Summer is Hot and Beverages are Cool

It may not be hot where you are today but summer is here and that means all of us will be cooling down with a cold beverage this summer.  Isabelle Gustafson published an article on stating that “people shouldn’t have to sacrifice healthy, fresh food choices for convenience and incorporates clean beverage offerings into its elevated convenience market.

Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® agrees and says consumers are looking for fresh prepared grocerant beverages that are ‘better-for-you’. Here are the summer beverage trends from the article:

1. Non-GMO 

With organic beverage consumption anticipated to reach nearly $1.7 billion in sales by 2020, it’s no surprise that we’ve seen heightened demand for non-GMO and organically sweetened beverage options. Carbonated soft drinks as a category has been trending down for years, and as consumers raise the bar on what they put into their bodies, beverage providers will need to accommodate or face being left behind. We’ve seen great success with our natural fountain beverage alternatives — made with cane sugar, natural colors and natural flavors — and as summer months bring beach goers and road trippers in for quick and refreshing drinks, we anticipate this program to thrive.

 2. Kombucha vs. Soda 

As consumers lean in to label reading and ingredient knowledge, we’ve seen an increase in demand for functional beverage choices that offer a benefit to our guests, such as kombucha on tap with probiotics and specialty smoothie mix-ins for added protein, fiber and potassium benefits. Long gone are the days of empty calories — since launching earlier this year, our market has sold twice as many servings of tapped kombucha than bottled Coke — proving that this summers consumer is truly looking to get more bang for their buck.

3. Smoothies 

Light, refreshing and customizable, smoothies will prove to be a go-to beverage for consumers of all ages this summer. As natural food trends continue to thrive, more and more consumers are recognizing smoothies as a quick and convenient way to fit an extra serving of fruits into each day — rather than cooling off with traditional frozen beverages packed with sugar. Smoothies have consistently remained our most popular cold beverage offering – with the energizing Awake smoothie outselling traditional canned Red Bull — and with warm weather finally upon us, we anticipate this offering’s popularity to grow.

4. Fresh Flavor

With more options on the market today than ever before, the average consumer is more adventurous than past demographics and is always looking to try new things. Summertime is all about spontaneity, and as consumers seek out flavors they’re less familiar with, limited-edition and specialty products — such as unique natural soda, kombucha and juice offerings in flavors such as Cucumber, Sarsparilla, Strawberry Sage and Mandarin Cardamom — will prove to be successful.  So what do you think?

For international corporate presentations, educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions.  His extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert and public speaking will leave success clues for all. For more information visit www.GrocerantGuru.com , www.FoodserviceSolutions.us or call 1-253-759-7869