Particularly in Asia, drinksplus beverages containing natural extras such as pieces of real fruit, vegetables or cereal grains are best-sellers, and continue to offer further potential. Right now, new products containing unusual bits are creating consumer buzz. The beverages, with up to ten per cent natural particulate content, can all be processed and aseptically filled in carton packs on standard filling machines from SIG Combibloc for liquid dairy products and non-carbonated soft drinks.
The individual bits in the innovative beverages can be up to six millimetres in length and width. With drinksplus, beverage manufacturers can add products to their existing ranges in a practical way and in line with current trends. Matthias Krusche, Global Market Segment Manager at SIG Combibloc: “drinksplus beverages are currently the most widely diversified forms of trend beverages offered in aseptic carton packs. They’re highly innovative and reflect the attitude of the modern consumer, for whom good health and personal well-being are top priorities. Asian consumers in particular find these qualities very attractive. What’s hot at the moment is natural products offering additional benefits that meet these requirements, taste good, and are fun or interesting to drink. It’s far from being just a question of providing the body with food and caring for it with healthy ingredients; it’s also about indulgence. And this is where drinksplus products deliver, so to speak, a complete package”.
That these unusual creations are going down well with consumers can be clearly seen in the continuous rise in carton packs sold, says the market expert. This has been particularly evident in Asia since the first drinksplus products hit the market – with some customers showing growth rates of more than 50 per cent per annum. And the forecast for the next few years anticipates comparable positive growth.
Premiere in China
The first drinksplus products were launched in China, where the two leading dairy concerns, Inner Mongolia Mengniu Dairy and Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group, started by putting UHT yoghurt beverages with fruit bits and UHT milk with rice grains, respectively, on sales shelves. The innovative product concepts proved a hit with consumers, and they also offer the entire industry a new, very promising approach. Because for the highly competitive Chinese dairy industry, it is essential to develop and place on the market product concepts that offer consumers extra benefits, while at the same time setting themselves apart from competing products. These are key requirements to enable a product to survive and thrive on the market long-term. And this is where the new product concept of UHT dairy products containing real bits really fits the bill. The products have proven extremely successful, and have established an entirely new beverage category, named after them, in the Chinese market. This beverage category continues to show positive growth. Additional new drinksplus-products and product variations are expected to hit the Chinese market in the very near future.
360 degree marketing campaign
Matthias Krusche: “Every product innovation needs a successful communication strategy that provides consumers with information and grabs their interest. To promote the UHT yoghurt drinks containing pieces of fruit, Mengniu initiated a wide-ranging 360 degree marketing campaign that showcased the new products and was tailored to target the relevant consumer groups.”
Mengniu’s launch campaign included a TV, radio, internet and magazine presence and extensive billboard advertising, along with supermarket promotions and the distribution of free samples. Different key aspects of the products were introduced progressively, to clearly demonstrate the extra benefits offered. First, the spotlight was put on the healthy eating angle; later, under the tagline ‘Beautiful Life’ the focus was shifted to the additional benefit in terms of beauty and well-being. In a third stage, the benefits of the combination of milk and fruit were at the forefront of the publicity push.
Stella Yan, Head of Marketing Asia-Pacific North at SIG Combibloc: “In China, yoghurt beverages are currently among the most popular products in the long-life liquid dairy products segment. In particular, consumers’ ongoing interest in healthy living is continuing to give the dairy industry solid growth figures in the yoghurt drinks sector. While it’s mainly the flavoured yoghurt drinks that are the growth drivers right now, tomorrow it’ll be the trendy premium products that will have consumers buzzing and will provide new impetus in the dairy industry. Thanks to the natural particulates in the drinksplus yoghurt beverages, consumers can actually feel the extra benefit the products offer. Natural bits of fruit, vegetables or cereal grains are not only valuable for a balanced diet, but are perceived and rated by consumers as ‘extras’ with additional value”.
Success also in South-East Asia
Alongside China, the current consumer trend means drinksplus products are predestined for a successful launch in the South-East-Asia region as well. “Traditionally, in this part of the world consumer health-consciousness plays a key role in food selection”, says Patrizia Wegner, Head of Marketing Asia-Pacific South at SIG Combibloc. In addition, for more and more consumers the idea of ‘beauty that comes from within’ is a decisive aspect of dietary choices. People want foods that have a natural extra beauty benefit – something for the skin, the hair or perhaps to help control weight. The possible range of products that can include physiologically active substances is extremely wide. Wegner: “Along with creativity when coming up with the conceptual design for a product, a polished launch strategy is crucial for the success of new products that are as healthy and natural as possible, that should taste good, obviously, and that can be conveniently integrated into the consumer’s daily routine. The fact that products aseptically filled in carton packs also last a long time without refrigeration is an additional advantage”.
Revitalising konjac pearls
In Taiwan, Sunprofits launched the first drinksplus products in spring 2013, and the company took a completely new route with the conceptual design of the products. Alongside a chocolate drink containing flakes of real coconut, under the brand name ‘Nulife’ a milk tea with QQ grains (jelly pearls made from the konjac root) hit supermarket shelves for the first time – a genuine first in the aseptic carton packs. The konjac plant, also known as devil’s tongue, is very common throughout South-East Asia. Pearls made from the konjac root have a revitalising effect, and are a natural dietary fibre with low energy density. They are also thought to help regulate cholesterol level. These natural bits give the new ‘Nulife’ products the character of healthy snacks. With the new milk tea with QQ grains from Sunprofits, the trend beverage ‘Pearl Milk Tea’, one famous variant of ‘bubble tea’, is now also available in carton packs for the first time in Taiwan. Bubble Tea is at number 25 on CNN’s Top 50 list of the world’s most popular beverages. The drinksplus products come in the carton pack combifitSmall 300 ml. For the product launch, Sunprofits held a launch event to which the company invited their national top 100 distributors and various media representatives, to find out about the innovative products and the technology behind them. Also, a wide-ranging marketing campaign with TV commercials, print ads and bus advertising, as well as marketing activities in supermarkets and shops, will be started.
Thai company Sahachol has also gone for the konjac root, recently bringing out two drinksplus products under the brand name ‘Konyakky’. With these products, the company is tweaking the interest of health-savvy consumers for whom unusual taste experiences are at the top of the wish list. One of the beverages is based on a mix of fruit drink with ‘Bubble Konyakku’, small beads of konjac, and peptide collagen. The innovative beverage has a high Vitamin C content, and the collagen gives skin a healthy and nourishing boost. The second new product is a juice drink made from white grapes. Here too, the small konjac beads have a revitalising effect. In addition, a high content of additional natural dietary fibres (6,000 mg) helps improve digestion. For Sahachol, the launch of the new products marks the company’s first foray into filling products in aseptic carton packs. The drinksplus products are offered in the carton pack combiblocMini 180 ml – not just in Thailand, but also in China and Japan. And it is planned to launch these innovative beverages in Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore and Laos as the year progresses.
Television commercials and an advertising campaign in various women’s magazines are elements of Sahachol’s wide-ranging launch campaign. In addition, Sahachol has recently become the sponsor of a popular morning magazine programme on TV. The launch campaign kicked off at the end of June with a major booth at Thailand’s Saha Group Fair trade show including free sampling and pre-ordering for visitors.
“Beverage concepts like drinksplus with konjac pearls are the future”, says global market expert Matthias Krusche. “Intensive workshops and projects with food manufacturers in Asia have shown us that beverages whose extra benefit is underscored by the inclusion of healthy, natural bits are very much in demand among manufacturers and consumers alike. The range of options for possible combinations is huge – and the technical feasibility is there thanks to our drinksplus technology. Products can be devised according to desired target group. Viable product options range from milk, whey and yoghurt beverages containing bits of fruit or vegetables all the way to extras such as walnut pieces or corn, or exotic grains such as Job’s Tears. So we’ll be seeing some really innovative products in the near future. And not just in Asia. In South America, the market launch of the first drinksplus products is all set to go ahead”.
