What is going on in the beverage segment? Like several other categories, overall, the skies are cloudy, with little rain predicted. Sales in the vast category are mixed year-over-year (YoY), but there are plenty signs of strength. Declining subcategories certainly did not take it on the chin, perhaps a good sign for the industry.

The most recent data from Chicago-based market research firm Circana is presented in the chart below, providing sales details about a plethora of non-dairy categories. Of note, refrigerated tea/coffee, sports drinks, and canned juices showed plenty of strength, with each subcategory achieving YoY dollar sales exceeding 5% for the 52-week period ending Aug. 11.

Conversely, refrigerated juices/drinks, bottled juices, ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee/tea, and aseptic juices all suffered year-over-year declines, although none exceeded a drop of more than 2.7% YoY.

Sugar-reduction is definitely a main goal for non-dairy processors. One such company is Boston-based Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc., which released Ocean Spray Zero Sugar Juice Drink — the first beverage from the company with bold flavor, zero grams of sugar, and no artificial sweeteners. Ocean Spray Zero Sugar Juice Drink contains stevia leaf extract that has been further processed and is available in two flavors: Cranberry and Mixed Berry. At the time of the release, Mixed Berry was a new flavor to the brand’s beverage portfolio.