The popularity of ＂mix and match＂ drinks has risen, and the Hefei beverage market has reappeared as a ＂melee＂.

As the temperature rises and the peak season for beverage consumption is approaching, major merchants are in full swing to start the "preparation" mode. New products are coming, sugar-free tea is in the limelight, "coffee + new tea drink" cross-border competition continues to "roll in", electrolyte water sales are growing rapidly, and niche drinks such as papaya coconut milk are popular. Recently, Anhui Business Daily Financial Media reporters visited the Hefei beverage market and found that low-sugar and sugar-free drinks are sought after by consumers, and the popularity of "mixed and matched" drinks continues to rise. Domestic soda, which has triggered a nostalgic trend, has once again returned to the public eye.

Sugar-free tea is in the limelight

Tea, the daily beverage of the Chinese people for thousands of years, is still the protagonist of the beverage industry today. Looking at the entire beverage market, sugar-free tea has attracted the attention of many young consumers. On April 10, the reporter visited the offline supermarket store and saw that in addition to the common cola, orange juice, etc., all kinds of new tea drinks have also become best-selling models on the beverage shelves. The outer packaging of these tea drinks has changed the colorful color scheme, with fresh tones as the main one, health as the main selling point, highlighting the concepts of "sugar-free" and "zero fat".

Xiao Yao opened a community convenience store in the administrative district. Before the reporter’s visit, several bottles of sugar-free jasmine tea newly put on the shelves in the refrigerated freezer were bought by customers. According to the boss of Yao, customers who buy sugar-free tea drinks can be of any age group. Summer is approaching, and jasmine tea, oolong tea and Pu’er tea are going fast. Products like this kind of easy-to-sell single product must be replenished at any time. Consumer Yan Ning always keeps sugar-free drinks in the refrigerator at home. She attributed the reason for choosing sugar-free drinks to "fear of being fat but want to drink some water with taste".

Reporters visited offline retail channels and found that in order to keep up with consumer demand, major brands have entered the sugar-free tea market, including Yuan Qi Sen Lin, Master Kong, and Unified and other brands have launched new sugar-free tea series one after another. In addition to "old acquaintances", there are also many new players. Let tea, Chun Tea House, Tea Xiaokai, Xiaoye Jiuli, and Fruit Ripe and other new brands enter the market, and successively launch a variety of new tea drinks. The sugar-free tea products themselves are in line with the tea drinking habits of most consumers, plus zero sugar, zero fat and other characteristics, making it easier to be accepted and loved by consumers.

"Coffee + New Tea Drinks" Cross-border competition continues to "roll in"

Longjing, Jin Junmei, Biluochun, Tieguanyin and other tea varieties are the base, superimposed with fresh milk and fruit creativity, and unknowingly become the "star model" on the menu of new tea shops, and it is also the best "single item" in the hands of young people shopping. Wu Hao, a young entrepreneur in Hefei, saw that the new tea market was expanding, and he decided to be eager to try it. To join a brand that has recently become very popular, he spent a month exploring the market. In the process of looking for a shop, he found that there are more and more new tea shops now, and it is normal to have four or five commercial streets a few hundred meters away.

The reporter visited and found that a number of new tea brands such as HEYTEA, Bawang Chaji, Tea Baidao, Jasmine Milk White, Lele Tea, and Mawuwang Beverage Factory occupy prime locations in major business districts, and cutting-edge niche new tea stores such as Yiye Mishan and Wukong Tea have also begun to step into the "inner roll". The "sugar control" trend set off by the industry has given consumers more options. The reporter noticed that some existing tea shops have begun to use healthier organic milk in the selection of raw materials. In addition to competing with new product lines, new tea drinks are also "inner roll" prices. The reporter found that the price bands of a number of newly listed drinks are concentrated around 15-17 yuan, followed by 17-21 yuan. Consumers are becoming increasingly price-sensitive, and cost-effective products will gradually become the mainstream of the new tea market.

Coffee with green tea, lychee with latte, avocado with latte… Coffee and new tea drinks, the two most mainstream drinks in the current market, are becoming "you have me, I have you". This wonderful combination has become a new choice for consumers, and it is also a new trend for merchants to expand customers and increase revenue. "The current trend is’coffee + everything ‘." Ms. Bai, who runs a coffee shop near Wangjiang Road, said that the store launched a variety of teas in April, including oolong tea with oat latte, mulberry, jasmine tea with coffee, etc. The fierce competition in the industry forced her to rack her brains on new products every week. When consumers are tired of drinking classic models, they will naturally place orders with an "early adopter" mentality when they see the new flavors launched.

Domestic soda "Qianlang" turned red and became the "darling" of the table

As one of the summer "heatstroke tools", soda has always been favored by consumers. The reporter visited offline stores and saw that in addition to well-known carbonated beverages such as Coca-Cola and Sprite, domestic soda is gradually "breaking the circle". Huayang, Second Factory soda, Arctic Ocean, Laoshan soda, Tianfu Cola and other soda brands are placed in a prominent position on the shelves, and many consumers are choosing. "Although new flavors are emerging one after another, I still think Arctic Ocean orange juice soda is the best to drink. It is the taste in my childhood memory." Consumer Xiao Deng said that not only can you see domestic soda in community stores and supermarkets at home, but more and more domestic drinks in catering stores are also playing a "retro brand".

Whether it is to eat hot pot or order barbecue, a bottle of domestic soda has become the first choice for more and more consumers. Mr. Dong, the owner of a copper pot shabu meat shop on Jiuhua Mountain Road, told reporters that many customers like glass bottles of soda in big kilns. The boss believes that the main reason why large bottles of soda sell well is that they are affordable and delicious.

"The more you drink other beverages, the more thirsty you get, especially when you eat Roujiamo, a bottle of Bingfeng soda will be much more comfortable." The reporter visited and saw that Bingfeng soda, Liangpi, and Roujiamo formed the "Sanqin Package", which became the "standard" in the menu of Shaanxi noodle restaurants. Although domestic soda focuses on "nostalgia" in packaging, it has taken a new route in taste. In addition to classic orange and orange flavors, it also innovates pineapple flavors, lychee flavors, and white peach flavors to attract young consumers.

Breaking category boundaries "mix and match" beverages are on the rise

As one of the fastest new product iterations in the food industry, the beverage market has frequent spring explosions, and new products are coming. Lele Tea combines papaya with coconut milk, Chabaodao combines mango and guava with seven scented jasmine tea soup; 7 points sweet upgrades avocado yogurt, with kale and phycocyanin respectively; moist yogurt combines dragon fruit detoxification properties, and dragon fruit yogurt is on the shelves; Magic Water Master launches garlic coffee, loquat pear autumn dew, etc.; a whole variety of guava red ginseng drinks, etc. In addition, niche beverages such as jasmine Yunnan olive juice, prebiotic prune fiber fruit drink, and lutein ester blueberry fruit drink also occupy the shelves of supermarkets and convenience stores.

With the segmentation of consumer demand, the sub-category of sparkling water has gradually risen. Among hawthorn drinks, hawthorn juice has long occupied the mainstream category with its mellow and sweet taste. The reporter saw in a supermarket on Co-operative Road that a hawthorn sparkling drink under Good Hope Water’s product "Hope Hawthorn" is selling well. In terms of taste, it has made innovations in traditional fruit juice drinks, combining hawthorn with hibiscus, tangerine peel, licorice, etc., and adding gas technology to make a carbonated drink with a unique "sand taste", which is loved by young consumer groups.

In early 2021, Luckin Coffee launched the "raw coconut latte" product, which replaced the milk in the latte coffee with coconut milk, and the unique flavor quickly became popular. Since then, "coconut flavor" has become one of the popular flavors in the beverage market. A supermarket clerk on Wanfo Lake Road told reporters that the sales of coconut milk and coconut water have risen recently, and as the weather heats up, the sales of electrolyte water and soda water of various brands will also increase significantly, and "salt" drinks will have a place.

Make "Nutrition Choice" grading a "consumption guide" for beverages

Have you ever thought that one day, drinking beverages and milk tea will also be divided into "three, six, nine, etc."? A few days ago, Shanghai piloted the country’s first beverage "Nutrition Choice" grading label, which is based on the non-dairy sugar, saturated fat, trans fat and non-sugar sweeteners contained in beverages as the classification standard. The rating is from high to low, and the four grades of ABCD are marked. The level of recommendation is gradually decreasing, and it will be marked in the menu, beverage packaging, ordering procedures, and other prominent places one after another.

From thirst-quenching to delicious, and then to health, the beverage market has developed in line with the ever-changing needs of consumers. According to Nielsen’s survey, nearly 80% of consumers now pay attention to the ingredients of food and beverages. According to the "2023 China Sugar-free Tea Industry White Paper" by Yiou Think Tank, it is expected that the size of the sugar-free tea market will exceed 10 billion by 2025 and will reach 12.40 billion yuan by 2027.

"Nutrition grading can further awaken everyone’s health awareness." Mr. Wen, a person in the food industry, said that trans fats and non-sugar sweeteners all pose certain hidden dangers to human health and can easily lead to problems such as obesity. For most people with excess nutrition, the less the intake of these substances, the better. With this classification, it will be difficult for merchants to focus only on taste and not on ingredients, and the guidance of consumers will be further strengthened, so that they can have an extra "consumption guide" when choosing beverages.

With the increasing health awareness of consumers, the demand for healthy drinks has grown rapidly, and "sugar reduction" has become a consensus. The change in consumer attitudes towards sugar intake is affecting the position of sugar-free beverages in the market from the bottom up, and various products are also being designed to be low-sugar and sugar-free. Although sweetness is avoided due to "sugar-free", the taste is also limited. Taste optimization is the core of impressing consumers, and new flavors and new products will continue to emerge on the beverage track in the future.

(Anhui Business Daily financial media reporter, Wu Mengjunwen/photo)