of soya milk and fruit juices in June 2005. It has been,
until now, the only cholesterol-lowering juice drink in the UK.
With increased investment in the dairy alternatives industry, consumers
are likely to see more soya functional beverages. The latest new entrant
is Danone, which could launch soya products in the UK if its Senji
yoghurts are successful in France. ABN Amro’s investment in Nutrition
& Soja could lead to some new soya drinks to be launched in the UK. In
February, the company extended its soya drink
flavours to include
chai and mocha.
As soya drinks continue to capture the hearts and minds of consumers,
beverage manufacturers could learn from British dairies. UK
milk sales have been declining since the 1970s with sales volume
decreasing by 25% between 1994 and 2004. Facing decreasing profitability
and rising competition, British dairies have managed to develop novel
products that have reinvigorated milk sales. Flavoured milk drinks have
been launched as soft drinks, gaining sales over carbonated drinks . Organic milk and functional milk are increasingly marketed on
their health benefits, clawing back market share from competing
beverages like dairy alternatives.
Functional beverages maybe the way forward, however
product positioning is
critical in a
marketplace where the lines between soya
drinks, dairy milk and competing beverages become increasingly nebulous.
Related Reports:
#1201-55 The
UK Market for Value-Added Milk
#1002-50
The European Market for Non-Dairy Drinks
Posted: March 15th 2006
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