India Gen Z Non-alcoholic Beverage Trends Report 2024
£ 2,195 (Excl.Tax)
Report Summary
Gen Z plays a vital role in the non-alcoholic beverages sector, being the primary consumers with the widest repertoire across generations. This report delves into the behaviours and interests of Gen Zs regarding non-alcoholic beverages.
Taste, refreshment, flavour, and affordability are key purchase drivers for non-alcoholic drinks. Some Gen Zs are also seen to prioritise health. The report spotlights these health-seeking Gen Zs and their unique buying habits, and suggests tactics for brands to connect with them.
Additionally, the report examines Gen Z’s reasons for consuming various types of non-alcoholic beverages with the help of correspondence analysis, revealing insights into unexplored consumption occasions for different non-alcoholic beverage categories. Besides that, the report covers innovations that can help brands differentiate themselves in the competitive non-alcoholic market.
This report looks at the following areas:
- Gen Z’s consumption of various packaged non-alcoholic beverages in the last six months
- Gen Z’s frequency of looking for healthy products when choosing packaged non-alcoholic beverages
- Association of various non-alcoholic beverage categories with consumption purpose
- Gen Z’s interest in select innovative concepts/features for driving engagement and consumption
- Three pivotal trends shaping the non-alcoholic beverage sector in India
Gen Z's health-conscious preferences, taste for innovative flavours, snackification trend and demand for sustainability present unique opportunities for engagement.
Tulsi Joshi, Senior Food & Drink Analyst, India
Market Definitions
This report explores the attitudes and behaviours of Gen Z (aged 18-27) towards packaged non-alcoholic beverages.
Non-alcoholic beverages refer to refrigerated or shelf-stable liquid drink varieties, such as ready-to-drink (RTD) flavoured milk, lassi, chaas/buttermilk, smoothies, carbonated drinks, energy/sports drinks, flavoured/vitamin water, juices, RTD coffee and RTD tea.
It excludes hot beverages like tea and coffee, powdered nutrition supplements and dairy alternatives like oat, almond, nut and coconut milk.
This report explores the attitudes of Gen Z (aged 18-27) towards packaged non-alcoholic beverages*.
* non-alcoholic beverages refer to refrigerated or shelf-stable liquid drink varieties, such as ready-to-drink (RTD) flavoured milk, lassi, chaas/buttermilk, smoothies, carbonated drinks, energy/sports drinks, flavoured/vitamin water, juices, RTD coffee, and RTD tea.
It excludes hot beverages like tea and coffee, powdered nutrition supplements and dairy alternatives like oat, almond, nut and coconut milk.
Table of Contents
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Executive summary
- Report definition
- Mintel's perspective
- Generational definitions
- Who are Gen Z and what has shaped them?
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Overview
- Strengthen the category's association with snacking
- Offer satiety to leverage the snackification trend
- Provide refreshment via physical and mental energy boosts for health-seeking Gen Zs
- Offer health-seeking Gen Zs refreshment via physical and mental energy boosts
- Graph 1: select factors considered when choosing non-alcoholic beverages, by consumers who look for healthy non-alcoholic beverage options 'all/most of the time', 2024
- Innovate fusion and pop-culture-inspired flavours in eco-friendly packaging
- Graph 2: interest in trying 'eco-friendly packaging' in non-alcoholic beverages, by frequency of looking for healthy products when purchasing non-alcoholic beverages, 2024
- Mintel predicts
- The outlook for non-alcoholic beverages for Gen Z in India, 2024
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key trends
- What you need to know
- Anxious Gen Zs are snacking away worries
- The declining mental wellness index among Gen Z in India
- Money matters make young Indians anxious about their future
- Graph 3: select consumers' financial outlook over the next year or so, by select age group, June 2023 vs September 2023
- Gen Z gets vocal about mental wellbeing and seek food and drinks that offer indulgence
- Gen Zs are the most frequent snackers in India
- Graph 4: consumers who have snacked at select frequency in the last month, by generation, 2022
- Graph 5: consumers who have snacked once a day or more in the last month, 2022
- Gen Zs turn to snacking as a coping mechanism for emotional reasons
- Gen Zs are consuming snacks for meal occasions, translating to more snacking occasions
- Graph 6: snack consumption occasions among Gen Zs, 2023
- Swiggy partners with Thums Up to enable quick snack shopping and ready-to-go combos
- Quick-commerce channels push snack and beverage combo
- The emerging fandom culture
- Mintel trend: In the Know
- Gen Z show interest in consuming food and drinks with a pop-culture twist
- Netflix (US) opens a food and drink pop-up store to capitalise on their fandom
- McDonald's goes all anime
- Eco-anxiety on the rise
- The climate crisis made frequent headlines this year
- Eco-conscious consumerism is gaining traction among Indian Gen Zs
- Gen Zs expect brands to do the heavy lifting when it comes to environmental issues
- Indian brands are undertaking environmentally conscious initiatives
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What consumers want and why
- What you need to know
- Gen Z's consumption of non-alcoholic beverages
- Generation Z are the predominant consumers of non-alcoholic beverages
- Graph 7: types of packaged non-alcoholic beverages consumed in the last six months, by select generation, 2024
- Gen Z have the largest consumption repertoire of non-alcoholic beverages compared to previous generations
- Graph 8: repertoire of types of non-alcoholic beverages in the last six months, by generation, 2024
- Status quo: CSD and flavoured milk dominate, with yogurt drinks, RTDs, nectars and energy drink launches on the rise
- Graph 9: sub-total share of launches in non-alcoholic beverages*, 2021-24
- Graph 10: fastest growing non-alcoholic beverage sub-categories, 2021-24
- Carbonated soft drink launch activity is declining, whereas yogurt drink launches are on the rise
- Graph 11: % share of drinking yogurt & liquid cultured milk launches in non-alcoholic beverages, 2021-24
- Graph 12: % share of carbonated soft drinks launches in non-alcoholic beverages, 2021-24
- Gen Z frequently talk about CSDs on social media, with mixed sentiments; lassi- and chaas-related discussions are fewer, but positive
- Graph 13: social media conversation around select non-alcoholic beverage categories, positive sentiment by engagement universe, 2022-24
- How to read the chart
- Health, sugar, and plastic pollution are common themes in social media posts about carbonated soft drinks conveying negative sentiments
- Consumption drivers
- Taste and refreshment are paramount; a well-known brand is only important for a quarter of Gen Zs
- Graph 14: factors considered when choosing a packaged non-alcoholic beverage, 2024
- Taste, refreshment and high nutrition content can help reach seven in 10 Indian Gen Zs
- Taste, refreshment and high nutritional content can help reach seven in 10 Indian Gen Zs
- Health is on Gen Z's mind when purchasing non-alcoholic beverages
- Graph 15: % of Gen Z consumers who look for healthy products when choosing packaged RTD beverages, 2023-24
- Gen Zs' health-consciousness has notably increased, particularly among those in tier-3 cities.
- The broader the repertoire, the stronger the intent to choose healthier options
- Graph 16: consumers seeking healthy products 'all/most/some time' in non-alcoholic beverages, by repertoire of non-alcoholic beverages, 2023
- Status quo: minus claims outweigh plus claims in non-alcoholic beverage launches, with no/low sugar claims in the lead
- Graph 17: % of launches in non-alcoholic beverages* with select claim category , 2019-24
- Graph 18: % of launches in packaged non-alcoholic beverages* with select claims, 2019-24
- Fortification is declining, sugar-free and L/N/R calorie claims are emerging
- Graph 19: share of top 10 plus claims and minus claims in non-alcoholic beverage launches, 2019-24
- Prioritise nutrition over low/no sugar claims to appeal to Gen Z
- Graph 20: select factors considered when choosing a packaged non-alcoholic beverage, 2024
- Emphasise nutrition more than low/no sugar to deliver BFY proposition
- Win over Gen Zs by being transparent and inclusive, if taking an overt approach to sugar reduction
- Taste-first approach is key to engage health-seeking Gen Zs
- Graph 21: 'tasty' as a factor when choosing non-alcoholic beverages, by frequency of looking for healthy products in non-alcoholic beverages, 2024
- Lead with taste, while also offering refreshment to health-seeking Gen Zs
- Graph 22: 'refreshing' as a factor when choosing non-alcoholic beverages, by consumers who look for healthy products 'all/most of the time' in non-alcoholic beverages, 2024
- Elevate the refreshment game by tying it to both physical and mental energy to target health-seeking Gen Zs
- Graph 23: select factors considered when choosing non-alcoholic beverages, by consumers who look for healthy products 'all/most of the time' in non-alcoholic beverages, 2024
- Graph 24: consumers interest in non-alcoholic beverages that give a physical and mental energy boost, by select frequency of looking for healthy products in non-alcoholic beverages, 2024
- Combine physical and mental energy benefits in one bottle
- Health-seeking Gen Zs are price- and brand-conscious
- Graph 25: 'affordable' as a factor when choosing non-alcoholic beverages, by select frequency of looking for healthy products in non-alcoholic beverages, 2024
- Graph 26: 'from well-known brand' as a factor when choosing non-alcoholic beverages, by select frequency of looking for healthy products in non-alcoholic beverages, 2024
- Reasons of consumption
- Boost consumption by creating reason-based associations
- Correspondence analysis and how to interpret the chart
- Key findings for formulating a reason-based proposition for various non-alcoholic beverages
- Explore cognitive benefits in sports/energy drinks
- Sports/energy drinks can offer cognitive benefits to Gen Zs seeking enhanced mental performance
- New launch alert: Game On
- Put your game face on to tap into the niche-but-thriving gaming scene
- Position lassi as an ideal accompaniment to light meals
- Case study of U-Sour in China
- RTD tea has the potential to be Gen Z's snack companion
- Status quo: coconut water launches are on the rise; white space for vitamin/mineral fortification
- Graph 27: % of launches of coconut water, 2020-24
- Growing buzz among Gen Zs on social media about coconut water and its hydration benefits
- Graph 28: count of universe posts on social media by Gen Z (aged 18-27) on select search term, 2021-24
- Introduce vitamin/mineral-infused coconut water that offers advanced hydration
- Upgrade coconut water by fortifying it with vitamins and minerals
- Non-alcoholic beverage categories lack strong association with relaxation/destressing needs
- Highlight mental wellness ingredients, but lead with fun and indulgence
- Cross-category inspiration: 5 Star presents a cheeky approach to escapism
- Offer enhanced focus benefits to Gen Zs
- Cognitive route for RTD tea and coffee
- The snackification of beverages
- Gen Zs are more frequent snackers than previous generations
- Graph 29: snacking frequency in the last month, by generation, 2024
- Non-alcoholic beverages are snacking sidekicks, but for some Gen Zs, sidekicks are morphing into superheroes
- Graph 30: association of non-alcoholic beverages with select consumption purposes – to replace snacks and to accompany snacks, 2024
- Non-alcoholic beverage brands seize the snacking moment
- Launch alert: Coca Cola and Oreo become 'besties for a limited time'
- Engage experimental Gen Z snackers by introducing unusual accompaniment prospects
- Opportunity to snackify non-alcoholic beverages by focusing on satiety
- Bring satiety to the fore with ingredients to compete with other snacks
- Dairy drinks can provide satiety to tap into snacking occasions
- Graph 31: types of non-alcoholic beverages associated with replacing snacks, 2024
- Dairy drinks can use snacking occasions to boost consumption frequency
- Innovating for Gen Z: focus on the environment
- Gen Z are eco-awake individuals
- Encourage Gen Z's dedication to sustainable living; eco-friendly packaging can kickstart this movement
- Health-seeking Indian Gen Zs prioritise eco-consciousness over wokeism
- Graph 32: interest in trying non-alcoholic beverages with 'eco-friendly packaging', by frequency of looking for healthy products when purchasing non-alcoholic beverages, 2024
- Graph 33: interest in trying select non-alcoholic beverages, by frequency of looking for healthy products when purchasing non-alcoholic beverages, 2024
- Status quo: recycling and eco-friendly packaging lead but see a slight decline; niche biodegradable and toxin-free claims show marginal traction
- Graph 34: % of non-alcoholic beverage launches with environmental claims, 2021-24
- Graph 35: % of non-alcoholic beverage launches with environmental claims, 2021-24
- Gen Z are sceptical of eco-friendly pursuits undertaken by brands
- Break away from monotonous eco-friendly claims and dull tone
- Be vibrant, bold and engaging with eco-friendly packaging claims
- Besides eco-friendly packaging, establish connections to the ongoing climate crisis
- Fast&Up introduces 'The Hydrating Heroes Initiative' to aid everyday heroes during heatwaves
- Whatrr claims to be world's most sustainable bottle
- Innovating for Gen Z: focus on flavour localism
- Flavourscape of non-alcoholic beverages: hyperlocal flavours are trending in India
- Interpreting the map
- Add an exciting regional twist to classic flavours
- Innovating for Gen Z: focus on fandom mania
- Innovate flavours with a touch of pop culture inspiration
- Status quo: limited-edition and co-branded claims remain niche globally and in India; limited-edition claims show a steady upward trajectory
- Graph 36: % of non-alcoholic beverage launches with limited edition claims, 2024
- Graph 37: % of non-alcoholic beverage launches with select claims, 2021-24
- Enhance engagement with Gen Z by collaborating with a range of movie genres
- Let pop culture collaborations do the talking!
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appendix
- Report definition
- Consumer survey methodology
- Repertoire analysis
- Correspondence analysis
- Infegy Atlas – coverage
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