Functional drinks aim to offer consumers a shortcut towards leading healthier lives, offering benefits such as hydration, energy, digestive health and brain wellbeing – but also weight management, immunity protection and stress relief.
Mintel reports that new launches with similar claims have seen a dramatic uptick over recent years; yet their adoption remains dismal. The reasons for this discrepancy between interest and consumption can be complex.
Hydration
Hydration has emerged as a top functional beverage trend, as consumers seek ingredients that promote wellness. Hydration-enhancing drinks often feature vitamins, minerals and amino acids like taurine as well as herbal extracts such as ginseng, ginger and chamomile to aid mental clarity and relax the body.
Functional drink trends that have gained in popularity recently include beverages designed to support immune health. Zinc, iodine and selenium are widely found in new hydration beverages while botanical additives – like probiotics, prebiotics and adaptogens – can aid digestive wellness as well.
Functional beverages are an effective way of supplementing our bodies with essential nutrients, but should not replace other healthful habits like maintaining a balanced diet or regular physical activity. Drinks containing excessive sugar, caffeine or certain herbs could have harmful side effects if over consumed.
Energy
Consumers increasingly desire beverages that go beyond simply quenching thirst, such as energy-boosting products that increase physical and mental performance and immune functioning. Functional beverages offer these benefits with many including ingredients proven to have specific wellness effects like adaptogens for stress relief and nootropics for cognitive enhancement.
However, it’s essential that these ingredients remain stable during production and delivery to consumers, without jeopardizing their efficacy. This is particularly challenging for functional drinks which contain probiotics, vitamins or other components which may degrade during canning or shelf life.
At Glanbia Nutritionals, our team of ingredient and formulation experts can work closely with partners to develop solutions tailored to meet consumer demands in this rapidly developing category.
Digestive health
Consumer trends indicate an increasing preference for organic and natural ingredients over artificial sweeteners and colors (Dafoe, 2006). Furthermore, drink solutions may also address various health needs, such as digestive wellbeing.
Many drinks include herbal extracts with proven health benefits. These can add extra depth of flavour and differentiation, but their inclusion may present production challenges due to stability issues or heat sensitivity issues.
Adaptogenic herbs like ashwagandha, reishi mushroom or valerian are often included in functional beverages to promote mental well-being and relaxation. By relieving stress and exerting a normalising effect on bodily processes – such as relieving stress from busy lifestyles – adaptogenic herbs are used as part of functional drinks to promote mental well-being and relaxation. Their consumption becomes even easier through convenient formats like ‘shots’ that align them with health products for easy consumption.
Nootropics
Nootropics are substances designed to improve focus, memory and creativity, as well as treat brain injuries or disorders like dementia, schizophrenia or delirium tremens. Caffeine is among the most frequently used nootropics; however there are other options such as Bacopa Monnieri extract, Ginseng and omega-3 fatty acids which may provide additional cognitive enhancement.
Modern consumers increasingly seek beverages that support their wellness goals, prompting functional beverage companies to develop beverages with ingredients offering everything from immunity support to digestive support.
Products featuring adaptogens and probiotics are becoming more mainstream. Brands such as GT’s Living Foods have introduced kombucha drinks featuring these compounds while Olipop offers prebiotic soda flavors with their prebiotic ingredients. Meanwhile, drinks containing mood-enhancing nootropics such as L-theanine are on the rise, appealing to consumers looking to enhance their mental clarity while decreasing stress levels.
Brain health
As consumers become more cognizant of the link between mental and physical wellbeing, cognitive-focused functional drinks have experienced an upsurge in popularity. Unfortunately, not all claims can be supported scientifically: Maria Stanieich of Kyowa Hakko USA’s marketing department notes: “Functional beverages often include proprietary blends of natural nootropics like mushroom extract and L-theanine; connecting their purported benefits is difficult.”
As well as the challenge of connecting beverage formulations with their purported benefits, many ingredients found in functional drinks are sensitive to heat and other environmental factors that may deteriorate their properties. As such, stabilized ingredients represent an exciting area for innovation in this market.
