Powder to the People
Powdered beverages have been gaining steam and especially resonate with consumers looking to go green. Reduced shipping costs and carbon emissions, environmentally friendly and/or less packaging, perfect portions, portability, and longer shelf lives are all spurring powdered innovation. Convenience is also compelling as many products direct consumers to ‘just add water’ (or in a pinch, pour directly into one’s mouth). There’s a powdered enhancement for everyone – whether you want functional fortification, funkier flavors, or more flexible packaging options. And when you’re ready to talk about solubility, homogeneity, bulk density, humidity levels or the next hot flavor for your powdered beverages, we’re here for it.
Functional Family
Hydration, immunity, and protein may lead the pack, but there are a growing number of need states and biological functions addressed and supported by modern powder formulations.
Just Relax
Hydrant’s SLEEP combines relaxation ingredients like magnesium, L-Theanine and melatonin to promote a sounder slumber. Klout PWR recently added PWR OFF to their portfolio. This variant is a supplement marketed towards athletes and includes magnesium and melatonin for sleep and astragalus and celery seed extract for nutrient absorption and muscle spasm relief. CBD, another ingredient consumers associate with relaxation and tag as an anxiolytic, has made its way into a SKU for sleep by upstart, Zolt. Their caffeine-free dreamy dust is comprised of 20mg of hemp extract isolate (that they refer to as CBD on their website), ashwagandha and 3mg of melatonin.
Melatonin and magnesium are not the only ‘m’ ingredients we are predicting will appear in products that promote a more relaxed state or healthier sleep cycles. Medicinal mushrooms have many health benefits associated with them, and some brands are leaning on them to provide a sense of zen. Rritual blends reishi, ashwagandha and cacao in their reishi relax superfood stick pack. For a relaxing hot chocolate drink, Anabolic Designs’ Calming Cacao contains magnesium, theanine, reishi, chamomile, valerian root and hops. And for those who would prefer to bake to feel calm, now you can bake your calming cookie and eat it too. Youagain combines ashwagandha, reishi and holy basil in their new organic, vegan and grain free chocolate chip cookie mix.
For Power
Maybe traditional pre-workout energy makes you feel powerful. Or perhaps a supplement to support skin health. For some, power may be in a protein-rich meal replacement. Wherever someone derives power from, there’s a powder for that. Known for their meal replacements, Huel leans on faba, hemp and pea protein, in their recent release of a vegan protein powder. Designer Protein stepped out of their legacy line with Designer Collagen, with vanilla and toffee flavors.
Renude Beverages claims to deliver a calm energy in their superfood coffee boost powder, chagaccino, with chaga as the hero ingredient. Power for one’s immune system and gut are the primary benefits listed on the front of pack of Qumba Kombucha Powder, available in hibiscus blood orange and gingerberry. This product, which claims to contain live cultures, also includes rising star ingredient, apple cider vinegar, which we expect to see in more RTD and powdered products in the next several years.
Flavor Focus
While nostalgic products like Tang and Country Time Lemonade prove that citrus flavors can deliver an impactful experience, we continue to find nuanced and trend-forward flavors across powdered beverage categories.
Nostalgic flavors: A recent launch by Obvi boasts the end-of-the-aisle favorite chocolate chip cookie through a partnership with Entenmann’s. They say that their Super Collagen Protein can also be added to baked goods to enhance the nutritional profile and evoke memories of that first bite into the soft baked classic cookies. Out of the Northbound Nutrition lab comes a different cookie inspired flavor – a Lemon Sugar Cookie protein powder, which may appeal to those seeking nostalgia and open to modern twists. For a more true-to-fruit citrus fix, sans cookies, Jel Sert launched Sunkist Singles To Go in Orange Peach Mango earlier this year.
Flavor Mashups: G Fuel’s latest tub launch is called Flavor Bomb and is said to have notes of vanilla, watermelon and cotton candy working together in a sweet flavor symphony. Alani Nu’s latest launch of Island Crush blends the island inspired flavors of pineapple, dragon fruit, coconut and watermelon. This three-year-old brand also has several mashup fantasy flavors including Rocket Pop (cherry, lime, blue raspberry) and Hawaiian Shaved Ice (sour and citrus). Ghost is bringing back a popular seasonal favorite that combines vanilla and milky ice cream notes with the tropics in their Coconut Ice Cream that will be available in both whey and vegan protein lines.
Lowkey Flex
Stick packs may use up to 40% less packaging material than other popular powdered packaging and will likely reign supreme, though sachets, pouches, tubs, packets and newer innovations will offer brands more opportunities for differentiation.
Mixallogy has set themselves apart from other powdered cocktail mixer brands by opting for powder pods for their Cosmo, Margarita and Lemon Sour organic cocktail mixers. For an experience with no waste from an individual serving, Vade delivers 20g of protein powder in their edible film, that is made up of food binders. While this product isn’t new, it reminds us of the edible and biodegradable seaweed and other plant-based innovations being launched by Notpla. Pure Protein has also entered the dissolvable packaging game with their quick dissolving 20g whey protein paks. We expect to see more brands betting on sustainabilty and launch powdered products with edible film soon.
One packaging type that certainly delivers on convenience, (though doesn’t necessarily address the packaging waste issue) is the BlenderPak. This package does make it easy for consumers to add the right amount of water to the pre-filled powder pouch, which some might say could reduce the likelihood of bad batches (and waste) due to mismeasured proportions. For another super portable delivery vehicle, Coca Cola Japan deserves recognition for a powder adjacent product and packaging. They offer freeze dried coffee and tea through the brand 1 2 Cube and decided to forego packaging on individual servings. Instead, their stand-up pouches contain 15 cubes, each one of which is meant to dissolve in water and deliver a flavorful and aromatic experience.
If you’re interested in sampling powder products, please reach out to set up a virtual tasting and align on samples available from our ever-evolving menu.
Spotlight Flavors from the Flavor Lab:
White Chocolate Raspberry, Blueberry Cobbler, Oatmeal Cookie,
Snickerdoodle, Cinnamon Apple Crumble, Strawberry Shortcake
Reach out to request a flavor sample!
Check out more on #TRENDSPOTTING, or visit our blog.
