The enhancement of consumers’ health consciousness has also brought changes to the beverage industry so that the formerly unimpressive categories have rapidly developed at the situation of high growth speed and low competition. Although the market is still seized by carbonated beverages and tea beverages, more and more consumers really pay the bill for vegetable protein beverages.
 
Growth speed comes in first
 
The data of the National Bureau of Statistics shows that the industry income of China’s beverages containing milk and vegetable protein in 2013 is RMB 89.5 billion, and the data of Euromonitor International shows that the terminal retail sales volume of China’s vegetable protein beverages in 2013 is RMB 25.3 billion. The proportion of vegetable protein beverages in the whole market is still not very high.
 
However, the industry is very optimistic about the market prospect. The research report of Shenyin Wanguo Securities shows that vegetable protein represents the consumption upgrade direction of beverages: nutrition and health; its average annual growth rate in the past five years is 28%, which is the sub-industry with fastest growth rate in the beverage industry.
 
Less high-end products
 
The research report shows that domestic vegetable protein beverage products are still in the early stage of development, and the category quantity is less and the taste is single; the sizable high-end products still don’t occur.
 
Vitasoy—one of vegetable protein beverage leading enterprises released the new high-end “Yihuo” series products in Guangzhou last Friday. Lu Botao, the CEO of Hong Kong Vitasoy International Group Co., Ltd., said, “There are still not the same-type high-end soy milk products in China compared with the whole market.” According to the introduction of Fang Meifeng, the chief affair director of Vitasoy (China), the high-end series mainly aims at the consumer groups in first-tier cities; compared with the brand foundation series, its difference is that the content of protein and calcium is higher and the sugar content is lower; its price ranges from RMB 4.5 to RMB 5.
 
Small category competition
 
According to the whole industrial pattern and the analysis of Shenyin Wanguo Securities, the domestic vegetable protein beverage leading enterprises are mainly the leading enterprises in the segmenting field at present; except for Lolo and Yangyuan focusing on the vegetable protein industry, other leading enterprises (such as Coconut Palm, Yinlu, Vitasoy, etc.) in the segmenting field will develop towards comprehensive food and beverage companies. Compared with carbonated beverages, drinking water, tea beverages, fruit juice and other segmenting categories, the industrial competition of the small category (vegetable protein beverage) is still relatively small at present.    
 
According to Herbridge Media, there are regional brands developing well in the market in addition to national brands at present. It is believed that more brands will march into the high-end consumer market in the future. If more brands enter the market, it will be a good thing for the whole market.
 
New categories of beverages
 
Medlar beverages enter Guangzhou
 
The Cantonese loving health maintenance do not feel strange to medlar. In addition to making tea and cooking soup, medlar has become the directly drinking beverage at present. Qinghai Damohong Medlar Co., Ltd. formally released Damohong 100% medlar juice products in Guangzhou last week. The products are characterized by no water and non-blending and mainly march into the healthy consumption market.
 
It is reported that China’s medlar export volume in 2013 exceeds 9 million kilograms with a year-on-year growth of about 40%. According to the introduction of Qiu Xuemei, the general manager of Qinghai Damohong Medlar Co., Ltd., the Company has the organic medlar planting base with the maximum area in China. At present, the 100% medlar juice production line with an annual output of 8000 tons has been established and therefore the Company has become the first large-scale production enterprise of non-concentrated reconstituted medlar juice in China. As of 2013, 7000 mu of organic medlar in Golmud of Haixi State, Qinghai has passed the annual certification audit of the EU and entered the European and American markets.