Multitude of juices

There is a world-wide shift in demand from carbonated soft drinks to mineral water, fruit juice and ice tea. One third of the total quantity of fruit juice consumed in the HoReCa sector is sold in restaurants, one-fifth in pubs, clubs and bars, while the proportion sold in hotels and guest houses is less than one-tenth. – The majority of catering businesses still prefer larger size products and smaller units are only popular in the premium segment – says Gábor Steiner, HoReCa sales director of Rauch Hungária Kft. 1 litre Happy Day fruit juices represent the former, while 0,2 litre Rauch Prémium products in traditional and more exotic flavours, like coconut-pineapple are examples of the latter. Smaller units are regarded by manufacturers as having the potential for a further increase in sales and market share. 0.2 litre SIÓ products in a new bottle made a successful debut in the HoReCa sector in 2007. – We are present in the entire gastronomic segment, including restaurants, pubs, cafés and hotels – explains Attila Kaszás, head of the HoReCa division of Sió-Eckes Kft. Two things are very important in this segment: to have units which enhance the prestige of the service offered by HoReCa partners, and reaching consumers directly. Small, elegant bottles are ideal for both. According to Ibolya Szabó Ibolya, communication and PR director of Coca-Cola Magyarország, that the complete assortment, which allows market requirements to be fulfilled in the long run is more important than having popular single flavours. Cappy in 0.2 litre bottles, introduced in 2002 has become popular among both consumers and the owners of HoReCa businesses. One of the advantages of the 0.2 litre size is that guests can be sure they are getting what they are paying for, when the small bottle is opened on their table. According to László Móritz, Pago BA manager of Marker Kft, the distributor of Pago fruit juices, their primary target group is premium quality catering. 0.2 litre versions of the product are available in 16 flavours and there is also a wide assortment in 0.33 and 0.75 litre PET bottle versions as well. The popularity of fruit juices is slowly increasing. The most popular flavours in the HoReCa sector are still the traditional ones: peach, orange, apple. Apricot, pineapple and strawberry are coming up. Special combinations of flavours like plum-carrot-lime are limited to premium category HoReCa units. Pfanner has four flavour combinations in this category. Distributors agree that higher fruit content, premium quality and a wide assortment of flavours is definitely the future in the HoReCa sector.