Increased demand for fortified drinks spurs growth in beverage machinery market: PMMI

In its 2018 PMMI Food & Beverage Processing Machinery Report, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies (PMMI) identifies 4.2% CAGR (2016-2021) growth in the US beverage machinery market.

While an increased focus on healthier beverages is driving the market forward, the decline in carbonated soft drinks has also prompted beverage processors to be more innovative with packaging in order to attract consumers back to the category.

Variety is still the spice of life​

The value of the overall US market for US food and beverage processing machinery was estimated at $5.3bn in 2016, with revenues forecast to grow at 2.8% CAGR (2016-2021) to reach $6.1bn in 2021.

Of the subsectors, the beverage machinery market is one of the most impressive: it is the second largest (after meat and poultry) worth $0.8bn. And the beverage revenues are forecast to grow the fastest: with a CAGR of 4.2%, which is considerably faster than the overall industry.

PMMI tracks continued demand for diversity and fast turnover times in beverage processing and packaging lines.

“The high demand for variety in beverages drives investment in processing machinery,” ​it says. “Consumers are increasingly demanding new products for different occasions and times of the day in many types of drink. ​

"Because of the diversity of the beverage industry, there is typically a shorter machinery lifecycle, as demand continuously changes for modified and new products, resulting in relatively frequent investment in machinery for the production of new, alternative, or modified products.​

“The industry is highly competitive with the top 50 largest companies holding a market share of half of the industry’s revenue. Small beverage processing machinery manufacturers are competing in local markets by delivering more efficient and higher quality products while ensuring the efficiency of the end product in the market.”​

Fortified drinks​

As consumers look for healthier and functional options, fortified drinks are one of the key drivers of growth, according to PMMI.

“The US beverage processing market is witnessing strong growth in fortified drinks, resulting in an increase in demand for filtration machineries, as this equipment is required during the production of beverages such as soft drinks, beer, and juices for filtering and separation processing. ​

“Demand for filtration machinery, shift towards alternative beverage products, changing customer preferences for healthier drinks; and the demand for non-carbonated beverages such as juices, sport drinks, and energy drinks are increasing at a higher pace due to health awareness, as these non-carbonated beverages contain few calories”.​

CSDs declines prompt innovation in processing and packaging​

As consumers turn away from carbonated soft drinks, beverage processors have had to be inventive in order to encourage consumers spending: with new packaging designs or new smaller pack sizes, observes the Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies (PMMI).

“For instance, reducing the size of cans from 12-oz to 8-oz and selling it as a premium per-ounce rate coupled with consumers’ preference for smaller-sized cans has increased spending in this area.”​