---
title: "Old and New Beverage Market Showdown: Freshly Made Drinks Emerge as New Market Highlight"
description: "As summer approaches, the beverage market sees a surge of new product launches. With the rise of younger consumers and changing consumption habits, freshly made drinks are becoming a new highlight, while traditional beverage companies are innovating with health and youth-oriented products to stay competitive."
author: "丁倩"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
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published: "2017-06-19"
language: "en"
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# Old and New Beverage Market Showdown: Freshly Made Drinks Emerge as New Market Highlight

> As summer approaches, the beverage market sees a surge of new product launches. With the rise of younger consumers and changing consumption habits, freshly made drinks are becoming a new highlight, while traditional beverage companies are innovating with health and youth-oriented products to stay competitive.

**Introduction:** "What new flavors of drinks have been launched recently?" Young people who love trying new things can't resist the urge to buy and taste new beverage products when they see them on the market. This has given rise to a popular saying in the industry: capturing the taste buds of young people means capturing half of the beverage market.

The summer season, favored by the beverage market, has arrived, and new beverage products are entering their "golden period" of concentrated launches. However, with consumption upgrades and the generational shift in consumer groups, the post-90s and post-00s generations are gradually becoming the mainstream consumer groups. Influenced by new cultural environments and consumption habits, **the beverage market is quietly undergoing a transformation. New consumption scenarios and production methods are jointly fostering emerging consumption formats, which are gradually becoming new highlights in the beverage market.**

**Rapid Growth: Freshly Made Drinks Become New Consumer Favorites**

"What new flavors of drinks have been launched recently?" Young people who love trying new things can't resist the urge to buy and taste new beverage products when they see them on the market. This has given rise to a popular saying in the industry: capturing the taste buds of young people means capturing half of the beverage market.

According to the "2017 China Beverage and Cold Drink Industry Report" released on June 10, freshly made drinks, as a new consumption scenario, are growing rapidly. From January to April 2017, the growth rate of China's beverage industry slowed down. The production and sales of soft drinks increased by 4%, while beer production and sales slightly declined. Due to rising prices of major raw materials such as sugar and PET particles, as well as increased transportation costs from traffic regulation, gross margins declined.

In a weak market, the traditional beverage industry began to pursue stability. According to the report, in 2017, the number of new beverage products launched by major beverage companies was significantly lower than in previous years, a decrease of more than 30% compared to the same period last year. Against this backdrop, freshly made drinks rose strongly.

According to data released by CTR Market Research, last year, freshly made drinks contributed 45% of the market value and reached a penetration rate of 66%, meaning that two-thirds of consumers purchased freshly made drinks at least once in 2016.

However, the average price of freshly made drinks is much higher than packaged traditional beverages. For example, freshly made drinks represented by DQ Ice Cream, CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice, and Thai Mango have an average price of around 15 yuan, while packaged beverages average 3.8 yuan per bottle. It is evident that price is no longer the main factor for young consumers.

A reporter visited several freshly made drink shops in Zhengzhou and found that they all promote the concept of "tailor-made" for consumers. Many shops offer more than ten flavors to satisfy young consumers' desire for novelty and uniqueness. According to incomplete statistics, there are currently over 80 brands of freshly made drinks in Zhengzhou, with CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice alone having more than 40 stores.

Furthermore, the reporter observed that whenever a new drink shop opens, it is not an exaggeration to describe the scene as "crowded." For instance, Juan Cha, a shop that recently opened in Xidigang Mall, has relatively high prices, but during peak weekend hours, customers have to queue for at least 15 minutes to buy a cup of tea.

"The beverage market in Henan, like in other provinces, is gradually maturing, leaving less room for innovation. Freshly made drinks have, to some extent, driven innovation across the entire beverage market." **According to industry insiders, following industry patterns, the survival rate of new beverage products is generally around 10%. Nowadays, the consumer base is shifting towards younger demographics, but young consumers are not very loyal to products. This directly makes it difficult for beverage companies to turn new products into blockbusters. However, the cost of launching new products for freshly made drinks is significantly lower than for traditional beverages, which forces traditional beverage companies to maintain a steady pace when introducing new products.**

**Traditional Beverages Seek Market Breakthrough with "Youth" and "Health" Themes**

**On one hand, there is emotional personalized consumption; on the other hand, there is rational health-conscious consumption. These have become the two major trends in terminal consumption in the beverage industry, and also the breakthrough points for companies when launching new beverage products.**

As for the reasons, with the increase in consumer income, people are willing to spend more on beverages. According to statistics from relevant departments, 80% of consumers can accept beverages priced between 5 and 20 yuan. Especially the post-90s and even post-00s generations born in the internet era have more socialized, individualized, and fragmented lifestyles. They emphasize experience and exclusivity, and pursue individuality. Therefore, when choosing beverages, they first consider whether it is fun, novel, and intriguing... Price is secondary.

Facing the market encroachment of freshly made drinks, traditional beverage companies feel the pressure. Companies such as Nongfu Spring, Master Kong, Coca-Cola, and Uni-President are continuously launching healthy and youth-oriented beverage categories in their innovative upgrades, creating mid-to-high-end products and taking a niche route to escape the low-price, homogeneous competition. As a result, "weird-flavored beverages" with alternative traits and special effects are gradually coming to the forefront of consumption.

**Recently, the reporter learned from Zhengzhou Swire Coca-Cola Beverages Co., Ltd. that in 2017, it plans to launch 20 new packaged beverage products in the Henan market, with multiple flavors suitable for various lifestyles, including not only traditional soda categories but also functional drinks, juices, and water. In June, it launched the new Flower Language series of Minute Maid juice, targeting the 18-35 female consumer group, exploring new areas of consumer differentiation.**

In addition, Uni-President has gradually adjusted its product strategy, focusing on the mid-to-high-end market. **Its plant-based energy drink "Awakening"** directly targets the consumption pain points of urban youth, hoping to replicate the market phenomenon of "Xiaoming Classmate" and "Sea Whisper."

Against the backdrop of increasing consumer health awareness, health will also become a major feature of new beverage products to promote consumption, such as rock sugar pear, loquat moistening lung, and honey pomelo.

Whether it is freshly made drinks or traditional beverages, a variety of new products constantly stimulate the taste buds of young people. As for how long these new products survive in the market, it ultimately depends on consumer preferences.

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