Fruit juice market under pressure

This article is available for reading in Trade magazin 2025/2-3.

The drop in global fruit yields – especially in the case of oranges and apples – has made raw materials much more expensive, which is also reflected in juice prices. In the last year or two several EU and national regulations have come into force, which have a big influence on juice producers and distributors. One of them is Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which requires producers and distributors to take responsibility for packaging waste management – including recycling costs. Plus a mandatory deposit return scheme (DRS) has been introduced for plastic, metal and glass beverage packaging in Hungary, with the goal of increasing recycling rates.

The drop in global fruit yields has made raw materials much more expensive

Innovations following the trends

NIQ 2024 YTD NOV data reveals: the macroeconomic challenges of last year were reflected in the evolution of the fruit juice sector, albeit to a lesser extent than in 2023. The market grew by 3.4% in value compared to the same period last year, while it was down 5.3% in volume.

Emese Szász-Bognár
communications and
media manager
SIÓ-Eckes

Market leader SIÓ-Eckes believes they can continue to shape market trends and influence consumer taste via high quality, products with an added value and continuous innovation.

“Launched last summer, our SIÓ CitrusFriss melon-lime-apple product is a new favourite among those who like refreshing fruit drinks. We have completely changed the design of the 1-litre Hohes C portfolio”,

says Emese Szász-Bognár, communications and media manager of SIÓ-Eckes Kft.

With the SIÓ brand they continue to expand their product selection, based on the consumer trends identified by doing research. The company has high hopes about the launch of the hohes C Fruchtig&Leicht range – these products contain no added sugar or sweeteners and have 60% fruit content.

Limited editions

Anett Novák
senior brand
manager
Maspex Olympos

In 2024 Maspex Olympos Kft. expanded its portfolio, e.g. three new vitamin-fortified functional fruit drinks were launched in the Topjoy range, under the names Immunity, Vitality and Fitness.

“In spring we are adding two limited edition flavours to the Topjoy 0.25-litre bottle portfolio. We are also introducing our apple-blackberry flavoured tongue painter, which turns your tongue blue for a short time. The summer limited edition will be available in apple -elder flavour combination”,

informs Anett Novák, senior brand manager of Maspex Olympos Kft.

According to NIQ 2024 YTD NOV data, the average price level in the fruit juice category increased by 9.2% year-on-year. This price increase was particularly reflected in a decline in consumption by price-sensitive consumers. Many consumers opted for cheaper alternatives such as soft drinks or private label fruit juices.

A szegmenseket tekintve a gyümölcspürék, a shotok és a hűtött dzsúszok erősödtek

Transforming assortment

Zsuzsanna Papp
marketing manager
Szobi

At Szobi 2024 was basically like 2023 performance-wise.

“In spring we started to incorporate the EPR fee, which increased the price of one-litre Tetra products by 8 forints/ litre and 0.2-litre products cost 2 forints more”,

says Zsuzsanna Papp, marketing manager of Szobi Italgyártó Kft.

Szobi has withdrawn some of its 100% fruit content products from the market and launched a number of exclusive new products instead. E-commerce is becoming more important in the fruit juice category, and this is particularly true for premium brands. The market share of discount supermarkets such as Lidl, Aldi and Penny Market may continue to grow, as demand from price-sensitive consumers remains strong.

Dániel Nagy
sales manager
DÉR Juice

For DÉR Juice the most important objective in 2024 was to modernise its production plant.

“Modernisation has increased production efficiency and product quality, enabling us to better serve customer needs while also expanding our customer base”,

says Daniel Nagy, sales manager of DÉR Juice.

In 2025 the company plans to launch new flavours, developed based on market expectations.

Graphic differentiation is no longer enough in the case of products for children. It is added value that drives innovation.

To increase consumer engagement, brands have introduced targeted campaigns, coupons and loyalty programmes

Mónika Inotay 
marketing manager
In-Food 2000

Mónika Inotay, marketing manager of In-Food 2000 Kft. points out that Pfanner products have been offering outstanding quality, unique flavour combinations and eye-catching packaging for decades.

“In 2025 we will add exciting new products to our offering, which satisfy consumer demand with unique, health-conscious solutions. These could include more exotic flavours, vitamin-fortified combinations or our immune booster shots”,

says Mónika Inotay.

Katalin Sarkadi
head of marketing
Funky Forest

In spite of the surge in ingredient and food prices, for their stable buyer base 100% Funky Forest juices remain very popular.

“Our key partners – breakfast bars, bakeries, cafés and retail chains – are opting for Funky Forest’s additive-free, exclusively fruit and vegetable containing juices because of their demanding customers. We are reacting to the growing price-sensitivity of retail chains with larger sizes”,

reports head of marketing Katalin Sarkadi. //

Fruit juice market: a shift towards lower fruit content

Guest writer:
Zsófia Horváth
analytic insights associate
NIQ

However, the rise in value sales is still not driven by volume growth, but by average consumer price hike: the category was characterised by a 10% rise in price levels, while volume sales fell by 6% compared to the same period last year. Manufacturer brands managed to increase their value share a little and now account for 70% of sales in HUF terms, while the remaining 30% is accounted for by private labels.

As regards the different segments, nectar sales continue to decline, with a 12% drop in value due to both falling demand and changes in product mix. Consequently, they account for 26% of the fruit juice market’s sales by value. However, products with a fruit content below 20% have grown both in value (+16%) and volume (+2%), overtaking 100% fruit drinks and now accounting for 39% of total sales by value. The 100% fruit content segment has expanded by 6% in value and decreased by 6% in volume, giving these products a 35% market share in value terms over the last 12 months. Classic apple, orange, mixed fruit and peach flavours dominate the market, although they have declined in volume. //