For immediate release

THE U.S. LIQUID REFRESHMENT BEVERAGE MARKET GREW BY 1.0% IN 2012, REPORTS BEVERAGE MARKETING CORPORATION

***

Energy drinks, ready–to–drink coffee and tea and bottled water grew aggressively; carbonated soft drinks declined again

NEW YORK, NY, 25 March 2013: The U.S. liquid refreshment beverage market grew by 1.0% in 2012, according to newly released preliminary data from Beverage Marketing Corporation. This marked a third year of growth after two consecutive declines. It also represented faster growth than occurred the year before. The weakened economy hindered beverages' performance in 2008 and 2009, and improving conditions contributed to their upticks in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Total liquid refreshment beverage volume approached 29.8 billion gallons in 2012.

Niche categories outperformed traditional mass–market categories. Premium beverages such as ready–to–drink (RTD) tea and coffee and, especially, energy drinks advanced particularly forcefully during 2012. Aggressive pricing contributed to the sizeable increase in bottled water volume. Larger, more established segments such as carbonated soft drinks and fruit beverages failed to grow once again.

Energy drinks moved forward faster than all other segments with a 14.3% volume increase in 2012. Nonetheless, the segment accounted for a relatively small share of total liquid refreshment beverage volume. Indeed, the only liquid refreshment beverage types with smaller shares of volume were RTD coffee, which charted the second fastest surge, growing by 9.5%, and value–added water, which contracted during the year. Not surprisingly, no energy drink, RTD coffee or value–added water brand ranked among the leading trademarks by volume.

Sports beverages, in contrast, had Gatorade (including all brand variations) as the fifth largest beverage trademark during the year, and the category it led grew faster than the overall liquid refreshment beverage market. The brand topped 1 billion gallons for the first time in 2011 and remained above that level in 2012 despite declining. Its chief rival, Powerade, moved muscularly enough for the overall category to grow.

Carbonated soft drinks remained by far the biggest liquid refreshment beverage category, but they continued to lose both volume and market share. Volume slipped by 1.8% from 13.6 billion gallons in 2011 to 13.3 billion gallons in 2012, which lowered their market share from 46% to less than 45%. Even so, certain soda trademarks, such as Coke Zero and Dr Pepper, did achieve growth. Moreover, carbonated soft drinks accounted for four of the 10 biggest beverage trademarks during 2012, with Coca–Cola and Pepsi–Cola retaining their usual first and second positions.

Bottled water had three entries among the leading trademarks in 2012. The category swelled by 5.8% in 2012, and two of the three biggest brands — Nestlé Pure Life and Dasani — grew significantly faster.

RTD tea grew by nearly 5% in 2012.

Four companies accounted for all of the leading refreshment beverage trademarks. Pepsi–Cola had four brands, including the only fruit beverage brand to make the list, Tropicana. Coca–Cola had three while Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA) had two and Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPSG) had one.

"Beverages showed gathering strength in 2012," said Michael C. Bellas, chairman and CEO, Beverage Marketing Corporation. "While an improving economy remains the key impetus for beverage category success, the vitality of premium products like energy drinks and RTD coffee shows that Americans' thirst for both functional and fun products is strong."

New York City–based Beverage Marketing Corporation is the leading research, consulting and financial services firm dedicated to the global beverage industry.

###

For immediate release

 

REINVIGORATED BOTTLED WATER BOUNCES BACK FROM RECESSIONARY YEARS, NEW REPORT FROM BEVERAGE MARKETING CORPORATION SHOWS

***

Volume reaches a new high point

NEW YORK, NY, May 2012: If decades of vigorous growth earned bottled water a prominent spot in the U.S. beverage marketplace, then 2011's performance showed bottled water's capacity for attaining still greater heights even after interruptions in its ascent. Growing by 4.1%, bottled water reached an historical high of 9.1 billion gallons in 2011. Per capita consumption also reached a new peak of 29.2 gallons.

Before the economic challenges of the late 2000s, bottled water experienced an exceptional streak of speedy volume growth, as documented in the latest edition of Bottled Water in the U.S., Beverage Marketing Corporation's annual analysis of the market. But like many other beverage categories in the United States during the depths of the economic recession, bottled water suffered reversals in 2008 and 2009. In 2010, bottled water volume returned to growth, and the category showed renewed vitality in 2011.

Domestic non–sparkling water perennially reigns as the biggest segment of the U.S. packaged water industry. Domestic non–parkling water's 8.75 billion gallons represented 96% of total volume in 2011.

The non–sparkling category includes various components that typically follow divergent trajectories. In 2011, for the first time since the mid–2000s, all four segments registered growth, albeit at very different rates. Throughout most of the 1990s and 2000s, the retail premium segment — consisting of still water in single–serve polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles — drove the overall category's development. Indeed, the PET component enlarged by a double–digit percentage rate 16 consecutive times through 2007. In 2010, PET experienced the strongest growth of any bottled water segment, advancing by 6.7% to 5.5 billion gallons. Growth slowed in 2011 but remained well in advance of the total market: volume greater than 5.8 billion gallons flowed from growth of 5.4%, which pushed PET's share to 64%.

Retail bulk volume growth slowed as more and more consumers selected convenient PET multipacks in large format retail channels instead of larger (1 to 2.5 gallon) sizes. Its share eroded from nearly one–quarter of the category volume at the beginning of the century to slightly less than 11% by 2011. Retail bulk's 0.3% uptick was the slightest of any domestic still water segment in 2011. Direct delivery also confronted competition from handy, portable PET bottles. The segment, which comprised the largest of them all as recently as the mid-1990s, accounted for 12.9% of total volume by 2011. U.S. home– and office–delivery (HOD) volume slipped from close to 1.4 billion gallons in the early 2000s to less than 1.2 billion gallons in 2011.

The relatively small, essentially regional vending segment involving refillable jug containers achieved growth late in the decade after several years of contraction. Its low cost during economic hard times undoubtedly explains vending's results. It continued to grow in 2011 albeit at a far slower rate than either the domestic still water market or the bottled water market as a whole.

Both of the two segments outside the domestic non–sparkling category showed renewed vigor in 2011. The imported water segment, the smallest of them all, is prone to fluctuations. In the 2000s, it registered double–digit percentage growth in some years, and equally sizeable contractions in others. After one of those up years in 2007, imported water's volume fell sharply in 2008 and then plummeted precipitously in 2009. It continued to shrink in 2010 before inching up by a modest clip in 2011. Sparkling water held a small share of bottled water volume but grew at a rate faster than any other type, including retail PET, in 2011.

New York City–based Beverage Marketing Corporation is the leading research, consulting and financial services firm dedicated to the global beverage industry.

###

For immediate release

 

THE U.S. LIQUID REFRESHMENT BEVERAGE MARKET INCREASED BY 0.9% IN 2011, BEVERAGE MARKETING CORPORATION REPORTS

***

Energy drinks, ready–to–drink tea and sports beverages grew aggressively; carbonated soft drinks stumbled yet again

NEW YORK, NY, 20 March 2012: The U.S. liquid refreshment beverage market grew by 0.9% in 2011, according to preliminary data from Beverage Marketing Corporation. This marked a second year of growth after two consecutive declines but it also represented a slowdown from 2010. The weakened economy hindered beverages' performance in 2008 and 2009, and improving conditions contributed to their upticks in 2010 and 2011. Even so, higher prices did almost certainly contribute to 2011's deceleration as lower–income consumers continued to struggle. Even so, total liquid refreshment beverage volume exceeded 29.5 billion gallons in 2011.

Premium beverages such as ready–to–drink (RTD) tea and coffee, sports beverages and energy drinks advanced particularly forcefully during 2011. Larger, more established segments such as carbonated soft drinks and fruit beverages failed to grow once again.

Energy drinks moved forward faster than all other segments with a 14.4% volume increase in 2011. Despite this advance, the segment accounted for a relatively small share of total liquid refreshment beverage volume. Indeed, the only liquid refreshment beverage type with a smaller share of volume was RTD coffee, which charted the second fastest surge, growing by 9.4%. Not surprisingly, no energy drink or RTD coffee brand ranked among the leading trademarks by volume.

Sports beverages, in contrast, had Gatorade (including all brand variations) as the fifth largest beverage trademark during the year, and the category it led showed exceptional vigor. The brand topped 1 billion gallons for the first time in 2011.

Carbonated soft drinks still stood as by far the biggest liquid refreshment beverage category, but they continued to lose both volume and market share. Volume slipped by 1.7% from 13.8 billion gallons in 2010 to 13.6 billion gallons in 2011, which lowered their market share from 47% to 46%. Nonetheless, certain soda trademarks, such as Dr Pepper and Coke Zero, did achieve growth. Moreover, carbonated soft drinks accounted for four of the 10 biggest beverage trademarks during 2011, with Coca–Cola and Pepsi–Cola retaining their usual first and second positions.

Bottled water had three entries among the leading trademarks in 2011. Like the beverage marketplace as a whole, bottled water declined in 2008 and 2009 but recovered in 2010, when volume grew by 3.5%. Unlike liquid refreshment beverages generally, bottled water's growth accelerated in 2011, when volume swelled by 4.1%.

RTD tea grew even more quickly than bottled water, growing by almost 5% in 2011.

Four companies accounted for all of the leading refreshment beverage trademarks. Pepsi–Cola had four brands, including the only fruit beverage brand to make the list, Tropicana. Coca–Cola had three while Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA) had two and Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPSG) had one.

"Beverages' continued growth in 2011 proved their essential vitality," said Michael C. Bellas, chairman and CEO, Beverage Marketing Corporation. "The strong showing by high–end and functional products shows that consumers — at least the more affluent ones — are not concerned exclusively with economic considerations when making their beverage selections."

New York City–based Beverage Marketing Corporation is the leading research, consulting and financial services firm dedicated to the global beverage industry.

###

For immediate release

 

BOTTLED WATER RECOVERS SOMEWHAT FROM RECESSIONARY YEARS,
NEW REPORT FROM BEVERAGE MARKETING CORPORATION SHOWS

***

Both volume and dollars decline a second time

NEW YORK, NY, September 2011: Until the mid-2000s, the U.S. bottled water market seemed unstoppable. It had achieved considerable stature, second only in size to the carbonated soft drink category, yet continued to grow quickly and forcefully. In 2008, however, the bottled water market suffered an unprecedented setback, and another, larger decline in volume occurred the following year.

In 2010, with a waning of the economic recession that was the primary reason for the end of bottled water's growth streak, volume growth returned to the category, as reported in the latest edition of Bottled Water in the U.S., Beverage Marketing Corporation's annually published analysis of the market.

After declining by 1.0% and 2.5% in 2008 and 2009, respectively, bottled water volume increased by 3.6% to a new high of 8.75 billion gallons in 2010. Producers' revenues, which had declined by about $950 million between 2007 and 2009, increased by a scant 0.2% to $10.6 billion in 2010.

In 2010, the top three bottled water companies in the United States — Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA), Coca-Cola and PepsiCo — accounted for 56.7% of total wholesale dollar sales. NWNA remained the largest bottled water company in the country, with $3.8 billion in sales. NWNA, the purveyor of major regional brands such as Poland Spring, Arrowhead, Deer Park and Zephyrhills, claimed 36.0% of total bottled water sales in 2010. The company's Pure Life label continued to grow impressively, with wholesale dollar sales increasing by 14% in 2010. With just one brand — Dasani — Coca–Cola accounted for 10.4% of the market in 2010. Coke also manages or owns several current and former Danone brands in the United States. PepsiCo's Aquafina brand rang up $1.1 billion in sales in 2010.

Domestic non–sparkling water remained the most substantial segment of the U.S. packaged water industry. Domestic non–sparkling water's 8.4 billion gallons represented 96.1% of total volume in 2010. As a whole, domestic non–sparkling increased at a slightly higher rate than the overall bottled water market.

The non–sparkling category includes diverse parts that had very different results. In 2010, all but one of its segments declined, although rates varied considerably. Throughout most of the 1990s and 2000s, the retail premium PET segment — consisting of still water in single–serve polyethylene terephthalate bottles — drove the overall category's development. Indeed, the PET component enlarged by a double–digit percentage rate 16 consecutive times through 2007. Growth slowed markedly in 2008 before it disappeared in 2009. In 2010, PET's 6.7% increase outshone the 3.6% growth of the bottled water market as a whole. Also, PET volume in 2010 of 5.5 billion gallons stood more than 4.1 billion gallons higher than it had in 2000, and its share of total bottled water swelled from 29% to more than 63% during that 10–year period.

Retail bulk volume growth slowed as more and more consumers selected convenient PET multipacks in large format retail channels instead of larger (1 to 2.5 gallon) sizes. Its share eroded from nearly one–quarter of the category volume at the beginning of the century to about 11% by 2010, largely as a result of competition from PET. Direct delivery also confronted intramural competition from handy, portable PET bottles. The segment, which comprised the largest of them all as recently as the mid–1990s, accounted for 13.2% of total volume by 2010. U.S. home– and office–delivery (HOD) volume slipped by 2.3% to less than 1.2 billion gallons in 2010.

The relatively small, essentially regional vending segment involving refillable jug containers achieved growth in the late 2000s after several years of contraction. Its low cost during economic hard times undoubtedly explained vending's rebound, although it did decline nominally in 2010.

The two segments outside the domestic non–sparkling category had differing fortunes in 2010. The imported water segment, the smallest of them all, is prone to fluctuations. In the 2000s, it registered double–digit percentage growth in some years, and equally sizeable contractions in others. After one of those up years in 2007, imported water's volume fell sharply in 2008 and then plummeted precipitously in 2009. In 2010, imported water continued to fall, but to a lesser degree. In contrast, domestic sparkling water grew volume for a ninth consecutive year.

Despite the persistent challenges that have faced bottled water in recent years, longer–term developments point to a continued thirst for bottled water. Americans upped their annual consumption of it by more than 11 gallons from 16.7 gallons per person in 2000 to 28.3 gallons in 2010. As usual, domestic non–sparkling water accounted for almost all per capita bottled water consumption. Sparkling water and imports each represented less than one gallon per person. In the key PET portion, average intake moved from less than 5 gallons in 2000 to almost 18 gallons 10 years later.

New York City–based Beverage Marketing Corporation is the leading research, consulting and financial services firm dedicated to the global beverage industry.

###

For immediate release

 

THE U.S. LIQUID REFRESHMENT BEVERAGE MARKET INCREASED BY 1.2% IN 2010, BEVERAGE MARKETING CORPORATION REPORTS

***

Ready-to-drink tea and sports beverages enlarged forcefully; carbonated soft drinks shrank again

NEW YORK, NY, 17 March 2011: The U.S. refreshment beverage market grew by 1.2% in 2010, based on preliminary data from Beverage Marketing Corporation. This represented a significant improvement from the back-to-back declines of the previous two years. Just as the weakened economy hampered beverages' performance in 2008 and 2009, improved conditions contributed to their rebound. Total liquid refreshment beverage volume exceeded 29 billion gallons in 2010.

Premium beverages such as ready-to-drink (RTD) tea and coffee, sports beverages and energy drinks displayed particular vibrancy during 2010, but larger, more established segments such as carbonated soft drinks and fruit beverages failed to grow though their performance improved.

RTD tea moved ahead faster than all other segments with a 12.5% volume surge in 2010. Despite this advance, the segment accounted for a relatively small share of total liquid refreshment beverage volume. While no tea brand ranked among the leading trademarks, Snapple RTD tea did see exceptional growth of 16%. RTD coffee and energy drinks also handily outperformed the overall beverage market but remained comparatively small components of it.

In contrast, sports beverages, which also saw muscular growth in 2010, had Gatorade (including all brand variations) as the fifth largest beverage trademark by volume during the year. After declining in 2009, Gatorade enlarged by more than 6%. The Powerade trademark rocketed upward by 19% in 2010.

Carbonated soft drinks remained by far the largest liquid refreshment beverage category, but they continued to lose both volume and market share. Volume slipped 0.8% from 13.9 billion gallons in 2009 to 13.8 billion gallons in 2010, which resulted in their market share moving down from 48% to 47%. Nonetheless, certain soda trademarks, such as Dr Pepper, Mountain Dew and Sprite, did achieve growth. Moreover, carbonated soft drinks accounted for five of the 11 biggest beverage trademarks during 2010, with Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola retaining their perennial first and second positions.

Bottled water had four entries among the leading trademarks for the first time in 2010 (with two brands essentially tied for tenth place).  Like the beverage marketplace as a whole, bottled water declined in 2008 and 2009 but recovered in 2010, when volume grew by 3.5%.

Four companies accounted for all of the leading refreshment beverage trademarks. Pepsi-Cola had five brands, including the sole fruit beverage brand to make the list, Tropicana. Coca-Cola had three while Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA) and Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPSG) had two and one, respectively.

"Beverages' resilience in 2010 demonstrated their fundamental strength and enduring appeal for consumers," said Michael C. Bellas, chairman and CEO, Beverage Marketing Corporation. "As we predicted last year, the worst is now behind us and beverages' performance will continue to benefit from the improved economy."

New York City-based Beverage Marketing Corporation is the leading research, consulting and financial services firm dedicated to the global beverage industry.

###