Mining the traditional fermented beverages “Masato de Yuca” and “Chicha de Siete Semillas”, scientists from Peru and Spain have reported a potential new probiotic with performance that matches or exceeds an established commercial strain.
Singapore start-up Soynergy is aiming to launch a probiotic drink made from okara, using its biotech platform that contributes towards zero-waste food manufacturing.
Major Thai beverage company Osotspa said that the popularity of vitamin C drinks and related products have cushioned weak convenience store sales in the country.
How can fermented beverages boost immunity and gut health? Do consumers understand the health benefit of kefir and kombucha? And where are these sectors headed in the next five years? Kombucha Brewers International (KBI) and UK kefir maker Biotiful Dairy...
Kirin is adding the immune-boosting ingredient Lactococcus lactis strain Plasma (Lc-Plasma) into its flagship milk tea and green tea products, with the firm banking on the health angle that has driven the success of its iMuse functional brand to halt...
UK-based Sleep Well Milk is set to launch its functional dairy milk for the first time in Asia later this year, with Hong Kong and South Korea the firm’s first two targets.
A team at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) in Quebec, Canada is working on a plant-based fermented drink high in protein and probiotics.
The pandemic has propelled immunity to the top of the functional beverage agenda. But that doesn’t mean interest in other functional beverages has disappeared. We ask the experts what trends are bubbling away beneath the pandemic headlines – and will...
It sounds pretty logical – the pandemic has prompted increased interest in immunity across F&B. But is it really top dog in the world of functional beverages – or are there other claims consumers are more interested in?
UK functional water sales were hit by the pandemic in 2020: but are predicted to rise consistently over the next five years. But the rebound is not necessarily going to be a straight-forward return to pre-pandemic times: with a shifting market and new...
As consumers search for holistic and natural ways to improve their immunity, Euromonitor has published a new white paper examining how brands can appeal in a competitive and confusing market.
Malaysian supplements and personalised nutrition outfit Nourished Asia has launched a new brand, Daile Food, focusing on customising milk, coffee, tea, fruit juice, and yoghurt with added functional ingredients.
Three high-profile acquisitions put the spotlight on how PepsiCo is shaping its beverage portfolio for the future: tapping into a new consumption model with SodaStream; eying up the opportunity for protein and sport with CytoSport, and building its presence...
The micronutrients and other bioactives contained in a glass of orange juice is sufficient enough to shore up the immune response and tackle oxidative stress and inflammation, a review concludes.
A New Zealand firm producing gin from Damson plums is expanding into the functional health foods space and has received funding to research and develop nutrition products based on its high amounts of anthocyanins.
Consumption of PepsiCo’s Imunele, a drinkable yoghurt fortified with two probiotic strains and a vitamin complex was found to reduce the frequency of upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) among female subjects in a randomised double-blind control...
Yakult has detailed its plan to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 through its newly established Environmental Vision 2050, which will also include efforts to reduce plastic packaging by 30% by 2030.
As the #1 selling brand in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK, and the fourth largest kombucha company globally, producing more than 90 million cans per year, Remedy Drinks is seeking to replicate its success in the US market where it says consumers are...
If you took the best of Bai, the best of Vitaminwater, and the best of Gatorade, and made it organic, you would have ROAR, says CEO Alex Galindez, who is applying a new distribution and marketing playbook to the five-year-old brand.
Olipop – a functional beverage brand forging new territory in the soda category with 9g fiber per can – is on course to more than triple revenues this year vs 2020, says co-founder Ben Goodwin, who launched the brand with David Lester in late 2018.
Ingredient suppliers have identified four key trends that are driving beverage innovation in Asia-Pacific, namely non-dairy, low sugar, functional and sustainability.
The IPA World Congress + Probiota Americas 2021 is one week away! The leading event for the the probiotics, prebiotics, and microbiome community is a must-attend event, and let us tell you why…
New Zealand-based functional beverage brand ‘73 citrus has launched its first product, a sparkling orange juice with liposomal vitamin C to boost immunity.
Sales of functional beverages are bouncing back after slowing early in the pandemic when fewer people bought on-the-go products, reflecting increased consumer mobility, rising interest in food as medicine and innovation that resonates with health-focused...
The global functional beverage market was worth $102bn in 2020, and growth is predicted at a CAGR of 3.2%, but how can brands make their products stand out in an increasingly crowded market?
Functional beverage firm Nutrixin has launched its latest functional beverage, a cocoa essence to improve heart health and prevent the onset of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
A new functional beverage has launched based on white tea with added phytonutrients to deliver on a promise of everyday health support, the brand founders claim.
Bottled water evian’s brand story goes back some 200 years: and over that time it’s been very much focused on its core natural mineral water. But this month it is expanding into new categories of sparkling flavored, functional and canned products with...
New Zealand nootropic company Ārepa is investing over NZ$2 million (US$1.4m) on a series of brain health and performance clinical trials as it looks to create the world’s smartest drink.
By Dr Adam Carey, chairman, European Specialist Sports Nutrition Alliance (ESSNA)
Over the past decades, the sports beverage industry has witnessed significant growth. Yet misinformation also surrounds these products. Dr Adam Carey, chairman of the European Specialist Sports Nutrition Alliance (ESSNA), looks at some of these myths...
Nestlé USA has acquired premium alkaline water brand, Essentia Water, for an undisclosed sum to expand its presence in the premium, high-growth functional water category.
Free from added sugar, artificial flavors and with around half the amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee, Ocean Spray Wave – a caffeinated sparkling water with real fruit juice – is the latest drink meeting a trio of consumer demands of refreshment, energy,...
Wild Tonic Jun Kombucha (fermented from honey and green tea instead of traditional cane sugar and black tea) is banking on several growth trends in the kombucha category this year including its refreshed slim cans and expanding line of hard kombucha.
Austrian energy drink brand Dark Dog has established its Asia headquarters in Singapore as it looks to expand regional distribution of its organic product range.
New Zealand researchers are planning to conduct clinical trials on a kawakawa beverage with immune and metabolic health benefits, before refining the formulation and sell it in the export markets.
A molecular biologist, a medical doctor and a nutrition innovation expert have joined intellectual forces to create a cognitive health focused brand which they hope will redefine the caffeine-laden energy drink category.
The functional beverage consumer and their purchase motivations are just as diverse as the functional beverage category itself, which encompasses everything from sports drinks and energy drinks to ionized/alkaline water and nutrient-infused coffee, says...
A group of researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) has developed fermented probiotic tea and coffee with strains that confer digestive and immune benefits.
PepsiCo and Beyond Meat will form The PLANeT Partnership to develop, produce and market beverages and snacks made from plant-based protein. PepsiCo says plant-based protein offers ‘a new frontier’ in its efforts to build a more sustainable food system,...
Successfully meeting rising demand for “functional benefits” goes beyond adding on-trend ingredients with health properties to line-extensions or new products – it also requires brands to navigate a “two-way street” with consumers to balance education...
Leading Japanese firms Asahi, Ajinomoto, Kirin, Hotei Foods, Nippn and Nissin have underlined how their manufacturing, R&D and employee safety are being maintained as certain prefectures come under another state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Molson Coors has launched a new line of non-alcoholic, sparkling CBD beverages in Colorado: with each beverage offering ‘a unique blend of CBD and adaptogens’.
Scientists have revealed a web of interactions among bacterial species are necessary for the coexistence of health-promoting microbes in the popular fermented milk drink, kefir.
A Thai energy drink brand is introducing healthier versions of its products as it enters the domestic market, including less sugar and a higher nutrient content, to attract the growing skilled work force in the country.
