The consumer industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by convenience, environmental sustainability, and health and wellness, as well as the growing importance of food safety and transparency, personalised nutrition, and technologies such as 3D food printer and digital food management. In the last three years alone, there have been over 450,000 patents filed and granted in the consumer industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Innovation in Consumer: Beverage carbonaters.
However, not all innovations are equal and nor do they follow a constant upward trend. Instead, their evolution takes the form of an S-shaped curve that reflects their typical lifecycle from early emergence to accelerating adoption, before finally stabilising and reaching maturity.
Identifying where a particular innovation is on this journey, especially those that are in the emerging and accelerating stages, is essential for understanding their current level of adoption and the likely future trajectory and impact they will have.
40+ innovations will shape the consumer industry
According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which plots the S-curve for the consumer industry using innovation intensity models built on over 110,000 patents, there are 40+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Within the emerging innovation stage, hydrogel dressings, dextrin-based compositions, and safety injection needles are disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Wet wipes dispenser, carbon fibre sports equipment, and cigarette rod making device are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are portable toothbrush cases and anabolic muscle supplements, which are now well established in the industry.
Innovation S-curve for the consumer industry
Beverage carbonators is a key innovation area in consumer
Beverage carbonation is the process of infusing fizz into soft drinks. Carbonation also creates small bubbles in the beverages.
GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 20 companies, spanning technology vendors, established consumer companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of beverage carbonators.
Key players in beverage carbonators – a disruptive innovation in the consumer industry
‘Application diversity’ measures the number of different applications identified for each relevant patent and broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.
‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of different countries each relevant patent is registered in and reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.
Patent volumes related to beverage carbonators
| Company | Total patents (2010 - 2021) | Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies |
| PepsiCo | 243 | Unlock company profile |
| Samsung Group | 85 | Unlock company profile |
| Cornelius | 37 | Unlock company profile |
| Krones | 24 | Unlock company profile |
| Starbucks | 22 | Unlock company profile |
| Anheuser-Busch InBev | 16 | Unlock company profile |
| AB Electrolux | 16 | Unlock company profile |
| Breville Group | 16 | Unlock company profile |
| Middleby | 13 | Unlock company profile |
| Strauss Group | 10 | Unlock company profile |
| Salzgitter | 10 | Unlock company profile |
| Nestle | 8 | Unlock company profile |
| Breville | 8 | Unlock company profile |
| Primo Water | 7 | Unlock company profile |
| Xylem | 6 | Unlock company profile |
| HyVIDA Brands | 6 | Unlock company profile |
| Bevcorp | 6 | Unlock company profile |
| Coway | 5 | Unlock company profile |
| IMI Cornelius | 5 | Unlock company profile |
| Whirlpool | 5 | Unlock company profile |
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
PepsiCo is one of the leading patent filers in the beverage carbonators space. Some other key patent filers include Samsung Group, Cornelius, and Krones. PepsiCo has recently made a new addition to its SodaStream line-up of sparkling water makers, which will enable consumers to carbonate flat water at home.
In terms of application diversity, Strauss Group leads the pack, while Anheuser-Busch InBev and Samsung Group stand in the second and third positions, respectively. By means of geographic reach, Breville Group held the top position, followed by Anheuser-Busch InBev and PepsiCo.
Beverage carbonators will potentially become an important aspect in the consumer industry, with the demand for soft drinks expected to increases in the coming years.
To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the consumer industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Consumer.
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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.
GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
