Healthy beverage pivots to promote zen peacefulness
Implications - Already dominated by performance-enhancing and energy-boosting products, the healthy beverage category is seeing a pivot in focus towards the counter movement of relaxation and mindfulness. Adapting to this new approach to health and wellness, beverage brands are experimenting with products that promote slowing down in order to take time for self-care and de-stressing. In today’s high-speed, high-stress economy, reserving time simply to relax and unwind becomes a true luxury that is top of mind for health-conscious consumers.
Workshop Question - How can your brand accommodate the need for consumers to unwind and unplug?
Trend Themes
1. Relaxation Beverages - Beverage brands are experimenting with products that promote slowing down in order to take time for self-care and de-stressing, introducing a new category of relaxation beverages.
2. Adaptogenic Beverages - Herbal beverages offer millions of students, parents, and working professionals a natural solution to guide the body back into a state of balanced restoration, enriching them with stress-reducing and fatigue-fighting properties.
3. Non-alcoholic Social Tonics - Health-conscious consumers are turning to inspiring new products that allow them to partake in familiar drinking rituals, but reduce their consumption of alcohol and still get the benefits of stress reduction.
Industry Implications
1. Beverage Industry - The healthy beverage category is seeing a pivot in focus towards the counter movement of relaxation and mindfulness, offering opportunities for new product innovation and differentiation.
2. Functional Foods Industry - The rise in popularity of adaptogens across the food and beverage industry offers opportunities for functional foods to better support people looking to avoid sugary energy drinks and the undesirable side effects.
3. Nootropic Industry - Plant-based nootropic beverages are packed with functional ingredients to help boost cognitive functions in a way that doesn't involve added sugar, unpleasant side effects like the jitters, or a crash.
