United Arab Emirates Soft Drinks Review 2012

Tuesday 19 February 2013, Amsterdam

A little over 60% of the water sold in the UAE is table water, around 37% spring and the remainder mineral. It is often difficult to tell, because brands claim to be “Pure Spring” or “Natural Mineral” waters and then elaborate the purification and remineralisation processes involved.

Volume is forecast to breach 1 bn litres in 2012. As ever, advances in demand are closely related to population growth but widespread availability, intense competition between local players and portfolio oriented multinationals keep bottled water at the forefront of the categories. Other issues attracting media attention offer opportunity – the export ban from Saudi Arabia, a growing awareness of the expansion in water demand in the Emirates and the cost of desalinated variants – and represent a challenge, with the prospect of a ban on UAE water exports potentially depriving local producers of export sales.


 

Around 63% of the juice now sold in the UAE is chilled. Chilled has seen its share rise inexorably – it was a minority 49% in 2004 – as consumers have become more sophisticated, more affluent and suppliers have appreciated the added value benefits now available through larger retail outlets in particular. Around 28% of juice is imported, with Saudi Arabian producers taking an unusually small proportion behind products sourced from South Africa (Ceres) and further afield (Florida’s Natural and Tropicana).

Emirati consumers are aware of the healthiness of fruit based beverages and sales of each type – including nectars and still drinks – have risen throughout the past decade. This is expected to have continued into 2012, with a 6% advance in juice sales to 91.8 m litres expected.