North America Kombucha Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The North America kombucha market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 20.0% during the forecast period.

Key Highlights

• The market is majorly driven by the growing consumer's inclination toward nutritional and functional drinks over carbonated drinks. Thus, the increasing number of health-conscious consumers in the country are propelling the growth of the market. Moreover, the foodservice firms, such as Starbucks, are launching their kombucha under their private labeled brand to cater to the increasing demand and attain their market position in the burgeoning kombucha industry.
• Furthermore, the elimination of federal alcohol taxes on kombucha in the United States is an optimistic development for the market and holds promise to drive the market in the future. The inclination toward organic foods and beverages has led to increasing demand for kombucha. In addition, the Kombucha Breweries International (KBI) has been catering to the increasing need for the product by providing common resources and testing standards. As the identification of the alcohol content of kombucha is imperative for that, companies employed a standardized method to test and control.
• However, the availability of alternatives and regulatory issues associated with kombucha, be it the sugar or alcohol content of the product, challenge the market. The presence of nutritionally equivalent alternatives affects consumer behavior and restrains the purchase of kombucha beverages.

Key Market Trends

Rising Demand for Probiotic Products

• The progressive inclination of consumers toward health-oriented products has involved probiotic food products as a requisite in the list, as the trend of healthy hydration owes its success to the growing awareness toward fermented drinks with natural ingredients and the increasing acceptance of consuming probiotics. In addition to this, the sale promoting tag lines, such as ‘ready-to-drink’, ‘on-the-go’, and other convenience factors, such as favorable packaging, altogether served by beverages further augments the demand of probiotic drinks, including kombucha. The probiotic drinks market witnessed a strong revenue share when compared to the fruit-based and dairy-based drinks in 2019.
• Kombucha drinks contain live probiotics loaded with healthy enzymes, amino acids, polyphenols, and various other organic acids. This makes it an ideal product to be sold in health stores, pharmacies, and drug stores.
• Also, owing to the increasing awareness among consumers regarding the health benefits of probiotic drinks, consumers are more likely to stick to products that are clean labeled and organic. In the North America market place, the presence of close substitute of kombucha, such as plant based-dairy probiotics or fruit probiotics and existence of bulk players for the consumers thus the switching cost of buyer and buyers' propensity is high.

United States Accounts for the Major Share in the Region

• In the United States, Kombucha is one of the fastest-growing fermented beverages available in all the retail shelves. This is because of its numerous health benefits, which include joint health, elevated energy, digestion/gut health, and immune-boosting properties.
• Kombucha has moved from natural foods aisle to the mainstream, primarily attributable to ever-increasing interest and research into gut health, thus becoming America’s favorite drink during recent years. It provides indulgence in both those trends for energizing tea and natural cultures that have been reported to boost digestion and metabolism at the same time. It is highly hailed as a wonder drink among consumers. The drink is widely available across an increasing number of convenience stores and remains to be one of the fast penetrating health drink across the country.
• The prominent players of the kombucha market in the United States, include GT’s Living Foods, Oregon’s Brew Dr. Kombucha, and KeVita, which is owned by Pepsi. Other local brands include Tonica Kombucha VAMS Culture, RISE Kombucha, Live Kombucha, and Goodvibes Juice Co.

Competitive Landscape

The North America kombucha market is fragmented, owing to the presence of a large number of regional and domestic players from different countries. Emphasis is given on the merger, expansion, acquisition, and partnership of the companies along with new product development as strategic approaches adopted by the leading companies to boost their brand presence among consumers.

For instance, in 2018, Brew Dr. Kombucha opened up a new plant and entered key retailers, such as Target and Costco. This expansion enabled the company to diversify its operations. Additionally, in 2017, PepsiCo acquired sparkling probiotic drink maker KeVita. This acquisition helped KeVita expand distribution, and further pushed the brand’s access to retail markets.

Key players dominating the regional market include PepsiCo, Inc., Revive Kombucha, GT’s Living Foods, Health-Ade Kombucha, Brew Dr. Kombucha, and NessAlla Kombucha, among others.

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• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
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