One year ago the soya category was in decline. Products were positioned as free-from rather than healthy so had pretty niche appeal. And the great white hope, Unilever's AdeZ, was struggling to meet sales expectations.

Roll on a year and the picture couldn't be more different. Though AdeZ has gone, soya sales have leapt 10% to £110m [TNS Worldpanel 52w/e 23 March 2008]. There has been a host of new products and TV advertising from the market's two major brands, Alpro and So Good. And health-conscious consumers as well as enthusiasts of free-from food have begun to buy into the category.

But there is still a long way to go before soya reaches its full potential - particularly on the marketing and communication front.

It was a lack of clear communication that arguably forced Unilever to withdraw its first-ever soya product, AdeZ, in April, just 18 months after launching the blend of fruit juices and soya proteins. Unilever said that the money required to raise awareness sufficiently would be better spent elsewhere.

But the most likely cause for the demise of AdeZ is that its benefits were not clearly articulated to the target group, rather than the target group not being big enough, believes Sam Waterfall, brand consultant at Healthy Marketing Team.

"The juice category, with its blurred boundaries with smoothies and soya drinks, is incredibly competitive. Overall, the proposition was just too complicated for most of the target group," he says.

That's not to say that more complicated propositions are destined for failure. The launches of similar products from Benecol, Whole Earth and Sunrise suggest there is a consumer need for such goods. It helps to be seen as a specialist in the field, says Soya Health Foods, which launched its Sunrise Healthy Start range of fruit juice and soya drinks aimed at the breakfast market in January last year. Later this year they'll be available in 144 Tesco Extra stores, to add to listings in Waitrose and independents.

"There is most definitely a market for juice and soya beverages but it is best left to specialist companies such as us that have the expertise to formulate great-tasting products for consumers who are knowledgeable as to what goes into a product," says Robin Gleave, marketing director.

It seems there's no better way to communicate the benefits of soya than encouraging people to taste it. The Whole Earth 10/10 Soya Vitality drink was launched in September, and a subsequent sampling campaign in Waitrose followed in April this year. The feedback was "extremely positive", helping to increase sales rates by 135%, according to brand manager Michelle Constantinou.

If products deliver on the taste front, then half the battle's won. Last year Benecol launched a Tropical Fruit and Soya Drink to provide a dairy-free version of its cholesterol-lowering one-a-day yoghurt drink. It plans to launch a second flavour in June on the back of "great pick up and repeat purchasing levels", says Esther Van Onselen, marketing manager for Benecol Europe.

That said, shelf standout remains difficult to achieve because of the sector's lack of critical mass. Manufacturers should push for better adjacencies, say experts. They also need to make better use of brand blocking and colour blocking as well as shelf-ready packaging. It would also be wise to negotiate for more facings in the initial stages, just to get noticed.

There are other challenges facing the sector, not least soaring soya prices - up 60% in the past year. Little of this has yet been reflected in retail prices. "If price rises are not accepted across the market, that restricts what we can invest back into the category, and that could stifle innovation," says Daniel Derrick, managing director at So Good.

This would be a shame. Now that consumers are starting to understand the benefits of soya, there are a whole host of avenues manufacturers could explore. Soya could be used in low-fat or high-protein products targeting sports enthusiasts, for instance, or in products targeting post-menopausal women (soya contains natural phtyo-oestrogens that can help control hot flushes and maintain bone health).

Recent work on a soya milk for use in baristas could also translate into retail.

Communication will be key, however. And it's not just manufacturers that need to raise their game, says Waterfall. "Retailers need to explain the benefits and bust the myths," he says. "They must work with A-brands to deliver soya propositions. Too often soya is associated with niche brands, making it hard for mass-market consumers to engage with."

With a host of manufacturers doing their best to raise soya's profile, that may not be the case for much longer. n