Functional drinks are non-alcoholic beverages formulated to deliver specific health benefits, typically through ingredients such as vitamins, minerals, herbs, probiotics, amino acids or other natural components.
Popular examples of such products include hydrating beverages designed to aid muscle recovery and electrolyte-infused products that help athletes hydrate, while others feature wellness ingredients like CBD, ashwagandha and nootropics for relaxation and stress relief.
1. Energy Boosting
People living busy lifestyles sometimes need an extra jolt of energy during activities like working out, travelling and studying; however, store-bought energy drinks are typically loaded with sugar, caffeine and other chemicals which could harm health in the long run.
Many consumers are searching for healthier alternatives that will enable them to meet their fitness goals without making drastic dietary adjustments. Functional beverages offer solutions to meet this demand by offering extra energy, cognitive behaviour enhancement and immune system support among many other benefits.
Formulating functional drinks containing large molecules such as botanical substances and lipids can be complex. To address this challenge, research is being done into improving their stability through processes such as encapsulation, emulsion and high-pressure homogenization.
2. Weight Management
People seeking alcohol-free alternatives are increasingly looking for functional beverages to manage their weight and stress levels. Weight management drinks include those containing fatty acid inhibitors, polyphenols and green tea extracts as well as medicinal tisanes.
On-trend benefits of anti-ageing functional drinks may include those rich in adaptogens and probiotics for digestive health, vitamin enriched or fortified beverages, collagen-based drinks that undergo fermentation, or beverages made up of adaptogens and probiotics for anti-ageing effects. It should be noted that there may be a gap between those interested in these beverages versus actually purchasing them, possibly due to tight household budgets; nonetheless, these alternatives offer good alternatives to alcohol consumption.
3. Digestive Health
The digestive health beverage category continues to see rapid growth as an effective and nutritional way of supporting digestion. These functional drinks feature probiotics, fiber, and other ingredients designed to nourish gut microbiomes and foster overall wellness.
Functional beverages designed to boost mood are becoming increasingly popular, such as those featuring yerba mate-based drinks or maca and turmeric-containing elixirs; these beverages can help increase focus and mood by stimulating GABA receptors.
Functional beverages can be an invaluable way for brands to promote consumer wellness, yet they should never be seen as a magic bullet. Manufacturers must create products that combine functionality and flavor in a satisfying product experience – this could mean adding large molecules that pose stability concerns into beverages, though encapsulation and emulsification techniques may help.
4. Bone Health
Functional beverages formulated to improve bone health have seen an explosion of activity over the past several years, including beverages formulated with ingredients like calcium and vitamin D to strengthen their structure and functionality. BENEO’s Orafti Synergy1 ingredient allows structure/function claims related to bone health to be made on pack.
Functional drinks also offer mood enhancement with ingredients like CBD, herbs and adaptogenic compounds like mushrooms, L-theanine and ashwagandha that help stimulate GABA receptors for relaxation.
Retailers of functional drinks see many opportunities in this category due to rising consumer needs and health awareness. Waitrose recently opened a functional drinks bay featuring CBD, kombucha and more drinks so customers could easily locate what suits them best. Euromonitor predicts this category will experience steady annual growth until 2022; they predict an estimated compound annual increase of 7% year on year until then.
5. Immune System Support
Immune health claims have quickly become one of the fastest-growing functional claims in refreshing beverages, with immune support ingredients frequently appearing on launches across soft drink product categories such as bottled water, juices & nectars and iced tea featuring them regularly. According to Innova reports, soft drink products like these experienced an increase in launches containing immune health claims in 2020.
Mental health has become an increasing focus for consumers, sparking growing interest in drinks designed to aid stress relief and relaxation. Products featuring ingredients such as CBD, L-theanine, and chamomile have proven popular choices among those looking to naturally improve their well-being. With the right formulation partner at Glanbia Nutritionals’ side, manufacturers can create functional beverage products which meet this key consumer need – learn how we can assist!
