As noted in the nondairy beverage article in our May issue, consumers are seeking functional and no-sugar-added options for beverages — and some juice segments are taking a hit in sales because of it. Sales are down in orange, apple and juice/drink smoothies segments, but ticking up in refrigerated lemonade, fruit drinks and vegetable juice blends.
The refrigerated juices/drinks category saw dollar sales down 1.4% to $6.6 billion, and unit sales dropped 1.7% to 2.2 billion, according to Information Resources Inc. (IRI), Chicago, for the 52 weeks ended March 19, 2017.