RTD products top global food and drink growth league
fastest growth in the global food and drink market last year,
although they are still far behind old faithfuls such as beer when
it comes to overall sales, a new report claims.
A massive surge in the popularity of pre-mixed cocktails propelled global brands like Smirnoff Ice and Bacardi Breezer to the top of the food and drinks growth league in 2001, a consumer survey showed this week.
The 47-country poll conducted by information group ACNielsen showed sales for the prepared alcoholic beverage category had increased by 33 per cent over the course of the year, although specific sales totals were not disclosed.
Led by the United States, the ready-to-drink market has boomed as top distillers such as Diageo and Bacardi try to wrest market share from the brewers, particularly in the expanding women's market.
In fact, almost all of ACNeilsen's top percentage growth categories reflected the convenience end of the market, with refrigerated ready-to-eat meals, refrigerated salads and even frozen fruit all notching up double-digit sales growth. But innovation and a healthy image are also key growth factors, ACNeilsen analyst Jane Perrin said.
"When we looked around the world, despite all the cultural differences that one would expect, certain types of product resonate with global consumers - products that are healthy, convenient and provide some excitement and innovation."
Water might be said to provide little in the way of excitement or innovation but it nonetheless chalked up 13 per cent sales growth last year as the marketers re-engineered and re-branded sports, fortified and flavoured varieties.
Drinking yoghurts and frozen meats and fish all figured high in the top ten, but one surprising absentee was sports drinks, a category which grew strongly in some markets but which notched up sub-10 per cent growth globally.
Vodka mixers, trendy water derivatives and exotic yoghurts dominated the percentage growth league, but more mature categories such as beer, carbonated drinks and cheese cleaned up in terms of absolute dollar growth.
"It would be a mistake for manufacturers and retailers to only look at these fast growing categories and lose sight of those with the largest growth, as even slight growth in these large categories translates into huge sales," Perrin said.
Again declining to give exact market sizes, ACNeilsen said its beer, lager and ales category topped the absolute growth league, expanding by five per cent or three billion dollars in 2001 - implying a total market value of $63 billion (€67.3bn).
In fact, five of the eight categories noting growth in excess of a billion dollars last year were beverages - including water, the only group to figure on both the lists of the fastest-growing and the largest categories.
