Soft-Drinks Market Sees Rise in “Free From” and Antioxidant Claims

Approximately 60% of global soft-drink launches in 2010 carried some type of health positioning, according to the latest report from Innova Market Insights. “Rising consumer interest in health and naturalness is being strongly reflected in new-product activity in the global soft-drinks market,” it stated.

“Many traditional soft-drink categories, such as carbonates, are maturing, and there is rising interest in newer, often higher-value-added lines offering additional benefits, which increasingly seem to include healthier options,” added LuAnn Williams, Innova’s head of research.

The most popular health-related claims concerned naturalness and freedom from artificial additives and preservatives, Innova said. Juices and water led this category, which also included a wide range of other products. Breaking it down, Innova said that more than 20% of launches were marketed as free from additives and preservatives, while more than 10% were marketed as natural.

In terms of antioxidants, approximately 6% of drink launches were marketed as containing antioxidants, with just half of those comprising juices and juice drinks.

“Reduced sugar,” “sugar-free,” and “no added sugar” claims overtook claims of “low calorie,” Innova says. More than one-fifth of the launches in 2010 carried those types of claims.

Energy and alertness claims were also popular, “reflecting the ongoing growth of the energy drinks market,” Innova stated. These claims accounted for 40% of soft drinks using any active health claims and more than 8% of soft-drink launches as a whole.

“This type of claim overtook vitamin and mineral fortification at the head of the active health-claims ranking for the first time in 2010,” Innova stated. Sports and recovery claims also saw increased use.