Whether it’s a cup of coffee in the morning to rev up, some tea in the evening to wind down—and a host of options in-between to hydrate or nourish—beverage choices are ingrained in people’s daily routines. The decisions consumers make about what they drink can often reflect their personality, lifestyle, or even worldview.
 
Ready-to-drink (RTD) and ready-to-mix (RTM) formats, effervescent tablets, stick packs, and more have afforded a new level of convenience and variety. Today, consumers have a menu of product options to select from to match their personal preferences and health goals.
 
Market Influence
Consumers are increasingly taking responsibility for their health and well-being through diet and lifestyle, noted Pam Stauffer, global marketing programs manager, Cargill. “Better-for-you, more healthful beverages have become a new baseline, with plant-based, alternative dairy drinks, and fermented beverages gaining solid momentum. Other health-focused beverages showing strong growth included products that address improved bone strength (+27%), heart (+27%), brain (+15%), and immune health (+9.9%), according to Innova Market Insights data (May 2020).”
 
Innova has also predicted consumers will double-down on function, looking for beverages that offer even more targeted nutritional benefits. “Perhaps the next generation will use a combination of ingredients to create drinks that address multiple needs,” said Stauffer, “such as energy and gut health, or overall wellness from vitamins and minerals plus cognitive support from botanicals.”
 
According to Nielsen data on nutritional beverages, the energy drink market remains the top grossing category, noted Tammy Fumusa, strategic marketing manager, nutritional beverage, Kerry Taste & Nutrition. “Top categories that are growing are sports drinks, meal replacement, performance nutrition, and health and nutrition powders.”
 
Formulating herbs into health-positioned beverages has also become more common, with ginseng, guarana, green tea, and hibiscus as a few examples, Fumusa said.
 
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way people think about their health, along with how they shop and the types of foods and beverages they consume, said Jacqueline Rizo, content coordinator at Stratum Nutrition. Still, many consumers have been willing—perhaps more than ever—to try new RTD products.
 
“The health and wellness trend has resulted in a lot of brands branching out from traditional categories like carbonated soft drinks (CSDs), juice and dairy and offering new-to-the-world products,” Rizo said.
 
For example, PepsiCo recently launched soulboost, a sparkling water beverage that combines a small amount of juice with functional ingredients that address emerging consumer health needs like mental performance and relaxation. The product line includes two varieties, Lift and Ease, available in four flavors. Lift contains 200 mg of panax ginseng to help support mental stamina and is available in Blueberry Pomegranate and Black Cherry Citrus. Ease contains 200 mg of L-theanine to help support relaxation; it’s available in Blackberry Passionfruit and Strawberry Rose.
 
PepsiCo said Soulboost further establishes the company as a leader in the enhanced water market, which Grandview Research has predicted will reach $11.3 billion by 2027. The addition to the company’s functional beverage portfolio follows the 2020 launch of Driftwell, a functional still water beverage aimed at combating stress and supporting relaxation.
 

Motivated Consumers
Many consumers today are interested in more than just their own health. They’re also thinking about the health of the planet, said Charlie Ross, chief marketing officer, EverGrain Ingredients. “They’re more interested in sustainability than they’ve ever been, so when an ingredient delivers both nutrition and a compelling sustainability story, consumers will respond. They recognize that the products they choose have a direct effect not just on themselves but also on the planet and all who inhabit it. This has placed plant-based protein sources under the spotlight, leading to more interest by the day.”
 
The food system of the future will be a closed-loop, circular system, where resources aren’t lost or wasted; instead they are transformed and directed to new applications, Ross said. “Through our innovative processes, we capture the full, untapped potential in barley: protein and fiber. We’re committed to fulfilling our customers’ sustainability commitments and creating products that nourish the world through the transformative power of circularity.”
 
From a nutrition standpoint, consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the role beverages can play in a healthy diet. “The trend for health and wellness appears to be the strongest for children and adults 35 and over,” said Rizo. “Moms are searching out healthier options for their children that do not contain high-fructose corn syrup but are more naturally formulated using natural colors and flavors.”
 
In addition to products that promote immunity and digestive health, there’s also been a rise in clean-label, organic shelf-stable functional beverages like RTD coffees and teas, she noted.
 
Consumers are looking for value-added beverages that can do more than ever, from hydration and satiety, to energy and cognitive support, said Stauffer. “While this trend is taking hold across generations, young consumers, especially Millennials, are driving the shifts in beverage consumption. These consumers increasingly view beverages as a source of nutrition and a substitute for other foods. But their parents aren’t all that far behind.”
 
Research from The Hartman Group found 65% of Millennials believe beverages play a very important role in their health and wellness, compared to 60% of Baby Boomers, Stauffer noted. “However, the gap widens when consumers are asked more directly about health benefits. While 55% of Millennials say they like beverages to do something, like provide energy, nutrients or other benefits, only 33% of Boomers agree.”
 
Consumers today are often pushing to stay active in order to improve overall well-being and to combat any weight they’ve gained during the pandemic, said Rizo. “This creates opportunity for brands launching sports nutrition and weight loss products because the audience of active consumers is continuing to expand. We should expect to see a greater demand for products that boost mood and improve sleep because the pandemic has had a large impact on the mental health of many consumers.”
 
Across the board, consumers of all demographics are purchasing healthy beverages, said Fumusa, citing a nutrition and health survey from Innova. “Drinks with a focus on hydration are being purchased by the younger demographics, while the older generation is looking for digestive health, which makes sense.”
 
Energy remains a key segment and a common health need, she added. “Consumers are always looking for ways to enhance their energy throughout the day. The energy category alone is a $5 billion-dollar business.” 
 
Consumers are also interested in beverages that meet multiple health benefits, Fumusa said. Top areas of interest include digestive health, sleep, immunity, and mental health performance.
 
Formulating On-Trend
In terms of functional ingredients, “protein is the name of the game right now,” said Jeff Casper, director of research & applications, Merit Functional Foods, “especially when it’s plant-based. Because of this, plant-based protein innovation is driving product sales in categories across the entire beverage spectrum, from ready-to-mix powders to milk alternatives and well beyond.”
 
Innovation in the plant-based space is not isolated to any one beverage category, he added. “Rather, as consumers’ taste and protein expectations for plant-based applications rise, new ingredients are making these applications taste and function better with equally impressive nutrition.”
 
Sales of plant protein and plant-based products in general continue to grow at impressive rates. “It’s no secret that we’re in the midst of a major consumer adoption of plant-based and flexitarian lifestyles,” said Casper. “According to data from SPINS, dollar sales of plant-based milks grew 27% over the past two years to reach $2.5 billion.”
 
People are familiar with popular plant protein sources like soy, pea, and rice, said Ross.  “Opportunity is ripe for new plant protein options to capture consumers’ attention. Right now, barley is emerging as a potential disruptor, bringing new options to mature categories that are seeking innovation and differentiation. These range from plant-based milk to coffee creamer to ready-to-drink teas. These beverages are intuitively good candidates for barley to deliver improved nutrition where you might not expect it.”
 
Stauffer agreed that protein continues to hold significant sway. “Consumers have long associated protein with a variety of health benefits, from satiety and weight management to physical performance and muscle strength. Fiber, another staple in the functional space, is well-known for its digestive health benefits. Prebiotic fibers like chicory root fiber offer additional health benefits, including aiding in mineral absorption, supporting bone health and promoting gut health.”
 
At the same time, brands are embracing a new realm of health-oriented ingredients, she added. “The immune health space is exploding, with a range of ingredients promising benefits. Some, like the postbiotic EpiCor, are backed by science, and that’s a key point for this emerging opportunity. Access to information is empowering consumers to decide for themselves what’s ‘healthy,’ and take a more personalized and self-directed approach to their beverage choices.”
 
There are many considerations and challenges when formulating functional dry beverages, according to Fumusa. “Common issues include clumping and separation, as well as delivering high solubility in water, not leaving sediment. Due to dry functional beverage solutions longer shelf life, maintaining flavor and color over the shelf life is critical. Lastly, natural ingredients and adaptogens in beverage formulations can provide challenges in taste and masking.”
 
Other challenges like pH and possible interactions with other ingredients need to be buffered to maintain taste, she continued. “For example, formulating with plant proteins in beverages can be very challenging in terms of solubility, texture, and taste. Some of these healthy ingredients are associated with off notes or uncommon aftertaste and that increases formulation challenges as well as the ability of the developer to pair flavors and use masking technologies in favor of a great tasting final product.”
 
Addressing formulation challenges starts with selecting the best plant protein possible, said Melissa Machen, senior technical services specialist, plant protein, Cargill. “There can be wide variation in the flavor profiles of different proteins, or even the same protein sourced from different suppliers. While some proteins do require masking agents and extra sweeteners to create a palatable beverage, in our experience, PURIS pea protein is a very clean tasting protein with a neutral flavor profile.”
 
Overall, formulators have a lot of choices when it comes to plant-based protein ingredients for use in their formulations, said Casper. Popular options include soy, pea, hemp, brown rice, pumpkin seed, and more. However, all of these options have traditionally struggled to live up to the nutrition and taste standards that whey and other animal-based proteins have set for beverage consumers. “This is where Merit comes into play by offering great-tasting, high-protein pea and canola ingredients that deliver mouthfeel and protein levels similar to their dairy counterparts.”
 
While consumers are focused on health applications, they still want their beverages to taste good, said Philip Caputo, marketing and consumer insights manager, Virginia Dare. “Health and wellness-inspired flavors are an area where we’re seeing piqued interest as a result of the pandemic, as certain ingredients invoke flavors associated with health and well-being. Dark berries such as acai, elderberry, and goji are known as rich sources of antioxidants, while ginger and mushrooms are known for anti-inflammatory properties.”
 
By integrating wellness flavors into their applications, beverage brands can underscore their focus on targeted nutrition categories such as immunity, brain health, aging, and digestion, he added. “A sour flavor with a health halo, such as pomegranate or kombucha, can appeal to flavor preference trends while also highlighting an application’s functional status. When it comes to wellness flavors, formulators have a broad palette available and should be emboldened to experiment with innovative combinations and formats.”
 
Meanwhile, it seems virtually every beverage maker is trying to reduce sugar, noted Vince Cavallini, beverage, dairy and convenience foods application manager at Cargill. “At the same time, there’s a move toward cleaner, simpler labels and away from ingredients like artificial sweeteners. However, while consumers’ growing aversion to added sugars and artificial sweeteners is well documented, so is their uncompromising demand for great taste—no matter how healthy they perceive a beverage to be.”
 
Proteins, vitamins and minerals, antioxidants and botanicals all deliver great benefits to a beverage, but they may also impact taste, he added. “To compensate, beverage developers historically relied on caloric sweeteners; but with consumers’ more intense scrutiny of sugar content, that approach has fallen out of favor. To keep sugar levels in check, we recommend customers consider zero-calorie stevia sweeteners, often used in combination with erythritol.” 

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Sean Moloughney has been the Editor of Nutraceuticals World since 2012. He can be reached at SMoloughney@RodmanMedia.com.