The success of coconut water – which surged from a near non-existent market to a $1b industry in just seven years throughout the US and Europe – has opened up the opportunity for an emerging trend – healthy, natural low-calorie waters derived directly from plants.
Strong innovation within extraction, packaging and preserving processes means that water can be taken directly from maple and birch trees.
“With the right marketing and distribution strategies, these new waters will be a $2 billion (€1.5 billion) business by 2025,” says Julian Mellentin, director of New Nutrition Business.
As is with coconut water, maple and birch water offers health conscious consumers a host of benefits. They offer a positive nutrition profile, are naturally sweet and can be sustainably sourced with little constraint on volumes.
According to New Nutrition Business, maple water is naturally rich in vitamins, minerals and 46 antioxidants as well as featuring an inherently sweet taste. Consumer research from the company also found that maple water scores an overall higher taste profile compared to coconut water.
Maple water is traditionally processed into maple syrup as it has a very fast spoilage rate of just 24 hours. However developments in aseptic packaging via Tetrapak have enabled maple water to be processed the same day that it is collected.
Birch sap has traditionally been harvested as a health drink in Japan, Korea, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. As with maple water, advances in technology have enabled the sap to be process on the same day that it is collected, avoiding spoilage.
European brands such as Finland’s Nordic Koivu and Denmark’s Sealand Birk are currently rapidly developing the consumer market.