Introduction

What consumers will look for?

Macro-trends in beverage consumption seem to indicate that consumers are more inclined towards innovative products with high added-value and with a high degree of service. At the same time however, the entire distribution chain is selecting industrial partners both as standard suppliers and as co-packers for private brand (or private label) products. These two types of orientation lead to different results: the reactivity and the capability of inventing vs. the capability of becoming the cost leader. The point of arrival is different, but the means used to reach the end is the same: technological innovation.

The beverage (and food) market, is constantly exposed to critical issues in terms of product safety and on this point consumers are adamant: safety is a primary value that cannot be compromised. As such, the technology of the future in the beverage sector must deliver flexibility and innovation without compromising safety in any way.

Emerging product categories, such as functional beverages and ’ready meal beverages’, have highly specific process requirements which may mark an important opportunity for the beverage firms to differentiate. Functional beverages, defined as beverages fortified with health-promoting additives, like ‘vitamin-enriched’ products, are an emerging field in food & beverage science due to their increasing popularity with health-conscious consumers and the ability of marketers to create new interest in existing products. Ready meal beverages are a new range of nutrition-rich products, which can be used as a meal substitute. Breakfast on the go with cereal–based, high protein content products, or mid-afternoon snacks with fruit-bites-based juices, are examples of ready meal beverages that are a very interesting growing trend on the market.