The Hamburg-based ingredients specialist Bösch Boden Spies presents a new product in its range: Ocean Spray’s 50° Brix cranberry concentrate. It offers beverage manufacturers numerous advantages.
The beverage market is changing: More and more consumers are looking for healthy thirst quenchers that are low on sugar and high on added functional value. Meanwhile, traditional juices and spritzers are increasingly having a hard time in the market. New product concepts are in demand: Ocean Spray’s 50° Brix cranberry concentrate offers beverage manufacturers the ideal basis for this.
The product is characterized by a special production process whereby fewer turbidity-forming ingredients are transferred into the concentrate. As a result, it is particularly color-stable and can easily be mixed with other beverages without flocculating.
Adding this cranberry concentrate to juices, for example, can significantly reduce the sugar content of the beverages. The products taste tart and exotic with a natural, light sweetness. At the same time, the subtle cranberry taste enhances the flavors of the other fruits.
The cranberry concentrate increases the antioxidant content of a drink. And their attractive red color gives beverages containing cranberry a special visual appeal as well.
The cranberry concentrate is also good for using in alcoholic beverages, and is suitable for other product segments as well, such as the dairy sector.
The Verder Group, a Dutch family-owned business specializing in the manufacture and distribution of pumps and laboratory equipment, acquires the South-Korean pump manufacturer JEC Ltd.
The Verder Group, the fast growing niche market manufacturer of pumps and laboratory equipment has acquired JEC, manufacturer of hygienic rotary lobe, centrifugal and twin-screw pumps. This acquisition will strengthen Verder’s hygienic position in the pharmaceutical and food & beverage market, offering a full portfolio of high end products in the most important economies worldwide.
Founded in 1990, JEC Ltd. has shown continuous growth due to its innovation in the production of high quality pumps for the food, pharmaceutical and other hygienic markets, nowadays being a leading Asian pump manufacturer. JEC Ltd, the market leader in Korea, has an extensive distribution network worldwide. Director James Song will stay involved in the management of JEC Ltd.
The Verder Group was founded by André Verder in 1959 as a trading company of innovative products. The Group has remained under family management and is active with own sales offices in 27 countries and several manufacturing sites. The two divisions Verder Liquids (industrial pumps) and Verder Scientific (laboratory equipment) have kept an equal growth pace over the years.
The U.S. liquid refreshment beverage market grew more quickly in 2015 than in 2014, according to newly released preliminary data from Beverage Marketing Corporation. The market’s growth was the strongest seen in several years. Beverage-specific factors, such as the remarkable vibrancy of the sizeable bottled water segment, as well as more general ones, such as the continuing economic recovery, contributed to the overall increase in liquid refreshment beverage volume, which approached 32 billion gallons in 2015.
Bottled water had another notable year. The category’s core characteristics – healthful, natural, zero-calorie – increasingly resonate with U.S. consumers. Pricing remained aggressive, which also contributed to bottled water’s performance. Its growth actually accelerated, which is unusual for a category its magnitude. Volume enlarged by 7.9 %. Bottled water could become the number-one beverage by volume as soon as this year.
Niche categories continued to outperform most traditional mass-market categories. Energy drinks and, especially, ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee advanced muscularly during 2015. Bigger, more established segments such as carbonated soft drinks and fruit beverages failed to grow once again.
RTD coffee outperformed all other segments with a 16.5 % volume increase in 2015. Nonetheless, the segment accounted for a tiny share of total liquid refreshment beverage volume. It was the smallest, behind value-added water, which registered growth after having registered a significant decline the year before. Energy drinks advanced by 9.8 %, but also remained modest in size. Predictably, no energy drink, RTD coffee or value-added water brand ranked among the leading trademarks by volume (no fruit beverage brand did either.).
Sports beverages, on the other hand, had Gatorade (including all brand variations) as the sixth largest liquid refreshment beverage trademark during the year. Exceeding 1 billion gallons for the first time in 2011, trademark Gatorade dipped below that level subsequently, and returned to that level in 2015.
Carbonated soft drinks remained the biggest liquid refreshment beverage category, but they might not for much longer as they continue to lose both volume and market share. Volume slipped by 1.5 % from 12.8 billion gallons in 2014 to 12.6 billion gallons in 2015, which lowered their market share to less than 40 %. Carbonated soft drinks accounted for five of the 10 biggest beverage trademarks during 2015, with Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola retaining their usual first and second positions, but only one of the leading brands, Sprite, managed to grow during the year.
Bottled water had four entries among the leading trademarks in 2015, and every one of them grew well in advance of the overall liquid refreshment beverage category.
Four companies accounted for all of the leading refreshment beverage trademarks. Pepsi–Cola had four brands. Coca-Cola had three while Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA) had two and Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPSG) had one.
“Consumers have spoken,” said Michael C. Bellas, chairman and CEO, Beverage Marketing Corporation. “They’ve made their preferences clear. The rapid growth in bottled water and functional and niche alternatives like energy drinks expresses a shift away from most large traditional beverage categories.”
New York City-based Beverage Marketing Corporation is the leading consulting, research and advisory services firm dedicated to the global beverage industry.
On July [29th], 2013, WILD Flavors GmbH (WILD) has become a shareholder in the Brazilian corporation Amazon Flavors, a leading manufacturer of natural flavors, extracts, emulsions and compounds for Brazil’s highly attractive beverage market. With this positioning, WILD has established a production and expanded its development base in this important growth market.
“Becoming a shareholder in Amazon Flavors is the next logical step in our international expansion strategy in the global food and beverage market and the growth forecast for Brazil is outstanding. WILD’s relationship with Amazon Flavors puts us in an excellent position to support our customers in this developing market,” Dr. Hans-Peter Wild explains.
Access to the local beverage market
The Amazon Flavors product portfolio features natural extracts and flavors derived from the guarana plant, açai berries, oranges and grapes as well as cola flavors for the Brazilian beverage market. These products will expand and support WILD’s global leadership position in natural flavors, flavor systems, colors and ingredients in the food and beverage market.
Amazon Flavors is headquartered in São Paulo and operates production facilities in Manaus in the state of Amazonas. WILD has operated a Brazilian subsidiary with a sales office and development laboratory in São Paulo since 2000. This operation will be merged with Amazon Flavors. Founder and previous Amazon Flavors majority stakeholder Claudio Bruehmueller will remain as the Managing Director of the expanded business with more than 40 employees.
Very good perspectives
“The Brazilian food and beverage market has enormous potential. More than 190 million people live here. The middle class is constantly growing and consumers are looking for new tastes and products. We can help our customers meet this growing consumer demand,” stated Cosimo Trimigliozzi, COO of WILD Flavors International GmbH.
The beverage sector in particular is very promising. Based on current market data published by Canadean, an annual growth rate of 3-4 % for the soft drinks market can be anticipated in the medium-term: This includes both newer segments such as energy drinks as well as classic soft drinks. Brazil has become the world’s third-largest market in this sector.
Transaction marks latest milestone in WILD’s global expansion
WILD has been investing in the strategic expansion of its global business. In May 2013, WILD announced investments at its production, development and sales locations in India as well as the opening of a new subsidiary in Singapore. In 2012, the company acquired the assets of the former Cargill juice business, which has state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Amsterdam, Japan and the U.S. In 2011, WILD acquired the A.M. Todd Group, a global leader in natural mint oils and ingredients with production sites in India and the U.S.
About WILD Flavors GmbH
WILD Flavors GmbH is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, and is one of the world’s leading suppliers of natural ingredients to the food and beverage industry. Its management offices with production sites are located in Heidelberg-Eppelheim, Germany (Rudolf Wild GmbH & Co. KG) and Erlanger, Kentucky, USA (WILD Flavors, Inc.). Thirteen further production sites are located in Europe, USA, Canada, China, Japan, India and Dubai.
The WILD Flavors product portfolio includes full flavor and ingredient solutions, known as flavor systems, fruit juice concentrates and blends as well as other food and beverage ingredients including natural flavors and extracts, mint oils and flavors, colors from natural sources, sweetening systems, seasonings, specialty ingredients, taste modifiers, and fermentation technologies. WILD Flavors GmbH provides the global beverage and dairy market as well as the baked-goods, confectionery and ice cream industry with its products. In the USA and Canada, WILD Flavors GmbH is a supplier for the cereals, snacks, and processed food markets as well. For more information about WILD, please visit: www.wildflavors.com.
About Amazon Flavors
Amazon Flavors, based in Manaus, State of Amazonas, Brazil, engages in the production and distribution of flavors, emulsions, extracts, natural colors and other ingredients including systems for the production of beverages with focus on the soft drinks, juices and energy drinks category. The company offers a complete line of raw materials and concentrates on producing high-quality flavor systems including guarana, açai berry, orange, grape, as well as cola for energy drinks, isotonics, sports drinks, tea flavored-drinks and other juice-enhanced beverages. For more information about Amazon Flavors, please visit: http://amazonflavors.net.
