Frozen & Refrigerated BuyerOrange Juice & Lemonade Juice-up Juice

Category Spotlights

Orange Juice & Lemonade Juice-up Juice

Both juice and lemonade segments post strong gains for the category as a whole; millennials lead the charge.

Sparked by strong gains from orange juice and lemonade, the refrigerated juices and drinks category jumped by 15.6% to $1.581 billion in the 12 weeks ended April 19, according to IRI, the Chicago-based market research firm.

ORANGE JUICE UP BY 22%

Tropicana has added two flavors to its Premium Drinks line: Island Punch and Raspberry Limeade.

While the pandemic has pushed sales up significantly storewide, these gains are still impressive. OJ and lemonade were up by 22% and 21%, respectively, and fruit drinks climbed by 12.1%.

Manufacturers report that pandemic-related logistics problems have produced troublesome out-of-stocks in some subcategories and brands. And while price sensitivity is certainly higher, quality and taste are still top priorities for shoppers.

Collectively, these trends have spurred brand churning and at least the opportunity for some new brand loyalties to form. Private label, which posted a 23.6% gain in orange juice and a 35.4% rise in lemonade, has been more than holding its own. And in the juice and drink smoothies subcategory – the only one to post a decline among those with sales of more than $1 million during the period, private label skyrocketed by 242.3%.

Industry sources agree vitamin content and health attributes remain strong drivers for juice sales. And while sugar is seen as a problem elsewhere in the store by many consumers, shoppers generally accept that there is a good amount of natural sugar in juices, says Marcus Adair, vp of sales and marketing at Homemaker Premium Juice (homemakerjuice.com), Winter Park, Fla.

Observers say that shoppers want taste and flavor above all. And while innovation and blends are always good for the category, traditional tastes are the category’s version of comfort food.

NEW PRODUCTS POUR IN

HomeMaker recently launched Old Fashioned Lemonade and Southern Style Sweet Tea to its line of juices and beverages. Both new products “are traditional Southern flavors from a regional flavor perspective. We believe we nailed it,” says Adair. The company’s products come in sustainable cardboard cartons, part of an effort to produce a smaller carbon footprint than plastic- using competitors and to meet retailer demand for more environmentally friendly packaging, he notes. Chicago-based Tropicana (tropicana.com) recently added two flavors to its Premium Drinks line. Island Punch (in 12- and 52-ounce bottles) features pineapple and passion fruit, while Raspberry Limeade (in 52-ounce bottles) fuses the sweetness of raspberries with the tartness of sun-ripened limes. Both are free of artificial sweeteners/flavors..

The new offerings lean into recent findings from a study conducted by the company’s Insights team which found that taste and flavor are primary drivers for chilled beverage purchasing.

And Clermont, Fla.- based Uncle Matt’s Organic (unclematts.com) is launching two no-sugar-added organic juices in 52-ounce bottles: Classic Lemonade and Strawberry Lemonade. Both play into the growth of lemonade and organic products.

“The commitment to more sustainable and environmentally friendly products without the use of pesticides is part of a fundamental shift that’s happening, led by millennials,” says Matt McLean, founder and CEO. “The best thing we can do is try to find new need states instead of trying to replacing existing ones. That’s really the way to grow the entire category.”

SALES TIPS YOU CAN USE

Joint promotions in-store can be especially effective in moving product, McLean says. To this end, Uncle Matt’s is in discussions with Organic Valley around an “organic essentials” promotion involving products such as milk, eggs and juice. “These are all up in sales compared to the previous 26 weeks – consumers see them as essential items, and they’re all healthy and nutrient-dense.”

The breakfast-themed promotion may tie in with back-to-school, he says. The organic tie-in should help grow traffic among this segment of shoppers, which typically spends more in the supermarket.

Retailers have many opportunities to grow the juice category in-store, according to HomeMaker’s Adair. For example, with proper tags and placement, many retailers find success via merchandising juice in bunkers in addition to behind doors or in open multi-decks.

HomeMaker has introduced Old Fashioned Lemonade, and Southern Style Sweet Tea: ‘We think we nailed it.’

“People shop with their eyes, and there’s something that speaks value when placed in bunkers, particularly when they are keenly aware of the quality of the product, they sense that it must be a good deal,” Adair explains. “With product at eye level as shoppers go by with their baskets, it’s easy to reach over and grab what they need. When I worked for a retailer, we sold more out of bunkers than behind doors of that particular product.”

During the panic buying shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic got underway, many retailers had difficulty staying in stock. “Some of the smaller retailers were able to respond quicker than the major chains,” Adair says. “They ordered more than usual, and weren’t afraid to force product out into the stores. Some of the larger operators don’t have much backroom space, and couldn’t do that. They took deliveries to the warehouses and did the best they could,” he states.

Adair recalls seeing stores in Puerto Rico that have emergency backup plans for storms and other natural disasters. “They would have reefers in the back of the stores for extra holding capacity to replenish stock. I don’t know why others don’t do the same thing as a backup plan during severe increased demands.”

In light of out-of-stocks of some brands, shoppers have been more willing to experiment with new brands – a trend that Adair welcomes since more consumers are trying out his products. HomeMaker Premium Orange Juice has been growing steadily in recent years, and is now the No. 6 brand in the category, behind Minute Maid. He says that when his brand is carried, the category gets increased traffic and private label sales also rise. The brand is the No. 1 brand in unit movement per ACV, he says.

TROPICANA OFFERS CONSUMER INSIGHTS

A Tropicana spokesperson notes that its Chilled Juice Awareness & Usage Research study, conducted earlier this year by its Insights team, found that millennials (25-39) are the group most likely to be purchasing chilled beverages, with 61% of millennials surveyed confirming they purchase juice drinks monthly. By comparison, only 17% of Boomers (56-75), 46% of Gen Z (18-24), and 40% of Gen X (40-55) reported buying chilled beverages monthly.

“Additionally, 64% of millennials surveyed, a representative sample of the general population, have children under 18 which likely contributes to higher purchase incidence among this group. It’s also worth noting that 60% of respondents surveyed said when they are purchasing in the chilled beverage category, they buy to please their family or household rather than focusing on price,” Tropicana says.

“In terms of ingredients or health attributes, we have seen evidence of consumers seeking Vitamin C in all types of chilled beverages, with 85% of respondents surveyed seeking Vitamin C in 100% OJ, 78% seeking it in juice drinks, and 58% seeking it in smoothies. Additionally, while taste and flavor are a primary driver, aspects of fresh or natural elements and health or nutrient attributes also drive consumer choice and purchases across chilled beverage types.”

THE ODD ODYSSEY OF UNCLE MATT’S

Clermont, Fla.-based Uncle Matt’s Organic (unclematts.com), the nation’s top-selling brand of organic orange and grapefruit juices, was welcomed back home to founder and CEO, Matt McLean, on April 30.

McLean built and subsequently sold the company in June of 2017 to Dean Foods, which retained the operating team, including McLean and his wife, Susan McLean, the vp of marketing. But last November, Dean Foods filed for bankruptcy, setting the stage for a sale.

“If you told me three years ago after selling to a publicly-traded, multi-billion dollar CPG leader that I’d buy Uncle Matt’s Organic back out of bankruptcy, I wouldn’t have believed you,” says McLean.

He plans to expand distribution, innovate into new categories, and educate consumers on the intrinsic health benefits of buying organic.

The deal includes a new parent company named Harmoni, Inc., with investors including:

Gary Hirshberg, Co-Founder of Stonyfield Organic; John Foraker, former CEO of Annie’s and co-founder and CEO of Once Upon a Farm; Andrew Abraham, MD, CEO and founder at Orgain; Nicole & Peter Dawes, founders of Late July Snacks & Nixie Sparkling Water; Matt Rogers, founder of Nest and Incite.org; and Renewal Funds, a mission venture capital firm with a commitment to supporting organic companies.

REFRIGERATED JUICE/DRINKS

Sales in supermarkets, drugstores, mass merchants, military commissaries and select club and dollar stores combined for the 12 weeks ended April 19, according to Chicago-based market research firm IRI (iriworldwide.com). Percent change is versus the same period a year ago. Subcategories under $18 million not included.