Coconut Water Continues to Show Robust Growth - Vita Coco

Consumer demand for coconut water remains high with significant untapped market opportunity ahead, FoodNavigator-USA reported on May 12, citing Vita Coco co-founder and executive chairman Mike Kirban.  For the Vita Coco brand alone, it now commands 50% value share of the coconut water category in tracked channels, increasing from 43% in prior year, Kirban said. Moreover, household penetration of the brand has grown 11% for the quarter, the equivalent of approximately 2.4 million additional households buying Vita Coco vs. last year, according to data from Numerator.

He explained that coconut beverages are part of the changing taste of America, largely driven by demand for multicultural and specifically Hispanic and Asian American consumers who prefer natural and functional beverages and in many cases an affinity for the coconut. “To provide a sense of scale of the popularity of the coconut as an ingredient in beverages, it is a segment of $2.8 billion in size in America, which is bigger that oat and almond combined, and has been outgrowing the total beverage segment by 200 basis points according to SPINS.” 

Talking about Vita Coco, Kirban said the brand is in a unique position within the beverage category in that the company has been able to source volume from adjacent categories such as the $11 billion juice category and $10 billion isotonic category while also growing organically with a new consumer base through new product innovation.  He cited the Vita Coco Pressed line introduced three years ago which has a nuttier, sweeter taste compared to its signature unflavored coconut water beverage.  The innovation has added an entirely new consumer base, adding that 16% of Vita Coco consumers only buy Vita Coco Pressed.