China's apple cider vinegar beverage market has become a new blue ocean

　　Apple cider vinegar is a beverage obtained by two fermentations with apple juice or concentrated apple juice, this kind of apple cider vinegar made by fermentation by a special process, with the nutritional value of apples and the function of vinegar, is deeply loved by consumers.

　　Apple cider vinegar is popular in Europe and the United States, with a large scale and a large variety of products, and residents have become accustomed to eating apple cider vinegar as an acidic condiment. With cleansing/detoxification and digestive health as the main claimed features of sales, apple cider vinegar sales in the mainstream retail channels in the United States in 2020 were nearly $80 million (about 5.1 billion yuan), an increase of 133.8% over 2019.

　　In the 1960s, Fruit Vinegar began to be developed in Japan. In recent years, the development of fruit vinegar in Japan and Korea has been very rapid and comprehensive. Among them, Japan's apple fruit vinegar products have a variety of products and good quality; South Korea has also launched a variety of high-quality apple cider vinegar products and has its own advantages in products; In recent years, China's apple cider vinegar market is also growing at a high speed.

Nutritious and unique in taste

Apple cider vinegar is fascinating

　　Apple cider vinegar has an acidic taste, which is conducive to the preservation of various nutrients and the absorption of calcium. According to the "Compendium of Materia Medica", vinegar has the effect of removing stasis, detoxification, digestion, appetizing gas, dispersing water vapor and so on. In addition, apple cider vinegar is also rich in functional ingredients, such as malic acid, pectin, apple polyphenols and so on.

　　Malic acid: Some organic acids in apple cider vinegar are direct substances of the citric acid cycle, such as acetic acid, malic acid, citric acid, etc., which can directly enter the citric acid cycle to produce energy, which is faster than glucose metabolism and can quickly restore physical strength. In addition, after a long period of labor and strenuous exercise, the body will accumulate a large amount of lactic acid, people will feel particularly tired, if you directly ingest apple cider vinegar at this time, some organic acids such as lactic acid can be produced through focal gluconic acid to produce citric acid, in the process of generating energy to avoid further production of lactic acid, can promote the recovery of metabolic function.

　　Pectin: Pectin can delay the absorption of sugar and lipids by the intestine; Pectin absorbs water in the human body and expands, the volume can be increased by 10 times the original, which is easy to make people feel full and delay the emptying of the stomach; Pectin can adsorb heavy metal ions such as lead, nickel, and cobalt in food, and cannot be digested by digestive juices, which can help expel toxins from the body.

　　Apple polyphenols: Apple polyphenols are a general term for polyphenols contained in apples, the main components include flavonols (quercetin glycosomes), hydroxycinnamates, catechins and their polymers, dihydrochalones (rhizoside ligands) and so on. Apple polyphenols can be catalyzed by promoting cholesterol metabolism and inhibiting intestinal absorption. Apple cider vinegar also contains a variety of vitamins, has a good antioxidant capacity, and is matched with apple polyphenols to form an "anti-aging system".

The domestic market is growing rapidly

The concept of consumption needs to be cultivated urgently

　　At present, the domestic apple cider vinegar industry is mainly subdivided into apple cider vinegar condiments and apple cider vinegar drinks two categories, the data show that in 2018, the domestic apple cider vinegar condiment market size of about 1.968 billion yuan, apple cider vinegar beverage market size of about 4.522 billion yuan, and from 2015 to 2018 for three consecutive years the growth rate was 22%, 27%, 25%, in the entire food and beverage industry is a high-speed growth.

　　Domestic apple cider vinegar industry production enterprises are mainly distributed in Guangdong, Shandong, Henan, Shanxi and other provinces and cities, apple cider condiments main production enterprises are Haitian, Hengshun, Xinhe, Zilin and other old vinegar enterprises, apple cider vinegar beverages are mainly Tiandi No. 1, Lujie, McKinley and other brands. Among them, Tiandi No. 1 is the head enterprise in the fruit vinegar industry, and the sales market is mainly concentrated in Guangdong.

　　In 2020, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo joined the fruit vinegar beverage market, launching the Meijuyuan apple cider vinegar drink and the "Vinegar Language" fruit vinegar bubble drink respectively. In addition to using 100% apple juice fermentation, Mei juice source apple cider vinegar beverage also integrates bubbles, low sugar, zero fat and other elements in product design, and the tank design adopts modern cans and hand-drawn drawings to highlight the characteristics of healthy and trendy products. Pepsi 'Vinegar Whisperer' fruit vinegar sparkling drink is also infused with bubbles and low sugar elements, using a low-sugar formula with fresh fruit flavors and rich and delicate bubbles, available in caramel apple and shiozu omeranean flavours.

　　In 2021, A-Ha fermented juice sparkling water will be launched uniformly, available in two flavors: lemon and apple. The product attributes are positioned as fermented beverages, marked with zero fat, real juice, no phosphoric acid, and mainly catering parties, outdoor outings and other scenes.

　　For the domestic market of fruit vinegar drinks, PepsiCo said in the official micro-blog: In Japan and South Korea, sparkling fruit vinegar drinks have become a trendy drink, and three or four new vinegar drinks will be listed every season; In 2015, China's vinegar drink sales were 3.75 billion yuan, and the average sales growth rate in the past five years exceeded 15%, and the market prospect is huge. Coca-Cola also said that consumer surveys have found that "fruit vinegar drinks" not only meet consumers' needs for healthy juices, but also are good drinks suitable for daily drinking.

　　At present, the popularity of fruit vinegar is not enough, looking at the domestic apple cider vinegar industry, the Guangdong market is the main core, accounting for nearly 70% of the national market. In addition, consumers have a low awareness of apple cider vinegar, and even many people think that it is a condiment that cannot be drunk directly; Vinegar companies like Haitian, despite their ability to shop nationwide channels, are more likely to confuse consumers with the concept of fruit vinegar drinks and fruit vinegar condiments.

　　The popularity of foreign fruit vinegar drinks is inseparable from the high awareness of consumers. Studies have shown that consumers associate apple cider vinegar with weight management (43%), digestive and gut health (36%), blood sugar management (33%), and promoting heart health and lowering cholesterol. Health function is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, making foreign apple cider vinegar drinks have become synonymous with health drinks. In developed countries such as Europe, the United States and Japan, fruit vinegar drinks have accounted for 50% of the total vinegar consumption. Japan's per capita vinegar consumption is 1.8 kg/year, the United States is 1.4 kg/year, while China's per capita annual consumption of vinegar is only 0.2 kg. Therefore, if domestic apple cider vinegar wants to further develop, in addition to innovation in fermentation technology and product types, it is also necessary to actively promote fruit vinegar products, especially to strengthen consumer concept education. The addition of beverage giants can help apple cider vinegar drinks quickly open the market, and the maturity of the marketing system can also cultivate the market for apple cider vinegar drinks.　　

(Source: Food Processing Packaging Online)