Polar Beverages - Competitors

Polar Beverages Competition

Now Viewing Polar Beverages's competition in: Beverage Manufacture and Bottling (primary)

Recent Developments

Corn Prices Spur Switch Back to Refined Sugar - Demand for corn-derived ethanol, combined with a consumer trend toward fewer processed foods, is driving many, usually smaller, food and beverage companies to change recipes back to refined sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, according to The Wall Street Journal. Rising corn prices have driven up the cost of high fructose corn syrup to the point of making it comparable in price to sugar. The price of corn rose 51 percent in March 2008 compared to a year earlier.

Seattle Mayor Urges Citizens to Avoid Bottled Water - Citing a heavy environmental impact and high cost, Seattle's Mayor Nickels suggested that Seattle citizens give up bottled water in favor of drinking the city's tap water. Nickels says that the US consumed 60 billion bottles of water in 2007, which required 1 million tons of plastic and generated 2.5 million tons of greenhouse gases. In March 2008 Nickels forced the city to stop buying bottled water. The US market for bottled water in 2007 was about $11.7 billion, according to Beverage Marketing.

Beverage Prices Stable - Consumer prices for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials increased a modest 2.7 percent in March 2008 compared to a year earlier; prices for carbonated drinks rose 2.2 percent, and 2.3 percent for nonfrozen noncarbonated juices and drinks. Minimal price growth for nonalcoholic beverages runs counter to the double-digit commodity price increases of corn, a raw material used to make sweeteners for many nonalcoholic beverages.

Competitive Landscape

Demand for non-alcoholic beverages is driven by consumer tastes and demographics. The profitability of individual companies depends on effective marketing. Large manufacturers have economies of scale in production and distribution, with average annual revenue per production worker close to $1 million. Small companies can compete by producing new products, catering to local tastes, or selling at lower prices.

Full Industry Overview For Beverage Manufacture and Bottling

Beverage Manufacture and Bottling Industry Forecast

from Hoover's/D&B subsidiary First Research

The output of US soft drinks and ice manufacturing is forecast to grow at an annual compounded rate of 4.2 percent between 2007 and 2012.

Soft Drink and Ice Manufacturing Growth Even

First Research forecasts are based on INFORUM forecasts that are licensed from the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. (IERF) in College Park, MD. INFORUM's "interindustry-macro" approach to modeling the economy captures the links between industries and the aggregate economy.