Dive Brief:
- The frozen orange-juice concentrate market faces its bleakest days by way of disease, small harvests and an eroding consumer demand, reports The Wall Street Journal.
- Changing breakfast habits around breakfast as well as a preference for fresh juice has resulted in the steep decline. According to Nielsen, around 19.1 million gallons of fresh juice and 1.4 million gallons of frozen concentrate are consumed monthly by Americans.
- Manufacturers turned to Brazil to replace product loss, but that country also is fighting elements that have caused its production to fall by about 50%.
Dive Insight:
There are a few factors critical to whether Florida growers and the concentrate providers can make a turnaround. A bountiful season would have helped, but hurricane season and a impossible to contain disease have set expectations for low-producing groves. Citrus greening disease has led to 7% declining orange growth rates worldwide over the last two years, according to Fresh Plaza.
Consumer demand and behavior will go a long way in determining the outcome of Florida's concentrate providers. China, which is the only region that has seen an increase in its orange volume the last couple of years, has increased its production of orange concentrate and may export it beyond domestic markets.
As healthy and convenient foods become more important for more households, traditional sugary juices have become less desirable. But new ideas about juice could revitalize the industry.