Businesses around the world have once again been scrambling to secure as much Kava as possible since the World Health Organization ruled in 2015 that kava is SAFE and not toxic to the liver, as had been previously claimed. The recent WHO ruling on Kava has led to the removal of some controls on imports and sales in countries like Germany, and parts of Australia to name a few.
The green light by the World Health Organization has put the spotlight back on Kava root (Piper methysticum) and has set the stage for the biggest Kava demand surge in industry history. Everyone from pharmaceutical companies to beverage industry giants are once again positioning themselves to incorporate Kava into their product line. Not to mention the recent Kava bar phenomena that has exploded onto the U.S. market like coffee shops once did in it's early days of industry.
The Kava market as a whole has been one giant rollercoaster ride over the past 30 years. Looking back at the 1990's Kava boom, the U.S. demand for Kava from Fiji alone spiked almost 500% from 1997 to 1998. Pharmaceutical companies being the driving factor for the overall surge in Kava consumption at the time.
The data from the 1990's Kava market in Fiji is a reminder of how quickly the Kava industry can grow. Twenty years removed from 1998, we may now be at the dawn of the biggest kava demand surge ever.
Big data trend forecasters have been publicly buzzing about Kava since the roots safety was affirmed by the World Health Organization in 2015. Whole Foods already had Kava listed as a top 10 ingredient trend to look out for in 2017.
In the late 1990's, we saw a lot of functional beverage companies incorporate Kava as an ingredient in their products. In 2001, companies like Vitamin Water, Snapple, and Sobe to name a few all had Kava as an ingredient in at least one of their products. If history repeats itself and major players in the functional beverage space decide to incorporate Kava as an ingredient again, the demand for Kava generated today will be astronomical in comparison to what we saw in the late 1990's. Consider this, the functional beverage industry was only in it's infancy by 2001. The U.S. functional beverage market generated $4.7 billion in revenue in 2000 compared to a projected $24.5 billion market for 2018.
So after looking back at a few key points that has happened within the Kava industry over the last 30 years. We want to know your thoughts on the future of Kava. Are we on the dawn of the biggest Kava boom in industry history?
8 comments
Bula, Agree. In my view the 1997 boom was a spike whereas this one has been a very steady upswing from the low base after the German ban. This current upswing has been building up at a steady pace as demand and awareness of Kava grows in the USA and the world. The current spike is driven more by supply shortages (cyclones) than a sudden spike in demand. Supply will slowly come back to equilibrium if no major cyclones hit Vanuatu and Fiji again in the next two years. In that same time as supply tries to rebuild back to equilibrium demand will continue to grow so the long term basis for a sustained growth in the Kava market is in play. As long we keep the trade clean and honourable (befitting of this honourable plant) we should continue to build and wide the base for consumption. Great work my friend, all the best.
I think you’re right on the trend.
I hope this stays up for a long time because the farmers deserve every cent of their hard work.
Thanks for the info and great publicity.
Mate Ma’a Tonga ?? ??