Frost & Sullivan officially releases the '2024 China Fruit Juice Market Insights and Practice White Paper' | From 'quantity' to 'quality', the fruit juice market is witnessing structural growth

Juice refers to a liquid product made from fruits through physical methods such as pressing, centrifugation, and extraction. It is an important category of soft drinks. Juices are generally divided into three major categories based on their juice content: 100% pure juice, medium concentration juice, and low concentration juice. The common 100% pure juices in the current market are mainly divided into concentrated reduced (FC) juice and non-concentrated reduced (NFC) juice. Medium and low concentration juices can be further divided into pulp (slurry) beverages, concentrated fruit juice beverages, fruit (slurry) beverages, blended fruit juice beverages, fermented fruit juice beverages, and fruit beverages. In addition, juices can also be classified by flavor. The main flavor elements in the domestic juice market are relatively fixed, mainly including oranges, apples, grapes, etc., with mixed-flavor juices and fruit and vegetable mixtures accounting for a smaller proportion.

Data source: Analysis by Frost & Sullivan

The dissemination, development, and technological progress of fruit juice are mainly driven by developed countries such as the United States, while China's fruit juice industry started relatively late. Since 2000, the soft drink industry has experienced rapid growth, and current soft drink production is gradually stabilizing. Products, channels, technology, and other aspects continue to iterate, and the product types, sales channels, marketing strategies, supply chain, and R&D directions of fruit juice are also being updated and iterated accordingly.

Data source: Analysis by Frost & Sullivan

China is a major fruit-producing country in the world, with an estimated total fruit output of 340 million tons in 2024, accounting for about 35% of the country's total fruit production. Fruit varieties and production scales vary among different countries, as do sweetness, juice content, etc., leading to differences in the distribution of fruits for fresh consumption and processing. The price fluctuations in fresh fruit procurement further affect the processing intentions of processing enterprises, necessitating direct import and export of fruit juice. China's fruits are mainly oriented towards fresh consumption, with a relatively small proportion allocated for processing. At the same time, there is great potential for fruit juice consumption in the domestic market, making China a major importer of fruit juice.

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, General Administration of Customs, Frost & Sullivan analysis

Currently, domestic consumption of fruit juice beverages mainly consists of orange juice and apple juice, with a rapid growth in consumption of other tropical fruit juices. Due to the unsuitable variety structure of citrus fruits for juicing, the constraints of small-scale scattered cultivation, high industry chain costs, and difficulties in transportation and storage, domestic orange juice production is relatively low, relying heavily on imports.

Data source: Analysis by Frost & Sullivan

In 2020, affected by the pandemic and limited consumption scenarios, the retail market scale of fruit juice in China significantly declined, but it has stabilized and rebounded since 2021. By 2024, the market scale of fruit juice in China reached 158.4 billion yuan. In recent years, the average unit price of fruit juice products has increased, driving the market scale to maintain growth. This is mainly due to the following four reasons: Under the backdrop of consumption structure upgrading, consumers have significantly increased their sensitivity to ingredients such as sugar and additives, and the importance of 'health' as a purpose for drinking fruit juice has risen; accordingly, the consumption of pure fruit juice has grown, and the premium effect of high-end products has driven overall consumption; in addition, continuous breakthroughs in processing technologies such as low-temperature processing, NFC, and HPP have increased the supply of high-end products; at the same time, to cope with the impact of new products such as fruit coffee and fruit tea, fruit juice brands have widely innovated in functionality and scenario-based offerings, further expanding product types and market scale.

Data source: Analysis by Frost & Sullivan

Currently, fruit juice consumption in China is still dominated by low-concentration juices, with 100% pure juice and medium-concentration juices showing a strong growth trend. The proportion of future consumption is expected to increase significantly. In terms of supply, the domestic market mainly features low-cost production lines for fruit-flavored beverages and low-concentration fruit-flavored beverages. In terms of demand, fruit-flavored soda and fruit-flavored granules have also taken a leading position in the early development of the domestic beverage industry by capturing consumers' minds. With the current market demand shift and the gradual improvement in consumer education, since 2016, the market share of low-concentration juices has begun to decline significantly, while the sales of 100% pure juice and medium-concentration juice beverages have risen.

Data source: Analysis by Frost & Sullivan

The volume of low-concentration fruit juice in the current Chinese juice market remains substantial, and although the growth prospects are generally not optimistic, it will continue to maintain a dominant position in the lower-end market due to its existing large volume. With the increasingly prominent effect of social media sales and consumers' awareness of nutritional and healthy consumption, 100% pure fruit juice holds great development opportunities in first- and second-tier cities.

Data source: Analysis by Frost & Sullivan

The juice industry chain includes four major links: raw materials, production and processing, distribution, and sales terminals. There are obvious technical and financial barriers in raw materials, manufacturing, and transportation. In terms of raw materials, as consumers become increasingly picky about the quality of juice, many manufacturers have launched slogans for strictly selecting raw materials. However, due to the huge initial capital investment and long incubation time, domestic and foreign juice enterprises still widely rely on third-party fruit suppliers or concentrated juice suppliers for supply. In terms of manufacturing, the cost of production equipment accounts for an important proportion of the juice production cost. Foreign equipment has obvious advantages in terms of sealing performance, energy saving, and product quality, but the price is more expensive. At the same time, more advanced production equipment is also required for higher-end juices such as NFC juice, which forms barriers to the production line layout and product manufacturing of juice enterprises. In terms of transportation, due to the strict requirements for storage and transportation temperature of juice, NFC juice relies on professional cold chain and temperature-controlled warehousing, and needs to "order according to sales" to ensure product quality, which will exert obvious operational pressure on the juice production and sales process.

Data source: Analysis by Frost & Sullivan

The R&D and production process of fruit juice is relatively fixed. It is produced by pressing raw fruits. After cleaning, juicing, and filtering the raw fruits, homogenization degassing/clarification filtration, concentration (non-concentrated reduced fruit juice does not go through the concentration process), mixing and blending, sterilization, and bottling are carried out. For fruit juice production by purchasing fruit raw materials, the raw materials are directly mixed and blended, followed by sterilization and bottling procedures.

Data source: Analysis by Frost & Sullivan

Juice production involves multiple processes such as juicing, concentration, and sterilization. Each process corresponds to a different production technique. Juice production needs to preserve the taste and nutritional value of the juice while extending its shelf life. Accordingly, hot treatment or cold processing is chosen. Generally speaking, juice produced by a lower-temperature production technique has better quality.

In the actual production process, it is necessary to select the most suitable technology for enterprise operation by combining various factors such as technical advantages, cost, and product positioning. The mainstream hot-squeeze orange juice brands in industrial production widely use the 'hot-squeeze - ultra-high temperature sterilization - aseptic filling' process to ensure that the product shelf life reaches more than 12 months. Tianjin Orange Treasure is the first to use a low-temperature process to produce orange juice, ensuring high freshness of the product while reducing flavor loss and retaining nutritional components.

Cold chain logistics is a specialized form of logistics that utilizes temperature control, preservation technology, and facilities such as cold storage warehouses, refrigerated trucks, and refrigerated containers to ensure that cold chain products are always maintained within a specified temperature environment throughout the entire process of initial processing, storage, transportation, distribution processing, sales, and delivery. Cold chain logistics is of great significance to the primary agricultural products industry and the processed food industry: it can effectively inhibit microorganisms and ensure product quality, reduce transportation loss rates, thereby facilitating cross-regional circulation of short shelf-life products and supporting the marketization of high-end products.

In the entire process of fruit juice production and sales, cold chain transportation plays a crucial role in reducing loss rates and ensuring product quality. In the raw material phase, it helps to reduce losses by storing fresh fruits and puree. In the production phase, it prevents fruit juice from spoiling or being re-contaminated and effectively extends shelf life. In the transportation phase, it prevents oxidation and protects the flavor of the fruit juice product.

In recent years, the scale of China's cold chain logistics market has continued to expand. Although domestic cold chain logistics started relatively late, it has expanded its coverage through a large number of favorable policies during the '13th Five-Year Plan' and '14th Five-Year Plan' periods. It has continuously improved software and hardware facilities to achieve high-speed and high-quality development.

Source: China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, Frost & Sullivan analysis

Domestic macroeconomy has achieved steady growth driven by both consumption upgrading and channel expansion, supporting the structural upgrading of the juice industry and empowering the high-end and down-market expansion of the juice category. At the micro level, contemporary consumers are driven by new values, favoring local brands, emphasizing visual effects, emphasizing personalized consumption experiences, and gradually establishing brand trust. Juice consumption has undergone multiple rounds of evolution, responding to consumer demands with concepts of health, freshness, and convenience.

Firstly, under the dual resonance of fresh fruit price fluctuations and the increasing health-conscious demand, juice consumption has surged, driving a certain growth in the juice industry. Secondly, pure juice leads the healthy consumption sector due to its nutritional advantages, becoming one of the preferred beverages for consumers' health upgrades, driving structural growth in the pure juice category.

Data source: LeadLeo Research Institute, International Nutrition Science Federation, Frost & Sullivan analysis

Thirdly, juice production and sales have currently explored four major innovation directions, including raw material upgrading, variety expansion, local fruit exploration, and health function enhancement. Against the backdrop of consumption expansion, Chinese juice is expected to break through the low consumption penetration rate dilemma and open up new market growth space for high-end pure juices and other products. Finally, in terms of consumer channels, the sinking of convenience stores combined with the rise of new retail will enable high-end juice to leverage full-channel coordination to drive market volume growth.

Data source: Corporate annual reports, Frost & Sullivan analysis

At present, China has introduced a number of policies targeting food production and manufacturing transformation, covering the entire upstream and downstream industrial chain of fruit juice. By making comprehensive efforts in ensuring the industrial chain and supply chain, product upgrading and technological innovation, as well as industrial upgrading and market space expansion, it has provided a more complete support and development space for the fruit juice industry. It is recommended that enterprises seize policy opportunities and continue to invest and layout in aspects such as stabilizing production and supply, product innovation, digital transformation, quality safety, and brand building.

In recent years, with the improvement of residents' income levels and the popularization of health knowledge, consumers have become more favorably inclined towards natural, additive-free, and nutritious fruit juice products. This has driven the rapid development of high-end pure fruit juice, functional fruit juice, and low-sugar, low-calorie products, and has led to a consumption stratification phenomenon. In addition, a series of policies introduced by the state have significantly improved the standardization and intelligence level of the fruit juice industry chain, helping upstream fruit and vegetable cultivation achieve scale and specialization. The introduction of NFC and HPP technologies by fruit juice production enterprises, as well as the improvement of cold chain logistics and digital management systems, have greatly increased product circulation efficiency and continuously optimized the fruit juice production and sales system. At the same time, the diversification of consumers' lifestyles and the continuous expansion of scenario needs are constantly transforming sales channels, injecting new vitality into the development of the fruit juice industry.

Under the collaborative action of both the supply and demand sides, China's fruit juice industry will enter a new stage of higher quality, full-chain upgrading, and sustainable development. On the supply side, the digitalization level of enterprises and the upgrade of intelligent manufacturing will effectively ensure product quality stability and achieve cost reduction and efficiency improvement. The promotion of technologies such as HPP will drive products and markets towards higher-end development. At the same time, under the intensified market competition, leading enterprises are accelerating the integration of industrial chain resources, and market concentration is expected to increase. On the demand side, the concept of health will continue to lead the process of consumption upgrading, with personalized and multi-scenario needs expanding. Changes in consumption habits will promote innovation in sales channels and the promotion of new retail models, with the market expected to continue expanding and the importance of segmented markets to continue increasing.

Currently, the disposable income of residents in low-tier cities is gradually increasing, and their consumption concepts are maturing. It is expected that through consumption upgrading, the market space for lower-end markets can be expanded. By deploying a diversified product matrix including functional and mixed juices, the brand can respond to the needs of segmented scenarios such as home, office, sports, and entertainment. The brand is expected to achieve precise marketing, enhance brand loyalty, and increase product repurchase rates. At the same time, as consumers' maturity increases, the bargaining power of high-end pure juice products expands, creating profit opportunities and market share expansion for the enterprise.

The juice industry should also be aware that with the continuous improvement of food safety supervision standards, enterprises will face higher operational pressure in terms of production technology, finished product testing, storage and preservation. In addition, China's juice production still highly relies on global supply chains. Potential issues such as raw material cost fluctuations, transportation stability, and tariff impacts require enterprises to establish diversified, flexible, and robust supply chain systems.

The number of new entrants to the juice market has increased, and mainstream juice categories share highly similar production techniques, appearance design, and promotional slogans, leading to intensified homogeneous competition. niche juice categories face difficulties in standardized raw material supply, which may affect the return on investment of juice companies. The uneven distribution of cold chain resources and the fragmentation of market channels in lower-tier markets still pose certain obstacles to the large-scale popularization of high-end products. At the same time, although pure juice is currently the main direction of industry development, the technical path is costly, and product prices are difficult to reduce in the short term, limiting consumer acceptance and posing a bottleneck to scale expansion.

Tianjin Orange Treasure Fresh Orange Juice Co., Ltd. operates with the business philosophy of 'Integrity, Professionalism, Innovation, and Creating Value for Customers', and is also the first 100% juice manufacturer in China that uses low-temperature processing technology. The company's service network covers provincial capitals and satellite cities across the country, serving customers in four and five-star hotels, high-end catering, high-end supermarkets, and chain convenience store systems.

Data source: Analysis by Frost & Sullivan

Waiquan Food Industry Co., Ltd. is affiliated with Dingxin International Group and is mainly engaged in the full industrial chain operation of fruit juice products (refrigerated FC juice), dairy products, condiments, nutritional foods, and oils. It covers all aspects from product research and development, packaging material manufacturing to channel distribution. The company has now established three collaborative business systems: the food manufacturing industry itself, the supporting packaging material industry, and the international trade platform, forming a complete food supply chain ecosystem from raw material procurement, production processing to global distribution.

Data source: Analysis by Frost & Sullivan

As a leading enterprise in the normal temperature fruit juice industry, Beijing Huiyuan Food and Beverage Co., Ltd. has constructed a full industrial chain layout of 'planting - processing - distribution', achieving integration of the three industries: deep processing of fruit juice, standardized cultivation of the fruit industry, and industrialized development of agriculture. Its business matrix covers ecological planting bases, clusters of deep processing of agricultural products, and a commercial logistics system, among other integrated agricultural, industrial, and commercial development modules.

Data source: Analysis by Frost & Sullivan