Globally, the demand for probiotics has been on an upswing, with recent studies confirming that 19% of respondents in the US claiming to have digestive concerns consuming probiotic products in one form or the other.
The global beverage industry covers varying types of drinks, including soft drinks, bottled water, milk and dairy, sports drinks, functional beverages, alcoholic beverages, energy drinks, and juices. Increasing concerns regarding obesity and health awareness are expected to trigger the growth of the functional beverage and bottled water product segment, while at the same time limit the demand for carbonated drinks. Additionally, growing concerns towards other health problems are reshaping the future of the global beverage industry. For instance, the demand for functional beverages, such as relaxation drinks, energy drinks, and ready to drink coffees and teas, is gaining popularity owing to their low-calorie contents.
However, a few factors are expected to influence the growth prospects of the beverages industry in the coming years. These factors include:
- Inventory: Controlling and managing inventory in the beverage industry can be much more difficult than it is in other sectors. The reason is that many of the products that are sold in the beverage industry are perishable and require excellent inventory management abilities to prevent wasting large sums of money from spoilage.
- E-Commerce: E-commerce has been a steadily growing trend for the past decade, and businesses across industries have taken advantage of this trend and capitalized on the opportunities it provides. The beverage industry has not chosen e-commerce as quickly as other industries have. However, this trend could soon change. The reason is that many consumers have demonstrated a strong preference for the online shopping of beverages.
Many such factors are compelling beverage industry firms to leverage the use of competitive intelligence solutions.
Competitive intelligence solutions help firms across the beverage industry to gather, analyze, and manage market information to make informed and strategic business decisions.
The Business Challenge
- The Client: Probiotic drinks manufacturer
The client, a leading beverage industry player with business units spread across the globe, was steadily losing market share to competitors, including new service providers. While the client had access to significant amount of internal and external data, they lacked the bandwidth and analytical tools and techniques to perform the necessary detailed market analysis.
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Our Journey
The competitive intelligence specialists at Infiniti followed an extensive research methodology comprising interviews and discussions with prominent stakeholders in the beverage industry space to provide the client with detailed market insights. The experts also compiled information from reliable sources such as trade shows, industry forums, and company presentations to help the client gauge the performance of their competitors.
The Solution Benefit and the Business Impact
With the help of Infiniti’s competitive intelligence solution, the beverage industry client gained a 360-degree market, customer, and competitor view of the time of the analysis, and the technology to make further assessments. The client applied this to generate new sales value, take advantage of cross-sell opportunities and develop churn prevention strategies. This helped them succeed in improving their market position.
The Future
The digital revolution is changing the lives of individuals beyond recognition, including the world of food and beverage. Smartphones have enabled consumers to communicate and do business ‘on-the-go,’ and now individuals demand beverage products that match their changing lifestyles.
