Your source for the most up-to-date information on emerging beverage trends.
#Trendspotting: 2020 Beverage Trends Part I
The New Year is around the corner and Imbibe’s beverage experts predicted what will be the top new trends in 2020. Many of next year’s beverage trends will be driven by health and wellness in conjunction with experience-culture. Here are concepts that will influence innovation in 2020.
Holistic Wellness
Demand for beverages that support physical and emotional health will continue to be a catalyst for innovation. Expect brands to “go back to the basics” by incorporating essential nutrients into beverages as well as novel ingredients suggested to improve relaxation and temperament.
Omega-3s have a variety of health benefits that consumers want. Consuming omega-3s is suggested to help fight against depression, anxiety, mental decline and heart disease as well as promote brain health during early child development. Expect several omega-3 enhanced beverages in 2020.
Many consumers are reducing their intake of beverages once lauded for having nutrient benefits like orange juice and dairy milk, so there’s a lot of opportunity for brands to fortify products with vitamins and minerals. Expect to see beverages fortified with zinc, calcium, potassium, sodium, and vitamins B-12, C, and D.
Mood-boosting and stress-relieving beverages enhanced with novel ingredients will be in the spotlight. Adaptogenic herbs and CBD will be common ingredients in beverages that ease the body and mind.
Hyper-Personalization
Consumers have more access to information than ever before because of ubiquity of internet access and technologies that gather personal health information. As a result, consumers are frequently adapting their diet. In order to address changing consumer needs, brands will offer more options than ever to help consumers fulfill personal lifestyle goals.
There will continue to be an explosion of functional beverages entering the market. Brands will launch wellness lines that address several need states such as energy, cognitive performance, gut health and beauty.
On a smaller scale, beverages that address hyper-specific need states such as healthy brain development for young children, cardiovascular health and improved skin appearance will launch next year.
Sugar consumption will remain a top concern next year. Since sweetener preferences and taste expectations are a moving target brands will appeal to diverse consumer needs by introducing products with multiple sweetener options such as zero sugar, low sugar, and full sugar.
Hybrid Beverages
The next generation of functional beverages will include ingredient combinations that address multiple need states or several harmonizing ingredients that help consumers fulfill a specific goal.
Improved energy is a need for many consumers which is why energy drinks will be one of the most common categories incorporated into hybrid products. Energy drinks enhanced with popular sports nutrition ingredients like BCAAs, electrolytes, and creatine will be especially prevalent next year.
Awareness about the advantages of a healthy microbiome for overall health has increased significantly over the last decade. Since prebiotics and probiotics both play an important role in maintaining a healthy gut, expect several launches of synbiotic beverages (i.e. have prebiotics and probiotics).
Coffee will be a channel for delivering multiple health benefits in a convenient format. Expect coffee to be fortified with additional functional ingredients like protein, MCT oil, CBD, and adaptogens like reishi mushrooms.
Experiential Drinking 2.0
The health and wellness trend has significantly impacted the way consumers choose to imbibe. Brands will introduce libations with low or no alcohol and functional ingredients as well as CBD-enhanced drinks for a mood-boosting (but not mind-altering) experience.
Health-conscious millennials who are “sober curious” will drive proliferation of high-end mocktails. These will be made with zero-proof spirits distilled from botanicals, exotic juices, and bitters in order to provide a complex flavor experience.
Consumers cutting back on alcohol without giving it up completely are exploring low-alcohol options. Expect beer, wine and spirits with up to half of the alcohol-by-volume (ABV) of a traditional product.
Alcoholic beverages enhanced with functional ingredients will grow in popularity. Beers and cocktails enhanced with ingredients like turmeric, blue majik, and coconut water as well as hard kombucha will appear on menus and grocery shelves nationwide.
Hard seltzer will continue experiencing rapid growth and more brands will enter the category. Innovations in hard seltzer will include exotic flavor combinations, zero sugar offerings, and products brewed from whole grains.
Check out more on #TRENDSPOTTING. Visit our blog here.
