Ease The Squeeze

Price-sensitive consumers might be filling their juice glasses less often, but value-and health-minded store brand items could help invigorate the category.

Whether they opt for orange juice to jumpstart a new day or tart cherry juice to pack an afternoon antioxidant punch, North Americans love their juices. But these days, they appear to pouring fewer glasses of them.

Data from Chicago-based market research firm SymphonyIRI Group show dollar and unit sales declines in the United States for several juice categories for the 52 weeks ending Feb. 19 (supermarkets, drugstores and mass merchandiser outlets, excluding Walmart). And according to Euromonitor International, a London-based market research firm, retail volume sales of fruit and vegetable juices rose only marginally within Canada in 2011.

Fruit price increases have negatively impacted the North American juice market, causing price-sensitive consumers to reevaluate their juice purchase decisions, notes global market research firm Mintel in its February 2012 "Category Insights: Juice & Juice Drinks."

"As fruit prices increase, premium juices such as superfruits need to work harder to justify their higher prices," the report notes. "Manufacturers need to explore how else to add value to product ranges."

Value, healthfulness critical

Speaking of value, that's one trend definitely worth pursuing within the store brand juice space.

On the juice pouch side, recent price increases on national brand products have "underscored the importance that 'mom' is looking for a value, not just a brand name," says Kristal Sevcik, store brand sales manager for Faribault Foods, Minneapolis.

But value encompasses more than price, stresses Pat Nicolino, vice president of marketing for Clement Pappas, Carneys Point, N.J.

"An emotional component is associated with value," she says. "It conjures up feelings for the consumer [that] she is getting something good for the price she has to pay."

Another trend important to private label juice programs is that toward healthfulness. In fact, a healthful spin here can help facilitate that all-important emotional connection between the consumer and the product, Nicolino says.

"It gives the consumer a sense of pride that she is buying something good for her family," she says.

Right now, superfruit-based juices definitely fit into that healthful niche.

"Superfruits will come and go [and] mix and match, with certain nutritional benefits and generational trends," says Gifford Brown, director of sales for Continuum Packing Solutions, Minden, Nev., adding that sales of "nutritionally robust" fruit juice blends also continue to grow.

And several new on-trend health-minded launches within the juice category overall could translate into the pouch format well, Sevcik notes. Specifically, she points to vegetable and fruit juice blends, protein-added smoothies and juice varieties with less added sugar. Moreover, retailers might want to consider organic options here.

"The branded organic sales in juice pouches have risen almost 16 percent in the last year," Sevcik says.

When it comes to juice trends, variety continues to be important, too.

"A variety of beverage choices adds excitement for the shopping experience and helps consumers stock some new things in the refrigerator for the family to try," Nicolino maintains.

Juice product safety remains tops of mind with consumers, too, Brown says.

"I think consumer education on pasteurization processes, along with benefits, is critical," he says.

Don't define "value" as price only — quality also matters.

Do consider adding cherry juice and other health-minded superfruit-based juices to the store brand assortment.

Preferences are evolving

In addition to the major trends toward value, healthfulness and more, store brand product development should consider consumers' evolving preferences in terms of juice varieties and blends.

Retailers might want to add coconut water to the store brand assortment, for example. "Coconut water is clearly more than just a fad," the Mintel report notes, adding that product sales here continue to grow, and some brands have been experimenting with new flavor variants such as chocolate.

Popular now among consumers are vegetable juices and fruit and vegetable juice blends, Nicolino says, as well as various lemonade products such as tea and lemonade blends. And the rising popularity of cherry juice is in line with the trend toward healthfulness.

"Studies show cherry to have anti-inflammatory benefits," she says.

In fact, consumers are gravitating toward products that contain dark fruits, in general, Nicolino adds. These fruits feature flavonoids and anthocyanins — antioxidants that help promote cell health.

But single-fruit juices, in many cases, are taking a back seat to juice blends.

"Retail juice bars have definitely opened up the consumer's mind to mixing juices and other nutritional elements for meal replacements or workout supplements," Brown says.

And the 100 percent apple juice mainstay of the pouch set actually accounts for only a small percentage of juice pouch sales, Sevcik offers.

"Most flavor profiles are a mixture of berries and other tropical fruits," she says.

Certain sweeteners also have been getting a lot of press recently, contributing to varying preferences among consumers. Nicolino believes it is important for retailers to offer a variety of juices with varying levels of sweetness and different sweetener types — including new and natural stevia — and juices that contain no sweeteners at all.

Command attention

To maximize sales of store brand juices, retailers will need more than just a variety of on-trend products. They'll need to put those products in the right packaging and then market the products effectively.

On the packaging front, Nicolino notes that right-sizing — downsizing in response to pricing pressures — is gaining in popularity here and in other categories. Clement Pappas now offers a 46-ounce bottle for retailers that still want to offer consumers "products where the absolute dollars they have to outlay is less."

She also advises retailers to model packaging after the national brands.

"It helps to reinforce the product proposition to the consumer," Nicolino states.

Packaging diversification is critical, too, Brown suggests, noting that aseptic cartons now are mainstream in North America for broths, soups and purees. The format's advantages include cube utilization that enhances shelf space, a large facing that enhances graphics and marketing and assurance of a safe, reliable shelf-stable product.

Pouches, too, represent a store brand opportunity.

"There is a lot of opportunity in the juice pouch category to expand the product line beyond the typical 10 percent juice offering," Sevcik notes. "Many of the brands are still only offering either 100 percent or 10 percent, so branding out into fruit/veg blends, flavored waters and smoothies is a way to be innovative and on trend with store brand products."

And when it comes to marketing, Nicolino recommends an integrated approach that relies on merchandising, promotions and online technology for maximum impact. Tried-and-true merchandising techniques that encompass off-shelf displays and in-store signage are still the best ways to reach shoppers at the point of purchase, she contends, while frequency of promotions also matters.

"The big brands break up their segments to create a sense of constant deals," she notes. "Private brand retailers really need to think through the best ways for their own brands to shine. Do you promote the whole line at once with a big ad display, [or] does it work better to do segments so there are more ad events? It is easy to test the techniques and well worth doing."

Smart cross-merchandising, of course, also goes a long way to boost store brand juice sales. A natural pairing here, Sevcik says, is the "after game" duo of beverages and snacks.

Do consider less-traditional packaging formats such as pouches and aseptic cartons.

Don't be afraid to test promotional strategies to determine what works best with your shoppers.

Source: SymphonyIRI Group, a Chicago-based market research firm. U.S. supermarkets, drugstores and mass merchandiser outlets, excluding Walmart, for the 52 weeks ending Feb. 19, 2012.

Look what's new

New from Price Chopper Supermarkets, Schenectady, N.Y., is Price Chopper Blendz Vegetable & Fruit Juice. The juice combines vegetable and fruit juices made from concentrate to deliver a full serving of vegetables and a full serving of fruit per 8-oz. portion. Available in Acai Mixed Berry and Strawberry Banana varieties, the juice contains no high fructose corn syrup and is said to be an excellent source of vitamin C (an antioxidant), and a good source of vitamins A and E. It retails in a 46-fl.-oz. PET bottle.

Featuring "exotic fruit juices" that include guava, papaya and mango, Trader Joe's Juice in a Box 100% Tropical Fruit Flavored Juice Blend is said to be naturally sweet and satisfying. The certified kosher product has no artificial colors or flavors and is high in vitamin C. It retails in a 33.8-fl.-oz. carton.

Source: Mintel's Global New Products Database