Taiwan’s nonalcoholic beverage market last year grew 3.8 percent to a record high NT$57 billion (US$1.77 billion), driven by strong demand for tea drinks, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
It is the seventh consecutive year the nonalcoholic beverage market posted a positive gain as tea drinks regained popularity, the ministry said.
Tea drinks generated NT$18.8 billion in sales, representing an increase of 6.4 percent from a year earlier and accounting for 33 percent of the nonalcoholic beverage market, ministry data showed.
Photo: Chen Chia-yi, Taipei Times
Tea drinks used to hold 46.5 percent of the market with NT$26.5 billion in sales in 1994, but fell out of favor from 1995 to 2000 amid the rise of shaken drinks, the ministry said, adding that the industry had turned around in the following years by developing new products and running promotion campaigns.
Sales of functional beverages and bottled water followed tea drinks with NT$14.4 billion in sales, rising 1.2 percent annually for six years in a row, the ministry said.
The volume indicated a 25.4 percent market share.
The promotion of health-related additives, such as fiber and vitamins, has supported the acceptance of functional beverages, it said.
Sports drinks and mineral water grew 15 percent and 10.1 percent year-on-year each to NT$3.1 billion, it said.
Carbonated beverages rose 5 percent to NT$5.6 billion, the biggest increase since 2012, thanks to the category’s shift to better meet dietary needs, it said.
As for coffee drinks, they fell 0.6 percent to NT$5.8 billion as consumers displayed a preference for brewed coffee, the ministry said.
Fruit and vegetable juices also dropped 2 percent to NT$6.2 billion, as people shifted to eating fruit and vegetables or drinking freshly made juices, it said.
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