European and American beverage markets focus on cold production, natural taste, high-end water

Recently, Google through the big data system and interviews and other forms to explore the European and American markets in 2017 beverage trends. It is found that "cold production", natural taste and high-end water are the plates with high attention from European and American users. People began to pay attention to the process, natural and pure taste and health. These observations have high reference value for Chinese beverage market practitioners.

Research method: Search big data + popular video analysis + consumer interview

In this study, Google first sampled the popular beverage terms searched by Internet users in the United States, The United Kingdom, Spain and Mexico between April 2015 and March 2017 to summarize the main search trends. The year-over-year increase, rate and acceleration of searches for these popular terms were calculated after seasonal effects were stripped out.

Google also dissected the content of popular YouTube drinks videos and conducted interviews with more than 1,000 consumers in four countries to learn more about what big data means to local lives.

Based on this methodology, Google came up with the top three drink trends for 2017: "cold brew," natural flavors, and high-end water.

1. Cold brew, Starbucks goes with the wind

Whether it's for health, taste or feeling good about yourself, how a drink is made is becoming as important as its ingredients list, according to the Google report.

Among them, "cold making", represented by cold brew coffee and cold brew tea, has become a popular trend in the beverage industry in recent years.

Cold brew coffee, for example, is usually soaked in cold water for 12-24 hours before being extracted and filtered.

Many might assume that a wave of retail coffee brands such as Starbucks (SBUX) have made the new product popular. But a Google search revealed that cold brew's rise in popularity was actually linked to the handmade coffee boom of 2012.

Since 2012, the number of searches for "DIY cold brew" has increased significantly, while the cold brew machine has been less popular.

Since 2015, the attention and innovation of brand owners have further encouraged the popularity of cold brew coffee. But by and large, cold brew searches are still dominated by the tall green line below -- "DIY."

This speculation is also supported by popular YouTube videos.

According to the report, the most viewed videos on cold brew coffee educate users about how to make coffee, with DIY coffee tools such as Mason bottles and filter paper being mentioned most frequently.

2. Natural flavors are popular

The second biggest trend in the beverage industry is more natural, down-to-earth flavors, the report said.

Of the four markets tracked in the report, ginger, matcha, turmeric and Chai were the four most searched flavors in those regions.

These down-to-earth flavored drinks are popular for different reasons: Matcha, for example, has a smooth, rich and creamy texture; Ginger, on the other hand, is known for its health benefits, including antioxidants and digestive AIDS.

But for brands, the search data of relevant hot words, but for new product development provides an interesting Angle.

Ginger tea, ginger beer and ginger ale, for example, were the three most searched ginger drinks. What's more, ginger juices, ginger cold brewed teas and ginger water have exploded in search popularity in recent years, with annual growth of 79% in all four markets, well ahead of the 32% growth for ginger tea, ginger beer and ginger ale.

In addition, when ginger is mixed with other flavors to make flavored drinks, people's preferences vary slightly from country to country.

According to Google search data, users in the US, UK and Spain prefer ginger with lemon, honey and turmeric. Mexico is a bit different, with the exception of turmeric, where locals like ginger with cinnamon and fennel.

Matcha, on the other hand, has a much more prosaic flavor combination of cream, milk and chocolate.

3. People are picky about water

In addition, with the improvement of people's health awareness, our requirements for water have changed a lot.

On the one hand, consumers want to be able to drink more water whenever they want, so Google search data shows high volume searches for terms like gallon and large bottle.

At the same time, due to the requirements of clean water quality, people also pay special attention to water purifiers and drinking fountains.

Google collected the top 100 most popular videos about water purifiers and drinking fountains on YouTube in four countries, and found that consumers are most concerned about cleanliness, safety and bacteria before and after filtration.

Drinking fountains, on the other hand, pay more attention to home scenes and convenience, such as easy heating, good taste, easy drinking, BPA free and other factors.

On the other hand, Google searches show a growing interest in alkaline water, sparkling water and high-end packaged water. Especially in the United States, the search for alkaline water has become increasingly popular.

Google's report, although targeted at four European and American markets, provides insights into market trends based on consumer search behavior, as well as the observations themselves, which are of great reference value to practitioners and researchers in the Chinese beverage market.

Not to mention, if you're in China, you probably tried some of these new drinks this past summer, like Parisian water that took over the refrigerator of a convenience store overnight and a variety of new plant-based energy drinks. Reading this report, you may be able to better understand these new trends in the beverage world.