Indian Juice Market :- A new Battlefield.

The Days of 1990s are once again coming. This time it is in the same category but with another way. I am saying about the competition in soft drink market. In 1990s, when soft drink concept was new in India, one of Indian brand, Thumps Up leads the market. It was the biggest barrier in the path of Coca Cola to enter into Indian Market. As the result, Coke acquire the brand and continued the same under their flagship. At present time the same thing is going to happen in Indian juice market where the market is leaded by a Indian brand, Real juice.

The juice market in India is witnessing a plethora of activity. With the focus on a healthy diet, there has been an increase in demand for fresh fruit juices. According to data by Euromonitor, the soft drinks category in India, which includes bottled water, carbonates and concentrates, will see trade volumes grow at a CAGR of around 18.04% from 2007 onwards to reach around 9.98 billion litres in 2013. In comparison, the fruit and vegetable juices category, which includes 100% juices, juice drinks, fruit flavoured drinks and nectars; will see trade volume grow at a CAGR of 22.9% in the same period to reach 1.1 billion litres by 2013.

As far as the categories are concerned, juice drinks (upto 24% juices) will remain the largest market with trade volume of 868.9 million litres by 2013, followed by nectars (24-99% juices) at 184.5 million litres and and 100% juices at 46.2 million litres. In terms of market shares, the honours are split, although not so evenly. Dabur’s Réal and Pepsi’s Tropicana dominate the 100% juice category with market shares of 48.3% and 42.8% respectively (Euromonitor). The large and traditional segment of juice drinks sees Coca Cola’s Maaza and Parle Agro’s Frooti as legacy leaders, with shares of 37.9% and 33% respectively.

Coca Cola’s market movements provide valuable indications on the overall trends. It does seem that the 100% juice category is one where players perceive a lot of potential ostensibly because of the ‘pure’ proposition, and Coca Cola’s launch demonstrates this.

So, these trends are showing that there will be a healthy competition in juice market in India. So, let's see what will going to happen.