The global non-alcoholic drinks market is on track to more than double — from $1.3 trillion in 2023 to $2.9 trillion by 2035, according to a new forecast from Allied Market Research. The 6.9% compound annual growth rate projected across that eleven-year window represents one of the more durable demand signals in the food and beverage space, and it carries direct implications for equipment buyers specifying beverage stations, refrigerated merchandisers, and high-volume dispensing systems.
The Allied report segments the market across soft drinks, bottled water, tea and coffee, juice, dairy drinks, and a catch-all "others" category. For foodservice operators and equipment consultants, the tea-and-coffee and dairy-drink segments are particularly relevant: both demand precision temperature control, high-throughput dispensing, and — in institutional or QSR settings — continuous-duty refrigeration. Operators replacing legacy beverage equipment or expanding grab-and-go programs should expect category volume to put sustained pressure on chilling capacity and dispense line counts well into the next decade. Our ice-and-beverage equipment coverage tracks the hardware side of this shift in detail.
Distribution channel mix matters for equipment specification as well. The Allied data highlights online retail as an accelerating channel alongside supermarket and hypermarket formats — a dynamic that is pushing convenience-format operators to invest in compact, high-visibility refrigerated display and self-serve dispensing units that can compete with e-commerce convenience. Consultants specifying small-footprint ghost kitchens or c-store hybrids should factor rising NAB SKU counts into cold-storage and counter-space planning now rather than at the next renovation cycle.
On the demand side, the report cites health and wellness focus, mindful drinking trends, and clean-label ingredient sourcing as structural drivers — themes that align closely with premium and luxury price-point growth within the NAB segment. Premium beverages typically require tighter cold-chain management and more sophisticated dispense equipment than standard soft drinks, reinforcing the case for higher-spec refrigeration and beverage-system investment. Dealers stocking refrigerated merchandisers and undercounter beverage coolers are well positioned to capture that upcycle. For broader context on how beverage trends are reshaping operator purchasing, Food & Beverage Magazine has tracked the clean-label and mindful-drinking movements extensively.
The forecast period runs 2024–2035, giving equipment manufacturers, dealers, and operators a long planning runway. For the equipment trade, the headline number — $2.9 trillion in end-market value — translates into sustained replacement and expansion cycles for beverage-adjacent capital goods. Dealers and manufacturer reps should monitor segment-level volume shifts, particularly in dairy drinks and tea-and-coffee, where equipment intensity per gallon of output tends to run higher than in carbonated soft drinks. Our energy-and-sustainability analysis also notes that high-volume beverage chilling is an emerging target for ENERGY STAR specification pressure as operators look to offset utility costs in a high-throughput environment.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
