Functional drinks that provide health benefits have quickly gained consumer acceptance. Their rise has attracted the interest of celebrities and investors.
Vitamin and mineral supplementation is a staple of functional beverages. Recent niche claims for such beverages have focused on prebiotics, brain health and natural caffeine as key points of differentiation.
Botanical ingredients like reishi mushroom and lion’s mane provide cognitive support, while adaptogens help relieve stress. Unfortunately, stability issues arise when adding large molecules like these into liquid solutions.
Hydration
Hydration is key to overall health and functional drinks that support digestive function and immune health are becoming increasingly popular. Many functional drinks feature ingredients beyond simple hydration like turmeric or kombucha which aid digestion; adaptogenic mushrooms for stress relief; or L-theanine which promotes calmness.
Wellness-aligned functional beverages are on the rise, boasting formulations with ingredients designed to boost mood and cognitive performance. Such drinks often include botanicals such as ashwagandha, liquorice root and valerian that promote sleep or adaptogens such as reishi mushroom or lion’s mane that reduce stress while increasing cognition.
Consumers must exercise extreme caution when making health claims; overpromising or exaggerating them could lead to distrust among potential buyers and create an atmosphere of mistrust among prospective purchasers. To ensure functional drinks live up to their promises, brands must clearly and precisely communicate the benefits provided and build themselves into trusted sources of well-being.
Energy
Consumers increasingly require beverages with functional health benefits beyond simply hydration. This category has seen rapid growth as drinkers seek specific, targeted health effects such as digestive health support, cognitive performance enhancement or stress management.
Functional drinks often boast an array of natural ingredients ranging from mushrooms and herbs, matcha, botanicals and more – each boasting proven or promising health claims according to EU Health Claim Regulation under certain conditions. Extracts like these provide effective delivery vehicles for targeted delivery of nutrients and bioactive compounds.
Establishing the effectiveness of these drinks remains difficult. Manufacturers must clearly communicate what their product provides and how it should fit into a healthy diet, particularly adaptogens such as reishi, lion’s mane and moringa that have long been used traditionally but are yet to be fully understood by scientific communities.
Skin health
Though diet and lifestyle play an integral role in keeping skin healthy, functional beverages may provide extra assistance in combatting harmful free radicals that cause oxidative stress. Vitamin C is an excellent example of such an ingredient.
Many other drinks contain herbal ingredients that have undergone research; however, its exact effect remains hard to ascertain. Most are traditional herbals used for centuries such as turmeric, ginger, mushrooms and ginkgo; others may include synthetic “nootropics” that promise but lack scientific proof.
Clarissa Berry, nutritionist for DIRTEA, notes that these ingredients can help address specific health concerns. For instance, drinks designed to promote sleep might contain ingredients like reishi mushroom, CBD and ashwagandha to promote relaxation; or an immune-enhancing blend may contain turkey tail, cordyceps and ginseng to strengthen cellular activity – however be sure to read labels carefully as these herbs can have side effects that should be monitored carefully.
Stress and mood
Stress is an integral component of everyday life, yet its negative impacts can have serious repercussions for our wellbeing. Acute stress triggers physiological responses causing fight or flight responses which result in emotional ups and downs that may lead to anxiety, panic attacks and depression. Over time chronic stress may make an individual more irritable with low tolerance for small inconveniences and frustrations.
Wellness-aligned functional beverages typically utilize ingredients such as CBD, adaptogens and nootropics to provide mood-boosting or stress-reducing effects. For instance, DIRTEA’s Mood Broth includes ingredients like turkey tail and turmeric for immunity support as well as reishi mushroom for relaxation and ashwagandha for sleep support.
Brands must take great care not to over-promise and over-stress their products, according to Karine from Dietitian Fit. Claims such as “natural mood booster,” “enhance mental clarity” or “nootropic boost” could potentially mislead and frustrate consumers, she advises. Furthermore, ingredients used in functional beverages must meet FDA criteria of GRAS (generally considered safe). If using new applications of GRAS ingredients they need FDA approval first before being included as food items on beverage menus.
