Blog: Powder revolution in beverages

Beverages categories are changing drastically due to consumer preferences but also because goverments policies and compromises to make the planet a better place to live. I remember during my childhood, different brands of powder drinks available at the supermarket. At this time, we didnt have information about ingredients, sustainability impact or health impact of preservatives and excipients. We choose products based on convenience (an easy to make drink), and also on price (being able to try different flavours without taking a big financial risk). One of the most popular brands at this time was Tang. This brand still on shelves and it is part of Mondelez portfolio. It was introduced in 1957, being at that time category leader. Then, beverages evolved and consumers starting to put more attention to ingredients and naturalness. In developing countries this product format helped to bring falvour and joy to isolated households with low income.

Tang powder drink

Other brands as Lucozade Energy used powder format (in tablets) as a way to penetrate developing markets or looking for more convenient ways of using their product. This format in my opinion, it is not very attractive nowadays because tablets are connected with other product categories (as medicaments).

As we said, context is changing and governments are more concerned about pollution and sustainability. Powder products could be a great alternative to RTD softdrinks, as you dont need to transport tonnes of water anymore. This change could contribute to improve companies carbon footprint. However, product experience is not the same and brands need to work on this to improve it. We see below another example: Huel. Founded in 2015 with headquaters in London, this brand offers balanced products for a healthy lifestyle. They started with protein drinks and they have expanded their portfolio. A recent launch is the meal powder sachets. If you think in the image of instant soups or creams, it is not very good. Huel brand is using its positioning to improve this concept. You can find out more about them in this link.

Huel powder food

Powder format also helps to become stronger in specific channels or routes to market. Do you have an idea of what I´m talking about? Yes, e-commerce . For most stablished brands, this is a pending topic. The main reason is the the P&L. Are you getting lost? I will explain: big companies are used to have an specific margin, based on their business model. E-commerce challenges their established system. Current skus are not valid anymore, transportation cost are too high to be profitable... This is the perfect opportunity for start ups who can create business models adapted to current needs and channels. One of my favourite brands on this space is Holy, a german start up who started with powder energy drinks and expanded their portfolio into the Iced tea and Isotonic categories. Their range of flavours is amazing. Their brand positioning is fresh and very connected with the new generations (specially GenZ). These are 2 examples of powder drinks that are performing very good in the current context. Do you want your brand to take benefir on that? Contact us, we can support you.

Holy Energy drink powder