High-growth vegetable protein beverages open up scenario-based market competition

Affected by the epidemic, consumers' attention to health has increased rapidly, and the demand for healthy drinks has become prominent

Industry insiders said that under the background that nutritional and healthy consumption has gradually become the mainstream of the market, the development of domestic plant protein beverage brands has not improved much in recent years

Increase nutritional value and enhance market competitiveness

Plant-based food refers to new food and beverage products based on plants, replacing animal protein with plant protein

At present, the three major categories that have grown significantly in the plant-based market include: plant-based milk (and other plant-based dairy products), plant-based meat, and plant-based eggs

Plant-based protein beverages have been the fastest growing subcategory in the beverage industry since 2007

The health factor of plant protein is one of its important development drivers

Jiang Lianzhou, a professor at Northeast Agricultural University, predicted, "Consumers' acceptance and understanding of plant protein beverages will further increase in the next few years, and the increase in plant protein beverage categories will be an effective means of market competition

Meet the diverse needs of consumers

Although the growth rate of the plant protein beverage industry is gratifying, companies are facing considerable competitive pressure

At present, the plant protein beverage industry is a fully competitive industry, with a complete degree of marketization, and at the same time, the sub-categories are more and more abundant

In addition, the income distribution of the main listed companies of plant protein beverages is obviously regional, which is related to factors such as different eating habits of consumer groups, logistics and transportation, regional production of plant protein beverages, and the fact that plant protein beverages are typically raw material-oriented

Industry insiders have analyzed that as the market environment of the plant protein beverage industry enters the "consumer era", consumers' needs are gradually diversified, and consumer psychology presents a trend of seeking innovation and change.

"There has never been a shortage of consumers in China.

Integrate into new scenarios to develop markets

At present, the product homogeneity in the domestic beverage industry is serious, relying on price competition to seize the market, and vegetable protein beverages also face these problems

At present, domestic plant protein beverage brands focus on the development of sub-categories as the main strategy, and different sub-tracks such as soy milk, walnut milk, and oat milk are used to shape the top brand awareness

　　According to industry insiders, although traditionally subdivided plant-based protein drink companies have begun to transform into healthier, high-end, and younger ones, they still haven’t broken the product boundaries in essence

　　For example, in the new tea market, Vitasoy and Naixue’s tea jointly innovated, launched soy milk treasure tea, broke through the role of breakfast milk, and entered the offline instant coffee and tea scene to meet the needs of more consumers in different scenarios

　　With the continuous emergence of new consumer demands of consumer groups, the consumption scenarios are also constantly changing, and more new competing brands and products have emerged
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The only way to survive is to be based on the product itself and develop upgraded products that better match the needs of consumers in the scene compared to competitors, such as making traditional breakfast soy milk healthier and cleaner labels, matching the protein ingredients and sugar that consumers are concerned about today.
content,
etc.

　　Zhu Danpeng said that from a macro perspective, at present, the vegetable protein beverage market is about to enter a stable development period from a period of rapid development.
The industry is facing problems such as serious homogenization and an urgent need to improve quality.
However, there is also room for growth in this field.
of
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It is also necessary to comprehensively consider market positioning, consumer group segmentation, mainstream consumption scenarios, distribution channel planning, price system design, core selling point refinement, product image creation, differentiated product development, and intellectual property protection
.

 

(Comprehensive arrangement by Wang Han)

　　"China Food News" (04 edition on March 22, 2021)
 

(Editor-in-charge: Wang Han)