“ decodes the innovative trend of water drinking in 2022: bubble, slightly drunk, fruity ”2022 is destined to be a hot year for “water”.“Let the world water plant ‘roll up’,” Wang Xuegang said at the Yuanqi forest press conference last month.Water, as the source of life of all things, is an essential daily supply for the human body.However, driven by the upgrading of consumption and the improvement of living standards in recent years, people’s demand for water is also rising. They are eager to supplement water in a more attractive and diversified way.Drinking water, from the initial solution to thirst, has evolved into a variety of rich tastes or tastes, and now major brands are competing for innovation, with a variety of tricks, which not only hope to bring freshness and excitement to the taste buds, but also give consideration to the balance between health and creativity.It is precisely because consumers’ increasingly diversified and personalized needs have brought unlimited business opportunities to the overall water drinking industry, prompting it to continue to tend to refined development. According to Euromonitor data, China’s water drinking market has reached 673.76 billion yuan in 2020, with a compound growth rate of 1.5% in five years. It is estimated that by 2025, the scale of China’s water drinking market will reach 720.83 billion yuan, and the compound annual growth rate will rise to 2.8%.Naturally, as the water drinking market becomes more and more convoluted, there will inevitably be various obstacles such as product homogenization and the preemption of consumers’ minds. At that time, if the brand wants to improve its internal driving force to break the situation against the wind, what direction should it start from to make new breakthroughs?It coincides with the 19th year of the world beverage innovation awards. Recently, it gave an analysis of the current trends affecting the development of the global water industry.FDL digital food advocates will sort out around this analysis, combined with the current shortlisted products and the innovation cases of the water drinking industry at home and abroad, summarize the following five noteworthy water drinking innovation trends, and look forward to providing some new ideas for the product development and promotion of the water drinking industry.Add some bubbles: Carbonated watersCarbonated waters, bubble water, also known as carbonated water, FDL digital food advocates in “in addition to giving yourself a” cheer “, what are the ways out of the food and beverage track?” The article mentioned that bubble water refers to a kind of beverage containing air, in which “Qi” originated from “heaven and earth”. This means that the carbon dioxide in the magma of the “asthenosphere” flows into the earth’s surface caused by the impact of the crustal plate. When the carbon dioxide enters the mineral water through the “aquifer”, it will form natural gas bubble water, that is, sparking mineral water. It is now commonly seen in natural carbonated wells or springs, which contain a variety of minerals, such as sodium, magnesium and calcium.With the continuous development of technology and people’s pursuit of diversified tastes, seltzer (artificial bubble water) and club soda (soda bubble water) also appear, both of which are made by manual carbonation.Several food advocates have sorted out the following specific differences between bubble water or carbonated beverage products on the domestic market:Figure source: FDL digital food propositionIn addition to the above table, a product called tonic water is also popular abroad. Like club soda, it is carbonated water with minerals added, but it also contains quinine, a compound separated from the bark of Cinchona, which makes it slightly bitter.Source: GoogleAccording to the latest report of grand view, the global bubble water market has maintained a steady growth. It is expected that by 2028, the global bubble water industry will reach $76.95 billion, with an annual growth rate of 12.6%.At the same time, according to the enterprise investigation and public data, the annual new registration of bubble water in China has remained stable at hundreds in recent years: 303 in 2017, 315 in 2018, 501 in 2019, 516 in 2020 and 201 in 2021. As of March 2022, there are 2040 bubble water related enterprises in China. According to the data reported by the prospective industry research institute, the domestic bubble water market is expected to reach 32billion yuan by 2025.However, although there are many domestic bubble water players, the direction of new product incubation is almost to “bubble water +”, that is, adding various functional components to bubble water, but few brands make an article on “bubble” to occupy the minds of consumers.In fact, before bubble water became a domestic popular product in the whole network, it more symbolized an elegant and exquisite attitude towards quality life overseas, and even created a judgment standard called TDS (air content) in Europe. When the value is higher, it means that the water body is fuller, which is suitable for meat; The lower the value is, the lighter and softer the water is, which is suitable for matching with refreshing dishes or mixing wine.Therefore, rather than letting bubble water continue to develop into a “0 sugar, 0 fat, 0 calorie” product that won’t get fat after drinking, it’s better to let bubble water take root in China’s own cultural values and emotional identity, and tap opportunities from consumers’ still vague “bubble” cognition, which is more worthy of being considered as an innovation of major brands.Shortlisted products:·Dash WaterIn order to expand its product portfolio of fruit and vegetable flavored bubble water, dash water, headquartered in the UK, launched a new summer mango bubble water in May this year. According to reports, dash water fruit and vegetable bubble water currently contains six flavors of cucumber, lemon, raspberry, blackcurrant, peach and newly added mango. The products do not contain sugar, artificial sweeteners or calories, which is suitable for consumers who pursue a healthy diet.Jack Scott, the co-founder of dash, said, “everyone likes mango because it automatically reminds people of sunny and happy summer days, and mango taste can be perfectly integrated with bubble water unexpectedly. We believe that mango bubble water will become one of our popular products, and I can’t wait to see more consumers fall in love with it this summer.”Source: Foodbev· Waterloo Sparkling WaterThe new product sparking water launched by Waterloo aims to expand its range of bubble water products. The new products are divided into cherry limeade and blackberry lemon, both of which are made of non GMO natural flavor and pure carbonated water, and do not contain sugar, calories and sweeteners.Adam price, senior vice president of Waterloo operations and flavor development, said: “when we develop new series, we not only improve the aroma and taste of products, but also strengthen the carbonation of products. We hope consumers can gain an unforgettable taste experience from sparking water.”Source: FoodbevAdd a little tipsy: hard SeltzerHard seltzer, called hard soda, is added alcohol and flavoring agent on the basis of carbonated water. The alcohol content is about 5%, and the calorie content is less than 100 calories. Overseas, it is considered to be a healthier low alcohol wine than cocktails, wine or beer, and has become the preferred summer drink for many consumers.Source: GoogleHard soda began to rise in the UK in early 2020. According to Kantar research, the current market valuation of hard soda in the UK has reached 10.4 million pounds, with a potential audience of about 13.7 million consumers. The sales volume across the UK has increased by at least 1057% over 2020. Statista also predicts that the global hard soda market will reach US $39.53 billion in 2025.In contrast, in China, as one of the sub categories of low alcohol wine, hard soda is still in the emerging stage in China, and the market expansion potential is huge. According to iResearch’s “2022 alcoholic beverage user INSIGHT REPORT – low alcohol alcohol, wine” data, the growth rate of low alcohol e-commerce sales is higher than the average compound growth rate of alcohol e-commerce, reaching 6.2%, accounting for 12% of the sales share of 2021q2-2022q1 alcohol e-commerce.Source: iResearch consultingIn particular, it is worth mentioning that the health attributes of hard soda, such as low alcohol accuracy, low calories, and zero fat, can fully meet the lifestyle of the new generation of young consumers in pursuit of a light burden. I believe it will attract more young generations in the future.Shortlisted products:·Anheuser-Busch：Neon BurstAnheuser Busch, an American wine brand, launched a hard soda product: Neon burst. It is reported that this product contains two flavors: punch blast and grape bloom. Punch blast combines pineapple, passion fruit, raspberry and other tropical fruits, while grape bloom mixes grapes and oranges, both of which have an alcohol concentration of about 8%.Joanie Kwok, senior brand director of product portfolio, said, “we see hard soda as a new product to change the current situation of the wine industry, and it is what consumers with growing demand are urgently looking for.”Source: Foodbev·Truly Hard Seltzer：Margarita Style Hard SeltzersTruly hard seltzer, a brand of Boston Beer Company, launched a ready to drink hard soda series called Margarita style hard seltzer. It is reported that there are four flavors in this series: Classic lime, strawberry hibiscus, watermelonon cucumber and mango chili.Each flavor is made from natural plant ingredients, such as agave nectar, lime juice and sea salt. At the same time, this hard soda only contains about 5.3% alcohol concentration, 110 calories, 1g sugar, and no gluten or preservatives.Casey O’Neill, product development director of Boston brewery, said, “we hope to combine the hard soda loved by young consumers with the classic Margarita flavor. We believe this product will be loved by the public.”Source: FoodbevAdd some fruit flavor: Fruit watersFruit waters, also known as fruit flavored water, is a low calorie, low sugar water drink between pure water and fruit juice. It emphasizes natural health, does not contain added sugar, has a balanced PH value, and is in line with global popular dietary trends such as ketogenic diet and whole30 (a 30 day healthy diet detoxification plan).According to the feedback of overseas consumers’ actual drinking experience, they believe that fruit flavored water tastes more refreshing than fruit juice, but it will not be as light as water. It can effectively quench thirst and replenish water, and is suitable for drinking after work, study or fitness.Abigail storms, vice president of Tate & Lyle, a food and beverage raw material supplier, said that the fruit flavored water segment actually began to appear more than 10 years ago, but in the early years, the choice of fruit flavored water taste was relatively limited. According to Euromonitor International market, there are more than ten choices in the global fruit flavored water market, including mango, strawberry, watermelon, blackberry, citrus and lemon.At the same time, according to Euromonitor consumption data, the global fruit flavored water market has reached about US $10.3 billion in 2018. It is expected that the market scale will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.8% from 2018 to 2025. In China, affected by the upsurge of healthy consumption, the fruit flavored water market has also expanded rapidly, which is favored by more and more consumers. According to the authoritative report, the overall size of China’s fruit flavored water market has the opportunity to exceed 400-500 billion in the next 10 years.Innovation cases:·Frucor Suntory：True WaterFrucor Suntory, an Australian subsidiary of Suntory, launched a series of fruit flavored aquatic products called true water in response to the shift in consumers’ increasingly healthy diet. It is reported that the product provides two flavors: Raspberry (raspberry) and lime (lime), both of which are made of natural fruit extract and do not contain artificial sugar or sweeteners.Inspired by the simple and fresh fruit flavor of the product, frucor Suntory adopts the packaging design scheme of denomation, and selects Boston shaped transparent glass to show the purity of water, while photos of fruit are also applied to the neck of the bottle, which looks like fruit floating in the water.The logo of true water is designed as a drop of water, and its color will change according to different fruit flavors. It aims to convey the image of the brand with a clearer logo and distinguish it from competitors. At the same time, in response to global sustainable development, the brand also encourages consumers to retain the bottle after drinking the product as a bottle for daily drinking water.Source: Foodbev·FrutlyPepsi Cola launched a fruit flavored water called frutly. This is a water replenishing drink composed of purified water, fruit juice and electrolyte. At present, it has three flavors: Strawberry kiwi, apple grape and mixed fruit. It does not contain additional sugar or artificial sweeteners. The calories contained in each bottle of product are only 60 calories.Pepsi Cola believes that the current low sugar or sugar free near water drinks on the market are mainly aimed at younger children, and the products for teenagers are still blank for the time being. As teenagers get older and drink fruit juice, they will start to look for some more “adult” products, but parents will still pay attention to the health of drinks. Frutly fruit flavored water hopes to take into account the needs of both teenagers and parents at the same time, and achieve a more perfect balance between taste and health.Source: bevnet.comAdd some functions: functional watersFunctional waters, that is, functional water, as the name suggests, refers to water drinks with certain specific functions.In Japan, the functional water association clearly defines functional water as: water whose scientific basis in water treatment principle and water function has been confirmed or will be confirmed in the process of obtaining a reproducible and useful functional water solution by manual treatment. This definition has been recognized by most countries.With the post epidemic era, people’s health awareness continues to improve, and consumers also have deeper needs for the health and functionality of water drinks. Functional water has naturally become a new focus of consumers’ attention.In order to quickly seize the new consumer market, major beverage brands at home and abroad have also made frequent moves and introduced different forms of functional water. At present, the existing categories on the market include: original ecological water, alkaline water, electrolyte water, nutritional water, oxygen enriched water and hydrogen enriched water. It is worth mentioning that functional water rich in protein and cannabis bisphenol (CBD) has occupied a place in the foreign market.According to the report of fortune business insight, the scale of the global functional water market in 2017 was US $10.34 billion, which is expected to reach US $18.24 billion by the end of 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 7.4% in the forecast period.In China, according to the report on Comprehensive Market Research and investment direction analysis of China’s high-end bottled water industry from 2020 to 2026, the retail scale of high-end bottled water in China has reached 15.982 billion yuan in 2019, an increase of 16.2% from 13.754 billion yuan in 2018. High end functional water has the opportunity to become the most imaginable field in China.Shortlisted products:·Vieve：VeganVieve, a British flavor protein water brand, launched a series of vegan pure protein water to expand its product portfolio. This series includes two flavors: wild cherry and Peach & orange. Each bottle of protein water contains about 10 grams of protein, Zero sugar and 50 calories, which is suitable for supplementing protein for fitness and fat reduction consumers.Rafael rozenson, the founder of vieve, said: “With the development of the brand, we have established a loyal consumer group, and one of their primary needs is pure protein water. In the past decade, the UK protein product market has grown significantly, from about 50million pounds to more than 1billion pounds. I think with our pure protein water bringing a new market segment, the overall growth space of functional water drinks is also expanding. I believe that in the near future After that, consumers are tired of traditional drinks or milkshakes. “Source: Foodbev·Karma Water：CBD WaterU.S. beverage brand karma water and Canadian marijuana company canopy growth Corporation launched a new CBD functional water to expand its range of functional water products. According to reports, the karma CBD water contains five flavors: Cranberry lime, blueberry Yuzu, blood orange papaya, lavender orange and watermelon dragon fruit.The karma CBD water contains four kinds of adaptions, seven kinds of life support and 25 mg CBD distillates rich in antioxidants. This distillate is made from hemp biomass of the United States by canopy growth using patented technology. At the same time, the product has a natural sweet taste, does not contain preservatives, gluten or added sugar, and has passed the vegan and non GMO certification.CJ Rapp, CEO of karma, said, “karma water has always been a leader in health drinks. We think CBD is very suitable to be the next development Party of our functional aquatic products. This time, we are also happy to cooperate with canopy growth to use its first-class CBD to combine with our industry-leading push cap technology to bring innovative products to consumers in the field of CBD functional water.”Source: FoodbevInnovation cases:·Hydrogen seven: active hydrogen functional drinking waterHydrogen seven, founded in 2021, is a high-end cutting-edge brand of active hydrogen functional drinking water that focuses on supplementing hydrogen and fighting oxygen for the body. It is committed to redefining hydrogen rich water with the concept of “replenishing hydrogen every day”, with the brand proposition of “a bag of hydrogen every day, drinking young state”, and meeting the daily anti oxygen health pursuit of young and middle-aged consumers in domestic first and second tier cities through multiple dimensions such as packaging, technology, services and playing methods.In January 2022, the parent company of the brand, hydrogen Xiaoqi Food Technology (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd., announced that it had completed nearly 10 million angel rounds of financing, which was exclusively invested by Hanpan venture capital. The official said that the funds will be used for channel development, brand building, team optimization and construction.Source: brand planetAdd some Sustainability: water distributorsWith the global trend of complying with green environmental protection, the concept of “sustainability” has also continued to penetrate into the food and beverage industry, and consumers have begun to pay more and more attention to the carbon footprint of bottled water.Overseas consumption research shows that at present, only about one-fifth of bottles in the world are recycled through legal and formal processes, and most bottled water is discarded after one-time use.Therefore, in view of the sustainable development of the water industry, the consumption demand for drinking fountains is also gradually increasing.According to Foodbev data, the revenue of the global water dispenser market is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 7.35%. Especially after the COVID-19, non-contact drinking fountains are being introduced as a means to solve health problems, whether for household use or catering public use.At the same time, with the rapid progress of science and technology in recent years, the water dispenser industry has also achieved unprecedented innovation. It can not only carry out personalized customization according to the needs of users, with different functions such as cleaning and skin care, but also improve the quality of drinking water by filtering the water source or adjusting the temperature.Shortlisted products:·Bevi：Standup 2.0Bevi, a smart beverage distribution company, launched a smart water dispenser, which aims to allow consumers to customize their daily drinking water according to their preferences, while reducing consumers’ dependence on disposable plastic bottles or cans. It is reported that standup 2.0 can customize filtered water and soda water by changing temperature, carbonation level, flavor and enhancers (such as vitamins, electrolytes and other components).Sean Grundy, co-founder and CEO of Bevi, said: “Standup 2.0 is a water dispenser product we wanted to achieve when we founded Bevi eight years ago. When we launched version 1.0, our goal was to provide users with drinking water of the same quality as bottled water or sparkling water purchased in stores, and the launch of this 2.0 was to provide a more excellent, personalized and interesting drinking method, which is unmatched by any bottled beverage.”Source: Foodbev·Elkay：SmartwellElkay, an electrical appliance manufacturer, launched a non-contact smartwell water dispenser in the United States. It is reported that the product mainly operates in a touch free mode, allowing users to customize drinking water or view various nutritional information in drinking water by using mobile applications. It contains a total of more than 70 customized drinking options, such as adding raspberry, lemon or peach and other fruit flavors, natural sweeteners, vitamin C, electrolytes and other nutrients.Arty Lyde, general manager of Elkay smartwell, said, “smartwell can help us provide users with more customized services that meet their scenario needs. It can not only improve drinking water sanitation, save costs, meet sustainable requirements, but also bring people more healthy and interesting new drinking experience.”Source: Foodbev2022 is destined to be a hot year for “water”.Deep, is the routine deep; Hot, it’s track hot.Although water drinking is a rigid demand in our daily life, it is not difficult to find that in recent years, both at home and abroad, water drinking has continued to make innovative changes in product form and added ingredients.New and cutting-edge brands seek change in order to seize the consumer mind and rise.Old brands seek change in order to breed new products and seek rebirth.Between change and unchanging, brands not only need to grasp market dynamics with a more sensitive touch, but also have an insight into the changing needs and pain points of consumers.The “infidelity” in the water industry is inevitable. How to bring more different experiences and feelings to consumers in the innovation and upgrading may be the key to breaking the situation. Let’s wait for good news together.Reference source:1、The changing shape of water: Trends shaping the water drinks industry in 2022-Foodbev.com2. In addition to “cheer yourself up”, what are the ways out of the food and beverage track- FDL digital food proposition, author: Little Zhong3. Bottled water “Warring States era”: Four “new water”, who will lead the market- Original by foodtalks, translated by Amara Xu, English source: newhope, author: Christine kapperman4、Club Soda, Seltzer, Sparkling Water, and Tonic Water: A Comparison-healthline.com5. Health trends promote the development of functional water products – beverage industry network6. What are the new patterns of the functional water market in full swing based on the five major trends- Foodaily daily food by Anne YuAuthor: a cha; Source: FDL digital food claim (id:foodatalink), reprint has been authorized.Reprint authorization and media business cooperation: Amy (wechat: 13701559246);Join the community: Cherry (wechat: 15262433826). Related readingFood people are “watching”
