This report looks at the following areas:
- Changes in non-alcoholic drinks spending and future outlook
- New product innovation trends to watch
- Changes in consumption and consumption trends of major non-alcoholic drink categories
- Evolution of non-alcoholic drinks consumption purposes and comparison of occasions
- Directions for differentiated innovation in daily and professional hydration drinks
- Perception of the main components in Chinese health drinks and future growth opportunities
Non-alcoholic drinks are entering a stage of more sophisticated development, with occasion-based segmentation, diverse needs and natural ingredients the three primary driving forces.
Roolee Lu, Director, China Insights
Market Definitions
Non-alcoholic drinks mainly comprise Ready-to-Drink (RTD) packaged juice, carbonated drinks, tea, coffee, bottled water, sports drinks, energy drinks and plant-protein drinks. This Report will explore overall consumption and innovation trends in the non-alcoholic drinks market in China. The focus of this Report is not on specific product categories; rather it delves into the consumption behaviours and attitudes of non-alcoholic beverage consumers, overall and across categories. While the Report mainly focuses on packaged products, freshly made drinks and consumption trends may be mentioned for the purposes of reference or as product examples.
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Executive summary
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Definitions
- What you need to know
- Non-alcoholic drinks enter a stage of more sophisticated development, with occasion-based segmentation, diverse needs and natural ingredients being the three primary driving forces
- Consumption trends and future opportunities
- What we think
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Market and product innovation
- Market size and forecast
- Non-alcoholic drinks market enters a period of stable development in the post-pandemic era
- RTD tea, sports drinks and energy drinks perform impressively in 2024
- Graph 1: non-alcoholic drinks sales, year-on-year change and compound growth rate over the past five years, by main subcategories, 2024
- Market factors
- Non-alcoholic drinks lead growth in spending willingness, but segmented demand deserves attention
- Graph 2: trading up and down – non-alcoholic drinks, 2022-25
- Graph 3: categories that you would spend more in the next three months, 2025
- Greater willingness to trade up in natural and functional-focused categories, while demand for higher quality energy drinks continues to rise
- Graph 4: trading up and down of non-alcoholic drinks – buying the more expensive product, 2023-24
- Focus of food and beverage innovation shifts from safety and quality upgrades to fundamental nutrition
- Nutritional Choice graded labelling is expanding nationwide and onto packaged beverages
- New national standard requires more transparent product information to help consumers make the right choices
- Graph 5: most important free-from claims – non-alcoholic drinks, 2023-25
- New product trends
- Juice and RTD tea innovation continues to flourish, while the share of carbonated soft drinks slides to a five-year low
- Graph 6: non-alcoholic drink launches, by subcategory, 2020-25
- Private labels’ share continues to grow, further highlighting the value for money advantage
- Graph 7: average price of non-alcoholic drink* launches, by private label and branded, 2020-25
- Graph 8: non-alcoholic drink* launches, by private label and branded, 2020-25
- Unflavoured water and juice are private labels’ key areas of innovation, while functional drinks present opportunities
- Graph 9: non-alcoholic drink launches, by subcategory and private label/branded, 2020-25
- Private label products incorporate the latest trends
- Minus claims are still the principal theme of innovation, with free-from and natural claims leading growth
- Graph 10: non-alcoholic drink* launches, by claim type, 2020-25
- Actively reducing artificial ingredients to address drinking concerns
- Graph 11: non-alcoholic drink* launches, by natural and free-from claims, 2020-25
- Artificial additives, GMO-free and caffeine are becoming increasingly important in communication
- The share of new launches with large serving sizes continues to rise, with multiple product specifications meeting diverse drinking needs
- Graph 12: non-alcoholic drink* launches, by unit pack size (mL), 2020-25
- Juice and RTD tea lead innovation in large bottles, while RTD coffee and sports drinks actively cater to high-volume drinking needs
- Graph 13: value sales, market share and year-on-year change of non-alcoholic drinks (601-1,250mL) on the Tmall and Taobao platforms, by main subcategories, 2024
- Graph 14: non-alcoholic drink launches (601-1,250mL), by subcategory, 2020-25
- Large format packs help star categories solidify their market positions
- Fruit continues to dominate in flavour innovation, with strong growth in natural flavours such as plants and vegetables
- Flavourscape AI: methodology
- Chinese medicinal foods and superfood claims add a halo to plant and vegetable ingredients
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Consumption trends and future opportunities
- Overview of consumption trends and future opportunities
- From categories to occasions, create exclusive drinking moments
- Nature-focused categories dominate daily drinks consumption
- Graph 15: consumption penetration* and proportion of frequent consumers**, 2025
- Graph 16: consumption frequency, 2025
- Coffee is the biggest winner, while traditional drinks need to rejuvenate their ‘artificial’ image
- Graph 17: proportion of frequent consumers**, 2021-25
- Graph 18: consumption penetration*, 2021-25
- During leisure activities remains the core occasion for drinks consumption, but also faces the fiercest category competition
- Graph 19: compatible occasions – relaxing and resting, 2024
- Graph 20: drinking occasions, 2025
- As daily life becomes increasingly demanding, work and sports/exercise are important battlegrounds drinks cannot afford to ignore
- Graph 21: drinking occasions, 2025
- Graph 22: compatible occasions – selected occasions, 2024
- Workplace: target workplace wellness needs of overworked employees
- Graph 23: health cultivation behaviours at work and working situation, 2025
- Exercise occasions: tap into popular sports and professional hydration
- Graph 24: sport participation rate over the past 3 months, 2021-25
- Room for improvement in dining occasions, while brands should cater to the ‘new normal’ of cooking at home
- Graph 25: comparison of drinking occasion rankings, 2024-25
- In addition to food pairing, demand for alleviating spiciness/greasiness function is growing
- Graph 26: drinking purposes, 2018-25
- Graph 27: ranking of drinking purposes – selected options, 2018-25
- From targeted food companions to complete after-meal solutions
- What’s next: explore segmented needs in mainstream occasions and focus on potential occasions
- Improve all-day occasion offerings at the same time
- Drinking needs diversify, while tapping into hydration requires differentiation
- Drinking demands become more diverse, but quenching thirst is still the most important purpose
- Graph 28: drinking purposes, 2025
- Reducing sweetness rather than flavour can better meet daily hydration needs
- Graph 29: desired attributes for daily hydration – flavour, 2025
- Low sweetness and light flavour are equally important in professional hydration occasions
- Graph 30: desired flavour for professional hydration, by desired sweetness for professional hydration, 2025
- Graph 31: desired attributes for hydration for water loss – flavour, 2025
- Separate flavour and sweetness to reduce sweetness while maintaining flavour
- Light mouthfeel is top choice for both daily and professional hydration
- Graph 32: desired attributes for hydration – carbonation level, 2025
- Graph 33: desired attributes for hydration – texture, 2025
- Hydration is about more than just replenishing fluids: distinct demands for minerals and electrolytes in different scenarios
- Graph 34: desired attributes for hydration – minerals and electrolytes, 2025
- What’s next: upgrade products based on the quantity and quality of electrolytes
- Consumers show different demands for caffeine in hydration beverages
- Graph 35: desired attributes for hydration – caffeine, 2025
- What’s next: meet diverse hydration and energy boosting needs through low caffeine
- Summary and comparison of daily hydration and professional hydration needs
- Fundamentally Nutritious: strengthen the ‘natural-plus’ core value of plant-based drinks
- Plant-based drinks are on the rise with online sales doubling in 2024
- Graph 36: consumption frequency, 2025
- Graph 37: non-alcoholic drinks value sales, market share and year-on-year change, by main subcategories, 2024
- Plant-based drinks are gaining favour with millennials and have the potential to grow and become a mass category
- Graph 38: consumption frequency – plant-based drinks, by generation, 2025
- Naturalness is the core driver of plant-based drinks, while ‘guilt-free’ is a way to differentiate from pure tea
- Graph 39: consumption purposes – RTD plant-based drinks and RTD pure tea, 2024
- Red jujube dates, red bean and mung bean combine both taste and health benefits, while hawthorn and longan offer novelty as well as tastiness
- Graph 40: TCM ingredient perception*, 2025
- Goji berries, red jujube dates and tangerine peel are at risk of homogenisation, while mulberry is leading growth in medicinal food ingredients
- Graph 41: new launches of non-alcoholic drinks containing medicinal food ingredients, by main medicinal food ingredients, 2022-25
- Incorporate ingredients from TCM recipes to cultivate long-term consumption habits among consumers
- Embrace the large format pack trend to cater to demand for all-day consumption
- Graph 42: serving size preference, 2025
- Going beyond ingredients and taste: soothing and dampness-dispelling benefits help meet consumer wellness needs
- Graph 43: functional needs, 2024
- Tap into the core demographics’ need for hangover recovery and leverage beauty care to reach Gen Zs
- Graph 44: functional needs – selected options, by generation, 2024
- Examples of plant-based drink innovations with soothing, beauty enhancing and hangover-relieving ingredients
- What’s next: amplifying wellness benefits by integrating the seasons
- Convey overall naturalness through packaging innovation
- Graph 45: non-alcoholic drinks packaging style preference, 2023
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Appendix – market size and forecast, research methodology and abbreviations
- Market size and forecast
- Methodology
- TURF analysis methodology
- Abbreviations
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