In the category without alcohol, the expansion is in coconut water, tea and mineral water

A study by the consultancy Nielsen indicates that, from 2015, the categories of mineral water, coconut water and tea ready to drink are the only non-alcoholic drinks that are still growing in the country.
According to the survey, in the 12-month accumulated until may, of the 11 categories measured by Nielsen, tea ready has the highest growth compared with 12 months earlier, with high of 5.8%. Then appear, with growth of 2.8%, and coconut water, with advance of 1.8%.
In the year 2015, closed the three categories were also the only ones present, expansion of 12.4% for coconut water, 10.3% to 5.2% and liquid teas for mineral water. The other lines (soft drinks, juices, ready, fruit punch, energy drinks, soy-based drinks, isotonic drinks and Guarana) accumulated falls since last year.
"Consumers still tend to get healthier products. But there are changes in behavior, with the search for promotions, economic packages or cheaper brands, "said Daniel Souza, leader of the beverage industry on Nielsen.
He added that, in some cases, consumers get to change your product category. "Soda is the category that suffers most, with exchanges for refreshment powder, juice ready or homemade juice," said Sharma. According to the survey, 80% of the lost volume of soft drinks was by exchanged for other products, especially powdered juice, used as a replacement in 53% of purchase occasions.
Those who have not switched product sought cheaper options, either with Exchange, seeking economic or packaging change of place of purchase. "There is a growing trend of replacement of shopping in supermarkets by the atacarejo, that offers lower prices," said the analyst. Currently, 48% of atacarejo items are the same as a hypermarket. Of this total, 82% are cheaper. On average, the products on atacarejo are 13% cheaper than at the supermarket, points to Nielsen.
In this scenario, the industries have chosen to offer cheaper alternatives, such as returnable bottle or sets of bottles and cans with lower unit price. With these packaging and distribution strategies, the leading brands can do better in the crisis than smaller competitors, points to Nielsen.
In the segment of non-alcoholic beverages, 56% of the leading brands have gained market share in 2015, while the previous year 33% of the leading brands have taken space of smaller competitors. "The leaders have managed to respond better and more rapidly to changes in consumer habits," said Sharma. The analyst added that the exchange of brands was less intense in soft drinks. In the categories of juices, teas and waters of coco migration to competitors that offer lower price was higher.
Sharma believes that the trend of substitution of brands or product lines on account of prices will continue over 2016. "There is an expectation that the political crisis decrease from August and there is an improvement in the level of confidence of consumers and businesses. But it does not inure to the increase in consumption in the short term, "said the analyst.