Following a rather lackluster 2009, when new beverage introductions plummeted nearly by half, the number of new beverages appearing on U.S. store shelves increased slightly in 2010. Notable gains in carbonated soft drinks, fruit/flavored still drinks, juices and malt/other hot beverages more than offset some significant declines in energy drinks, flavored water and beverage mixes. That said, fruit/flavored still drinks, RTD (iced) coffee, malt/other hot beverages and coffee (a very small segment, in terms of introductions) were the only segments that even approached their 2008 numbers.
Perhaps most notable among the segment declines from 2008 were the number of energy drink introductions. Per the Mintel Global New Products Database (GNPD), this segment hit a high of 328 new products in 2008; dipped by nearly two thirds to hit 110 in 2009; and plummeted to 62 in 2010. Men have traditionally been the primary target audience for energy drink manufacturers, and according to a July 2010 Mintel report, nearly 20% of U.S. men consume the beverages. However, that report also notes 11% of American women consume energy drinks. While this is far from a huge market penetration, it indicates there is room to grow and diversify. The past year saw a number of energy drinks around the globe target women, including a jelly drink promising beauty benefits and formulated with digestive fiber, collagen, hyaluronic acid and vitamins, which purportedly "support beauty from the inside out." Hyaluronic acid was found in several beverage introductions in Japan, in fact, including that beauty-oriented jelly drink Forte RN from Shiseido, Konjac Zero Calorie Grape Juice jelly drink from Family Mart and a protein drink powder from DHC, which also added the ingredient to a range of protein diet shakes.