Insights / Perspectives

Functional Beverage Trends & Insights

Two people sitting and drinking beverages

Mind & Mood

Today’s consumers are focused on holistic health and self-care, prioritizing mental health and emotional wellness. Economic uncertainty, global unrest, and increasingly busy lifestyles have led to elevated stress levels and people want products that reduce anxiety and promote harmony. Research conducted by Euromonitor indicates that mental acuity, cognition, and focus are also rising need states for consumers in beverages. Functional beverage brands are introducing hybrid products that combine physical, nutritional, cognitive, and emotional benefits, adding mood-enhancing, brain-boosting, and relaxation-inducing ingredients. Studio One Eleven helped the Cruise B Happy brand tell their story of free-spirited enjoyment with updated branding and unique packaging graphics. Whimsical illustrations speak to the brand’s sense of freedom and relaxation.

Cruise Beverages – B Happy

Hydration 2.0

Increased focus on health and wellness is changing the way consumers stay hydrated, driving interest in products beyond regular water. Enhanced water has been on the rise over the past several years, with brands diversifying their portfolios to include water beverages with added ingredients like vitamins and minerals. Hydration is also moving beyond typical sports drinks/occasions to focus on additional need states including staying hydrated throughout the day, fending off illness, and weight management.

Launch Hydrate

Beauty From Within

The concept of beauty from within is resulting in an increased focus on beauty care benefits in food and beverage products. People want to enhance their visual appearance and overall wellness through the food and drinks they consume. There is a growing number of beauty-boosting drinks that combine nutritional and aesthetic benefits. Beverage brands are using ingredients such as collagen and biotin and positioning products to help improve hair, skin, and nail health. Products with these highly specific features can be perceived as adding value.

Account Coordinators As our customers’ day-to-day contacts, the ACs orbit closest to our customers – often basking in the sun, but also taking the heat. ACs are the customers’ go-to contacts for account and order information and addressing problems. Sales Reps Our Sales Reps manage the customer relationship, orbiting close to our customers. Like ACs, they enjoy the sun but also feel the heat. Our reps match customers with products and value-added services to solve problems and help them Package More Profit. Supply/Demand Planners Our Supply and Demand Planners are focused on ensuring our customers have more inventory when they need it and less inventory when they don’t – helping our customers prevent aged ware and stockouts – and feeling the heat when disruptions arise. Logistics Coordination Our Logistics Team arranges freight to get customers their ware on-time. While further removed from direct customer contact, the logistics team feels the heat when shipments are delayed. Warehousing Team Our Warehousing Team is dedicated to preparing customers’ products to ship intact and on-time, providing a value-added service that saves our customers time and money. While more distant from the customer, the warehouse team feels the pressure to consistently deliver. Leadership Teams Our Ops, Sales, and Supply Chain Leadership Teams work as a support system to keep our teams on track and staying in orbit of our customers, ready to step in and assist when needed.

Tru Beauty

Flavor Adventure

People are becoming more adventurous in what they eat and drink and looking to experiment with unique and unexpected flavors. This is driving flavor innovation and the growth of novel, trendy, and unusual functional beverages. The rapid pace of flavor innovation within the energy drinks category has been a major contributor to its success in the U.S. This includes exotic flavors, nostalgic flavors, and seasonal launches.

By: Moira Stein
Date: May 14, 2024

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The brands mentioned in this report are trademarks of their respective owners. Inclusion of these brands in this report is not meant to imply an association with or endorsement from the respective trademark owners.