The 1989 film “Field of Dreams” made popular the saying “If you build it, they will come.” But in some cases, building a new production line and adding new filling and labeling equipment and the ilk, doesn’t make financial sense. Therefore, beverage-makers are weighing macro trends in the beverage market, including the expansion of cold-brew coffee and high-pressure processing (HPP), without incurring the often million-dollar expense of directly producing and bringing better-for-you products to market.

A number of macro trends are empowering beverage innovation and contract packagers/contract manufacturers are helping to fill an important need state, experts say.