Natural function, an extremely relevant theme in the food and beverage industry, has no clear definition. Perhaps not surprisingly, the FDA also doesn’t define “natural” or “functional food”, but instead leaves these terms open for interpretation. Only in the past couple of years has the FDA been looking to the public for answers and they began asking for comments from consumers to help clarify the definition of “natural” this past May. Despite the lack of definitions, industry professionals understand natural function to mean a nutrient delivered by a plant-based food, like a seed or fruit, or by a natural process, like fermentation or pickling. Consumers gravitate towards products that deliver benefits from natural function instead of products fortified with nutrients because they are more likely to align with their values of health and clean labels. Here are a few beverage categories that have successfully incorporated natural function into their products.

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