With the early onset of summer, manufacturers of fruit-based juices, milkshakes, and rejuvenation drinks expect to witness pre-COVID-19 levels of with increased health awareness and eased COVID restrictions across the country.
The impact of the pandemic on the retail and HoReCa (hotel, restaurant, and catering) segments, reduced discretionary spending by consumers, and supply chain disruptions dampened demand in the previous two summers.
Sharing expectations for the 2022 summer season, flavoured milkshake brand, Hershey India’s Managing Director, Geetika Mehta, said, “We foresee that our out-of-home categories will expand this summer with increased consumption.” We see our sales and growth rates going back to pre-COVID levels with businesses and public activities opening up again.
This will be emphasised by the early onset of summer. “Retail confidence is high this time around and most marketers would be eyeing healthy double-digit growth this season,” Mehta added.
Natural juice and milkshake brand, Raw Pressery, shared that in March, the brand performance exceeded expectations with revenue tripling pre-COVID numbers. Sreejit Nair, who is the chief growth officer of Raw Pressery’s parent company, said, “The April and May estimates are much higher given the increased distribution and preference for healthier beverages.”
Talking about the factors supporting the growth of beverage makers, Nair said that the buying behaviour of the consumer has changed dramatically post pandemic. Preference for healthier alternatives is more pronounced today, and brands that can be classified as “better for you” will benefit from this trend.
He further highlighted that quick commerce has facilitated the growth of the brand and the 30-minute delivery is a boon for any beverage brand in summer. Sharing insights on growth expectations, Frooti maker, Parle Agro’s Joint Managing Director and CMO, Nadia Chauhan, said that the brand is looking at a very aggressive growth rate this year with 30-35 percent volume growth over last calendar year.