The beer industry is looking toward Kombucha

One of the world’s largest players – Molson Coors, Purchases Clearli Kombucha, California

The trend: According to Nielsen, 1/3 of beer drinkers in the past year have reduced their consumption and are interested in alcohol compatible with their healthy lifestyles.

Non-alcoholic and low-alcohol beers are a first step towards meeting these expectations, but the brewers do not stop there. They want to get involved in the healthy functional drinks market.

Their aim is to expand sales by including beverages other than beer, and they achieve this by using the advantage that users of their products already have a positive opinion about the quality of their products.

Beer producers are starting to surprise their consumers with new products that satisfy their desire to consume beverages with additional health benefits. The established distribution channels and sales teams quickly and effectively position the new additions to the portfolio of these companies in the sales network.

For beer companies, new opportunities are opening up to enter a market with a high development trend and relatively low competition to increasingly segmented beer market.

In addition to Kombucha, Molson Coors has marketed carbonated water with hops, natural flavours and without sugar (Wellraiser), carbonated wine with 5.5% ABV and low-alcohol sugar-free cocktails.

Molson Coors: “First of all, we are brewers and our business is to produce beer and cider, but our portfolio expansion strategy focuses on responding to changing consumer tastes, and these tastes are in the direction of healthy and low-calorie beverages.”

Molson Coors owns dozens of breweries around the world. Brands well known on the Bulgarian market are Staropramen, Astika, Kamenitza and Burgasko.

Apparently, analysts’ forecasts for double-digit annual growth in Kombucha over the next ten years are real, which is confirmed by the reactions of the business. Certainly, Kombucha will not replace beer, but any reasonable business player wants to have a racing horse in his portfolio, and Kombucha is exactly that.

The question is, if there are such big players coming in, is there room for new, smaller players in this segment? Yes, there is. The very fact that major deals in the purchase of finished facilities and established brands continue in 2019 also confirms it. Europe, China and Asia are still underdeveloped, but in increasing demand.

Kombucha allows unlimited flavour combinations and there is no “trademark” here; anyone can surprise the user! “Small” local producers successfully establish their brands in 2019, and there are some (even in Bulgaria) that produce for large European retail chains specializing in the sale of organic food and beverages.

In addition, Kombucha is a segment of new trends in the consumption of fermented foods and beverages. It is part of a general consumer perspective aimed at healthy, functional drinks, which gives investors’ confidence for a long life cycle!

The time is now!