beverages Part 1
industry
STATE OF THE
Photo courtesy of Getty Images / Brothers 91
Don’t look now but things are getting personal(ized) in the beverage market. A look at new product trends makes it clear that new drink offerings address three consumer priorities: personalized health and wellness, mindful spending, and a quest for alignment between the brand and consumer values. Here’s a look at each one.
Personalized Health and Wellness
When it comes to overall health, traditional approaches—such as consuming an "apple-a-day" or taking a daily multivitamin—are no longer sufficient. Modern consumers have moved beyond general health, as seen with the 27.5% year-over-year decline in generic health claims in social discussions (Tastewise, 2024). Instead, they’re seeking functional products tailored to their specific personal needs.
By Laura Harper, Contributing Editor
Today’s new drinks need to do more to connect with consumers on multiple levels.
Beverages: Fuel for Function
More specifically, people look for products that not only address physical well-being but also enhance emotional and mental states. One area where this has been apparent is the growing awareness of the gut-brain connection and its effect on thoughts, mood, and overall health. This is shifting consumer expectations beyond physical needs.
While hydration and recovery have been long-standing market focus areas, brands continue to branch out. More new products incorporate ingredients that address other need states—such as sleep, mood, anti-stress, focus, memory, mental agility, healthy aging, and gut health.
Functional ingredients like adaptogens, nootropics, and pre-, pro-, and post-biotics address these needs and are found in a plethora of categories. They range from water, coffee and tea to seltzer, kefir, kombucha, and new non-alcoholic cocktails.
Bottom line: this holistic mind-body approach reflects the dynamic landscape where health and wellness intersect with personalized and multifaceted consumer preferences and concerns.
Bottoms Up Beauty Ritual: New black tea base with collagen peptides, natural ingredients such as carrots and black currants for color and stevia leaf extract for light sweetening. A single-serve, 45-calorie can includes the recommended daily amount of collagen peptides to support joint health, skin’s moisture barrier, nail beds, and hair. Photo courtesy Pretty Tasty Tea
Zooming in on gender-specific issues, the industry is placing significant emphasis on catering to the evolving needs of women at various life stages. New products here target premenstrual syndrome, libido, fertility, perimenopause, and menopause. The investment in women’s healthcare reached an all-time high of $3.3 billion in 2022, according to Boston Consulting Group. Specifically, hormone health and menopause have moved to the top of the list of health claims that are fueling social discussions, and hormone health has risen in consumer food and beverage conversations by 118% over the last two years (Tastewise, 2024).
Mindful Spending
It’s been clear that consumers have made strategic adjustments to adapt to economic challenges. They’ve transitioned from brand name to private-label products, opted for bulk purchases, and purchased only for immediate needs to avoid food waste. Case in point: one of Imbibe's customers has recently grown by 8% in private label sales. End of Part 1
Private is Popular: Rising inflation sent more consumers looking for less expensive private label offerings. Kroger bolstered its Our Brands roster with Mercado, an expansive assortment of more than 50 Hispanic inspired new foods and beverages. Photo courtesy The Kroger Co.
Laura Harper is a marketing associate with Imbibe, a beverage development company. Whether through finding brand values that align with the consumer’s own, balancing needs and wants with mindful spending, or targeting specific need states for one's health and wellness, the consumer shift to personalization will have you strategizing for renovation or innovation. Accelerate your path to differentiated crave-worthy products by handing off R&D projects and leveraging Imbibe’s high-quality ingredients to enhance your portfolio and grab market share: marketing@imbibeinc.com.
