Don Simon Mango and Passionfruit Juice, 1.583 kg

Product Information

NFC and low-Brix orange juices are the most imported product of the entire category, representing more than half of total imports in quantity. NFC orange juice is a fast-growing category, with 8% average annual import growth since 2016. Tropical juices (not counting pineapple) show the largest import growth, increasing from 3.7 thousand tonnes in 2016 to 6.1 thousand tonnes in 2020. Significant quantities are imported indirectly via Austria from large traders such as Agrana or through the Austrian trade office of Brazilian processing giant Citrosuco GmbH. See our studies on coconut water, mango puree and pineapple juice to learn more about European markets for these specific juice industry products. Due to consumer perception of the sugar content in juices, the general consumption of juices in Europe is decreasing. To educate consumers, provide juice facts and stimulate consumption, the European Fruit Juice Association (AIJN) has launched a campaign, ‘Fruit Juice Matters’, and has established a Fruit Juice Science Centre. Despite these efforts, the consumption of fruit juices is decreasing, also influenced by promotional activities from soft drink manufacturers. Some carbonated drinks have better ‘Nutri-Score’ ranks than fruit juices, which is used in promotion. To counteract the downward trend in juice consumption, the industry is turning to new, innovative and sophisticated flavours and mixes. Efforts have focused on the NFC (not-from-concentrate) and smoothie sectors with fruit and vegetable mixes that are lower in sugar and the addition of functional ingredients.

Juice processing technology is constantly evolving, with many innovative solutions and process automations. The typical production process for bulk juices includes the following steps: The leading supplier of citrus and tropical juices to Italy is the Netherlands, with a 28% share. The Netherlands mainly supplies Italy with concentrated pineapple juice of Thai and Indonesian origin. Other strong European suppliers are Spain (mandarin and lemon juice) and Germany (mostly orange juice of Brazilian origin). Developing country suppliers gaining share on the Italian market are Brazil (concentrated orange), South Africa (concentrated orange and lemon), Bolivia (lemon), Egypt (mango), Mexico (lime) and the Philippines (concentrated pineapple). The Netherlands is by far Europe’s largest importer of citrus and tropical juices. Since 2016, imports increased at an average annual rate of 6%, reaching a record 1.05 billion litres in 2020. However, it is estimated that around 90% of all imported citrus and tropical juices are re-exported to other destinations, primarily Germany and France. The remaining 10% is consumed domestically, which means that the Netherlands is actually a rather small market.

Germany, being the largest European organic market, is especially attractive for organic juices. For example, 31% of lemons sold in Germany (often used for lemonade) are organic according to a Biofach 2020 presentation. Concentrated pineapple juice with a Brix level below 67° is the most imported juice of the entire category, accounting for 16% in 2020. Lemon juice accounted for 14.4% of imports, followed by NFC orange juice (14.2%) and concentrated orange juice with a Brix level below 67°. The largest annual import growth since 2016 was noted for NFC lemon juice (41%) and frozen concentrated orange juice with a Brix level below 67° (11%). In the subcategory of tropical juices, the largest annual import growth of 18% was for passion fruit and mango juice. The recent outbreak of COVID-19 has contributed to the development of many immunity-boosting products, including juices. According to research by Mintel, the COVID-19 outbreak has prompted 45% of consumers in Europe to add more nutrients into their diet, while 29% has reported being more interested in foods that can support your immune system since the start of the pandemic. The global market for smoothies is forecast to increase at an average annual rate of 7-9% until 2025. 1 of the trends supporting this outlook is the decreased consumption of sugars. Smoothies can be produced with a lower average sugar content than fruit juices. The lower sugar content is achieved by combining fruit with vegetables and milk or water. The addition of water is not allowed in 100% fruit juices, which leads to a healthier consumer perception of smoothies compared to fruit juices. Organic citrus and tropical juices The United Kingdom is the third-ranked importer of citrus and tropical juices in Europe, with a decreasing import trend until 2019. The average annual import decrease of this category of juices was 3% over the last 5 years. However, in 2020, partially due to the impact of COVID-19, the market started to recover. Imports of most juices increased, reaching 524 thousand tonnes. Orange juice accounts for more than 80% of the entire category. Strong import growth was also noted for NFC pineapple, concentrated orange, mandarin and lemon juices.

The total annual consumption of fruit juices and nectars in Italy is estimated at more than 600 million litres. Due to consumers’ sugar concerns, the consumption of juices has been decreasing since 2015, but this decline slowed down in 2020 under the influence of COVID-19. Consumption of smoothies and fruit-milk drinks is increasing. In the fruit juice category (not counting nectars), orange juice flavour accounts for around 30% (33 million litres), followed by pineapple (22%), tropical (19%) and grapefruit (12%). Organic juices have a market share of around 3.5% in volume. Recovery of aroma – the water removed during evaporation contains aroma essences. To preserve aroma, the first vapours (rich in essence) are commonly taken from the evaporation tubes and condensed. The acquired liquid is further processed to get a concentrated aroma essence. This essence is commonly sold together with the concentrated juice. Juice extraction – extraction is performed in different ways, depending on the fruit type and machine design. Different types of grinders, presses, sieves and other equipment are developed by equipment producers such as Bucher Unipektin, Alfa Laval, JBT and Brown. Citrus processing also includes the extraction of oil from the peel. For some types of juices, enzymes are used to increase the juice yield. According to ‘Financial Food’ (based on combined Nielsen and Kantar data), the consumption of fruit juices in Spain has continued to decrease despite the impact of COVID-19. The total volume of fruit juices and nectars sold in 2020 was estimated at 734 million litres. Fruit juices accounted for 41% of consumption, while the remaining 59% were nectars (with a 25-99% juice content). Orange juice is the most popular flavour with a share of around 36%, followed by pineapple with 26%. Other tropical fruits account for around 15%.Generally, fruit juices are perceived as more natural than most soft drinks (such as carbonated drinks), so producers are innovating to make juices lower in calories. New low-calorie juices are appearing on the market, such as fruit and vegetable mixes, juices with coconut water and juices with an increased proportion of low-sugar fruit such as raspberry puree. Popularity of smoothies Vitamin C is already an established ingredient in juices and nectars, mostly because of its antioxidant properties. COVID-19 has contributed to the development of drinks with more added nutrients that can have a positive impact on the immune system. These drinks often use citrus and tropical juices as ingredients with added complex vitamins, minerals (especially zinc) and probiotics. Like in other European countries, French consumers’ concerns about the high sugar content in juices have influenced consumption. Consumption of all juices continued to decrease in 2020, but due to the impact of COVID-19, retail sales and at-home consumption performed better compared to out-of-home consumption. Total consumption decreased from 1.65 billion litres in 2010 to 1.24 billion litres in 2020. Orange juice accounted for 43.1% of the market, pineapple for 3.5%, other single tropical fruits for 2.1%, grapefruit for 1.7% and mandarin/clementine for 1.7%. Opportunities for emerging suppliers can be found in selling citrus and tropical juices as ingredients for drinks manufacturers. British drinks producers are very innovative, experimenting with new and healthier solutions. For example, the United Kingdom is the largest European market for smoothies. Also, sales of NFC juices are increasing. Other innovations include juice shots (such as with turmeric or ginger) and drinks with functional ingredients (like vitamins, amino acids, kombucha, aloe and cannabidiol). Some of the leading suppliers of tropical juices as ingredients are Symrise (formerly Cobell, as Symrise acquired Cobell), Kenegrade and Gerald McDonald & Company.

France is the leading European consumer of pineapple juice. Apparent consumption (the difference between imports and exports) of pineapple juice reached 48 thousand tonnes in 2020. Imports of mandarin and lemon juices increased at an average annual rate of 5-6% over the last 5 years, but most of those juices are sourced from Spain and Italy. The import of passion fruit juice increased at a similar rate of 6%, with Peru as the main supplier, followed by Ecuador. Retail sales of fruit juices and nectars in the Netherlands decreased from 335 thousand litres in 2011 to 169 thousand litres in 2019. Under the influence of COVID-19, sales increased again in 2020 to 175 thousand litres. Mixed flavour juices and nectars are the most popular in the Netherlands, accounting for 45%, followed by orange flavour (27%). Tropical juices are popular ingredients among Dutch producers of mixed flavour juices. Those mixed flavour juices are usually labelled with names such as ‘ Tropisch/Tropical’, ‘ Exotisch/Exotic’ or ‘ Multivitamine’/’Multivitamin’ and contain some proportion of citrus and tropical juices. After orange juice, pineapple juice accounts for the largest import share with 15%, followed by grapefruit juice (5%), lemon juice (4%) and tropical fruit juice (3%). The largest import growth was noted for NFC pineapple juice, for which imports almost doubled in 5 years from 4.1 thousand tonnes in 2016 to 8 thousand tonnes in 2020. Other juices with particularly strong annual import growth were concentrated pineapple (13% average growth), NFC grapefruit juice (12%) and passion fruit (10%). Brazilian orange juice accounts for nearly 60% of citrus and tropical juice imports. The main reason for such large imports is the presence of Brazilian producing giants in Rotterdam – Cutrale (Continental Juice BV) and Louis Dreyfus. Also, the leading European processor and trader, Döhler, sells large quantities of juices through its Dutch representation (Doehler Holland BV). Examples of other Dutch traders of tropical and citrus juices are SVZ, Ariza (specialised in organic products), Prodalim, Verbruggen Juice Trading and Santos Enterprise Food. The smoothie market has been dominated by one brand and prices have been ruthlessly high,” said Richard Cawood, marketing manager at Don Simon owner J Garcia Carrión.

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The largest share of citrus juice trade belongs to orange juice, followed by grapefruit, lemon and lime. Other citrus fruit juices such as mandarin, tangerine, pomelo and yuzu are traded in relatively small quantities. The largest share of tropical juice trade belongs to pineapple juice, followed by passion fruit (maracuja). Spain may not be the most attractive market for orange, mandarin and lemon juices, as the country has its own production and the largest citrus processing capacity in Europe. On the other hand, Spain is an attractive market for tropical juices, being the third-largest consumer of this juice category in Europe. Spanish imports of citrus and tropical juices have decreased by 5% annually on average since 2016, reaching 126 thousand tonnes in 2020. The reason for this negative import trend was the lower import of orange juices with a Brix level between 20 and 67°. Entering the German juice market is challenging, as import is concentrated among and dominated by only a few large industrial suppliers. Although there are more than 300 juice bottlers in Germany, most of them do not import raw material directly, but are supplied through big traders. The leading citrus and tropical juice importers and industry suppliers in Germany include Döhler and Austrian companies with facilities in Germany – Agrana (Agrana Fruit Germany) and Grünewald (Ernteband Fruchtsaft). Examples of other industry suppliers are Carrière, Johs.Thoms, Saprex and Juice Trade. This study covers general information that is of interest to producers in developing countries regarding the market for citrus and tropical juices in Europe. Please see Table 1 with the products and their product codes used for statistical analysis. Please note that fruit purees are not included in the statistical analysis, as there is no officially defined statistical code for these products. When ‘Europe’ is referred to in this study, it means the 27 Member States of the European Union, plus the United Kingdom, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

Evaporation – different types of evaporation equipment are used to remove water from fruit juices. The most common types include the continuous flow of juice through several heated tubes under vacuum. As heat is used to evaporate water from juice, no additional pasteurisation is needed. Certain types of tropical fruits and juices are promoted to European consumers as products with specific health benefits. Some claims for those products are based on clinical research, but some products still need more research to support marketing claims. Popular tropical juices include açaí berry (high antioxidant content), acerola (rich in vitamin C), Aloe vera (treats constipation and is rich in antioxidants), noni (may improve immunity and joint health), ginger (treats nausea and seminal motility) or turmeric (treats inflammation and symptoms of osteoarthritis). Due to consumers’ concerns about sugar and calories, British consumption of juices decreased until 2019, but it increased in 2020. According to the British Soft Drinks Association, consumption of juices including smoothies and coconut water reached 930 million litres. Citrus and tropical juices make up more than two-thirds of this amount. The most popular flavour is orange with a 63.3% market share in 2020, while pineapple accounts for 3.5%. In nectars, tropical flavours account for a market share of around 4%. Cawood claimed economies of scale – it is the second-biggest juice producer in Europe and has long-term contracts with more than 30,000 farmers – gave it the ability to undercut Innocent. It added that it planned a “strong calendar” of price promotions.

Washing, cleaning, sorting and inspection – depending on the type of juice, the fruit can be cleaned in different ways. Common processing lines include brush-and-spray cleaning machines and bubble washing machines. If the fruit is stored before processing to improve the sugar-acid ratio and taste, it can be washed later. Before juice extraction, the fruit is inspected and defect fruit is removed. Find French juice processing, bottling and trading companies among the members of the French Juice Association (UNIJUS). According to the German Juice Association, orange flavour accounts for 1 quarter of the retail sales of juices and nectars. The real share of consumption is larger (more than one-third), as it includes additional quantities in freshly squeezed oranges, smoothies and other drinks. Citrus and tropical juices are very popular ingredients in juice mixes with the addition of vitamins, called multi-vitamin juices. Their use as an ingredient in smoothies, functional drinks and flavoured waters is also increasing fast.