The health trend has become an unavoidable topic in the consumer market, with almost every category striving to emphasize functionality and health attributes to elevate their status. Beverages are no exception, whether it's low-calorie, zero-sugar teas or the health waters that have been popular this year, all touting no burden, health, and wellness benefits. Taking it a step further, from beverages to concentrates, goji berry and sea buckthorn juices have been hot since 2023. Now, let's look at birch tree juice. Some may ask, what is birch tree juice? What it is doesn't matter; what matters is that it has sold like hotcakes on Douyin, with sales exceeding 100 million yuan in the past year, a year-on-year increase of nearly 600%. What is the current market status of the birch tree juice category? How did it become so popular? With an average price per bottle of over 20 yuan, why are consumers willing to pay?

Birch tree juice product Image source: Internet

Four Months of Nearly 100 Million in Sales Linyuanchun Leads

The development of the birch tree market can be traced back to earlier times. In 2022, monthly sales on Douyin were less than 1 million yuan, still in a very niche and not yet mainstream stage. From 2023, monthly sales fluctuated between 1-2 million yuan, with brands like Jiahua and Zhongzhi gradually gaining popularity, further promoting the category's breakthrough. From March to June 2024, birch tree juice experienced a blowout, with four-month sales reaching 96.07 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 834.8%.

The explosion of birch tree juice is also the result of joint efforts by brands. Let's see which brands are quietly making big moves.

Linyuanchun brand's sales on Douyin from January to June 2024 were 67.576 million yuan, with a market share of 70.3%. The explosion of the birch tree juice market cannot be separated from the contribution of Linyuanchun. Linyuanchun has two main products, mainly differing in specifications, with core selling points being 100% pure birch tree juice, 0 fat, and 0 calories, ensuring product purity while meeting current health demands.

Is the explosion of the birch tree market solely the result of Linyuanchun? Not at all. Although Linyuanchun holds over half of the market share, brands like Zhongzhi and Jiahua also show good growth trends. Additionally, among the top 10 brands in the market, 6 are new players that entered within the past year. Overall, the popularity of the birch tree juice category can be viewed from three aspects: First, market potential has been captured by more brands, increasing the number of players and market vitality; second, brand efforts have led to the emergence of leading brands, boosting category awareness; third, product characteristics match consumer needs.

Linyuanchun's two main products Image source: Linyuanchun Douyin flagship store

Why Is Birch Tree Juice So Popular?

Why is birch tree juice popular? This question can be answered from two perspectives: demand and channels. First, demand, which is the third point mentioned above: the fit between birch tree juice's product characteristics and consumer needs. From brand promotions and discussions on social media, the general perception is that it contains various natural nutrients, and health preservation and nutritional supplementation are the main benefits. The selling point of "drinking water equals drinking nutrition" truly catches consumers' attention, solving the problem of not liking water while supplementing multiple nutrients, and without health burden, truly grasping consumer psychology.

As mentioned at the beginning, consumers now place increasing importance on health benefits in beverages, with taste and deliciousness taking a backseat to zero burden and health efficacy. Birch tree juice tastes like slightly sweet mineral water with a hint of wood, and consumers are not buying it for taste but for health.

Now let's look at channels. Since the health attribute is the core selling point of birch tree juice, channel selection focuses on precisely reaching target groups. Based on this consideration, most birch tree juice brands initially focused on private domain platforms, with Yuanfang Haowu being a typical example. The platform has sold up to 856,000 units of birch tree juice products, and the accumulation in private domains has laid the foundation for the recent popularity on Douyin. Long-term word-of-mouth accumulation in private domains has effectively increased the audience base, and precise targeting in private domains has also gained recognition for the category's health benefits.

Hot-selling birch tree juice products Image source: Yuanfang Haowu mini-program

Is Birch Tree Juice the Next Coconut Water?

The emergence of birch tree juice reminds one of coconut water, also a plant-based water. Coconut water originated in the United States and entered China around 2014, remaining lukewarm until recent years when it began to grow rapidly. Thai coconut water Image source: Internet

What about birch tree juice? As early as 2015, multiple brands of birch water and maple water appeared in European and American markets, and tree sap has a certain scale overseas. The current birch tree juice is like coconut water 20 years ago, still in a stage of low public awareness and unformed consumption habits, but the current "one bottle per person" coconut water can be said to be the future of birch tree juice. The plant-based water category is more mature in European and American markets, and birch tree juice brands can see more opportunities and directions from overseas markets.

Looking at the current birch tree juice market, the explosion in the past four months has not only exposed the product to the public but also deeply ingrained its efficacy. What's next? Consider these three points. First, manage consumer expectations. Along with the category's best-selling, there are also doubts about the product, with discussions about whether it's "IQ tax" being common on social media. Due to the high unit price, consumers may subjectively expect immediate effects, but such expectations can backfire on the product's reputation. Brands need to clarify that the product is not a health supplement and define its efficacy to avoid negative feedback from overly high expectations.

Second, reduce trial costs. Currently, birch tree juice products are mainly sold in multi-bottle sets, with an average price of about 160 yuan. High-priced multi-bottle sets, uncertainty about taste, and unknown drinking effects are all factors that discourage new consumers from trying the category. Consider launching small bottles or single-bottle trial packs to expand the category's audience.

Third, enrich product choices. Currently, products from various brands are highly homogeneous, all touting 100% birch tree juice, differing only in packaging. In the future, brands could enrich flavor options to achieve a balance of good taste and health through diversified flavors.

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