- Contents
- *Scope and Themes
- What you need to know
- Definition
- Data sources
- Consumer survey data
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
What you need to know
With beverage introductions leveling off after a strong rebound, which followed the economic downturn, manufacturers are dedicating resources to eco-friendly, biodegradable, and reusable designs to meet consumers’ most-pressing demands from their beverage packaging. However, a slow-to-fully-recover economy has many consumers placing price front and center in their beverage choice, regardless of brand or any package attribute.
Reaching those consumers will demand convenient, sustainable, and innovative packaging options, and notable introductions have incorporated bio-based materials and feature QR codes on-pack to communicate the beverage’s health, eco-friendly, and overall attributes.
This report builds on the analysis presented in Mintel’s Beverage Packaging Trends – US, February 2014, Beverage Packaging Trends – US, February 2013, as well as the same title from January 2012, February 2011, and February 2010. The report also complements analysis presented in Packaging Trends in Food and Drink – US, March 2009 and Food and Drink Packaging Trends – US, April 2008.
Definition
For the purposes of this report, Mintel will cover trends in beverage package labeling and design in the shelf-stable and refrigerated non-alcoholic and alcoholic US beverage industry. The report includes insight into consumer priorities regarding package characteristics, labeling, functionality, and design when shopping in specific beverage categories. In addition, attitudes and behaviors regarding packaging materials and recycling are discussed, particularly as they relate to themes applicable to the report. Mintel also has data on beverage consumption in order to get to packaging usage. Those tables are available in the Appendix.
Consumer survey data
For this report, Mintel commissioned exclusive consumer research through GMI to explore consumer consumption of/attitudes and behaviors toward beverage packaging. Mintel was responsible for the survey design, data analysis, and reporting. Fieldwork was conducted in October 2014 among a sample of 2,000 adults aged 18+ with access to the internet.
Mintel selects survey respondents so that they are proportionally balanced to the entire US adult population based on the key demographics of gender, age, household income, and region. Mintel also slightly oversamples, relative to the population, respondents that are Hispanic or Black to ensure an adequate representation of these groups in the survey results. Please note that Mintel surveys are conducted online and in English only. Hispanics who are not online and/or do not speak English are not included in the survey results.
While race and Hispanic origin are separate demographic characteristics, Mintel often compares them to each other. Please note that the responses for race (White, Black, Asian, Native American, or other race) will overlap those that also are Hispanic, because Hispanics can be of any race.
Abbreviations
The following is a list of abbreviations used in this report:
| CPI | Consumer Price Index |
| GNPD | Global New Products Database |
| QR code | Quick-response code |
| rsp | Retail selling price |
Terms
Generations are discussed within this report, and they are defined as:
| World War II/Swing generations | Members of the WWII generation were born in 1932 or before and are aged 83 or older in 2015. Members of the Swing Generation were born between 1933 and 1945 and are aged 70-82 in 2015. |
| Baby Boomers | The generation born between 1946 and 1964. In 2015, Baby Boomers are between the ages of 51 and 69. |
| Generation X | The generation born between 1965 and 1976. In 2015, Gen Xers are between the ages of 39 and 50. |
| Millennials* | Born between 1977 and 1994, Millennials are aged 21-38 in 2015. |
| iGeneration | Born between 1995 and 2007, members of iGen are aged 8-20 in 2015. |
| Emerging generation | The newest generation began in 2008 as the annual number of births declined sharply with the recession. In 2015, members of this as-yet-unnamed generation are younger than 8. |
* also known as Generation Y or Echo Boomers
In order to provide an inflation-adjusted price value for markets, Mintel uses the CPI to deflate current prices. The CPI is defined as follows:
| CPI | The Consumer Price Index is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services.
The CPI and its components are typically used to adjust other economic series for price changes and to translate these series into inflation-free dollars. Examples of series adjusted by the CPI include retail sales, hourly and weekly earnings, and components of the national income and product accounts. In addition, and in Mintel reports, the CPI is used as a deflator of the value of the consumer’s dollar to find its purchasing power. The purchasing power of the consumer’s dollar measures the change in the value to the consumer of goods and services that a dollar will buy at different dates. The CPI is generally the best measure for adjusting payments to consumers when the intent is to allow consumers to purchase, at today’s prices, a market basket of goods and services equivalent to one that they could purchase in an earlier period. It is also the best measure to use to translate retail sales into real or inflation-free dollars. Based on Bureau of Labor Statistics definition. |
