The number of people consuming fruit juice has plummeted by 1.3 million since 2012, according to the latest findings from Roy Morgan Research.
“It’s rare that a day goes by without a news story about how much sugar Australians consume, often ‘hidden’ in food and drink generally believed to be healthy,” said Norman Morris, Industry Communications director of Roy Morgan Research. “Packaged fruit juice is one product that has attracted a lot of negative press for this reason – which almost certainly explains why fewer Aussies are drinking it now than they were back in 2012. People are also turning away from soft drinks for the same reason.”
Back in June 2012, 6.6 million Australians aged 14 or older (35.2% of the population) reported drinking packaged fruit juice in any given seven days, consuming an average of 4.6 glasses each. Fast forward to June 2016, and that figure had fallen to 5.3 million people (26.9%) drinking an average 4.3 glasses each.
“Obviously, this shrinking market is a concern for fruit juice brands. As the latest data from Roy Morgan shows, only one of the 10 most popular brands – Nudie – has drinkers since 2012. Tellingly, Nudie has always set itself apart from the other major brands by emphasising its healthy qualities and lack of additives and preservatives,” he further stated.
If all supermarket-branded juices were grouped together, they come out on top, more widely consumed than any of the big names. Some 6.2% of the population drink them per week, narrowly ahead of Aussie institutions Golden Circle (5.8%) and Berri (5.7%). Daily Juice and Nudie complete the top five. However, only one of this juicy quintet has gained popularity since 2012: Nudie, which has seen its weekly consumption almost triple from 0.9% to 2.4% of the population.
“As mentioned, young people are more likely than older Australians to drink packaged fruit juice and, in good news for brands, they’re also more likely to choose name brands over supermarket options. In fact, Golden Circle, Daily Juice and Berri are all more popular with Aussies under 25 years than home brand fruit juice,” Morris added.
The research showed that men (27.6%) are slightly more likely than women (26.3%) to consume packaged fruit juice, with young people of both genders being the most avid consumers. Among men, consumption peaks among 18-24 year olds (34.6%), while the 65+ bracket is least likely to drink it (25.5%). Among women, 38.8 per cent of girls aged 14-17 consume fruit juice/drinks in an average seven days, putting them well ahead of other age groups – particularly women aged 65 or older, 19.9 per cent of whom partake.
“There is also a discernible state-based loyalty when it comes to fruit-juice consumption: for example, Harvey Fresh is dramatically more popular in its home state Western Australia than any other brand, while Golden Circle and Berri trounce the competition in their respective states of origin, Queensland and South Australia,” said Morris.
Supermarkets are the most common place for buying packaged fruit juice: just over 5.2 million Australians purchase it there in an average four-week period (although this figure, too, has declined from 5.6 million).
In contrast, there has been a slight increase in juice bar purchasers. Just over 1.8 million people buy drinks from juice bars, up from just under 1.6 million. While Australia’s declining taste for packaged fruit juices is widely understood to be driven by growing awareness of the sugar contained in these beverages, the data suggests that juice from juice bars does not have this stigma attached to it.
On the contrary: people who buy drinks from juice bars are markedly more likely than the average Australian to be concerned about their health, nutrition and weight. Unlike packaged-juice drinkers, consumers of fruit bar juices are more likely to be women than men.
Compared with the population average, juice bar customers are:
- 119% more likely to ‘look for drinks with added ingredients that are good for my body’
- 104% more likely to agree that ‘the food I eat is all, or almost all, vegetarian
- 96% more likely to ‘buy drinks that boost my energy’
- 91% more likely to ‘avoid dairy foods whenever possible’
- 54% more likely to ‘try to avoid drinks that contain caffeine’
- 33% more likely to ‘favour natural medicines and health products’
- 21% more likely to agree ‘I’m constantly watching my weight’
- 20% more likely to ‘always think of the number of calories in the food I’m eating’
