Kerry serves up interactive online research on private brand beverages

Private brand consumers are looking for nutrition and function in their coffee and tea products, whereas taste takes precedence in a refreshing or alcoholic beverage, according to insights from Kerry, a taste and nutrition partner for food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries.

The Beloit, Wis.-based manufacturer placed the insights into an interactive online report looking at store brand trends in beverages. Kerry’s proprietary research found that private brand beverage consumers can be broken down into two main types: adventure seekers and practical traditionalists.

While there are differences in how the two groups look at store brand beverages, according to Kerry, there are some similarities such as both groups are focused on immune health support, gut health and mood management in coffee and tea drinks. And when it comes to alcohol and refreshing beverages, both are looking for bold tastes. Where the two groups separate is in adventure seekers have eyes on more premium and creative flavors and traditionalists want more mainstream flavors.

“Our new interactive report takes a deep dive into private label beverage trends, telling processors and retailers exactly what types of product attributes are important to each type of consumer in the three key beverage groupings of nutritional and functional, refreshing and alcohol, and coffee and tea,” said Shawn Gerstenkorn, strategic marketing director, beverage, Kerry. “Consumer expectations are significantly different across these categories, so it’s important for product developers to take them into account in their planning.”

The Kerry research was conducted early in the year, surveying 1,460 U.S. food and beverage private label consumers. 

Gerstenkorn added that the private label beverage research enables retailers and users to explore product packaging examples and also see what claims and ingredients resonate with the various consumer types in the study.

“At the same time, the results highlight how Kerry can collaborate in bringing these types of products to life using our taste and nutrition solutions backed by the wide-ranging skills of our experienced applications teams,” he said. “The disruptive nature of today’s beverage market means that new private label products have a strong opportunity to gain market share by innovating in these categories in order to attract consumers who, in rising fashion, want beverages that offer new taste experiences and functional benefits.”