Health and Wellness

There are still around 35 drinking occasions over the course of a week, but beverage categories are changing. Pic: Getty/Kwangmoozaa

The last 30 years in beverages: How have consumers changed?

By Beth Newhart

While soda may have dominated shelves in the 1990s, today’s shoppers are seeking increasingly sophisticated functional beverages. Data company Kantar has analyzed consumer behavior in a new report that highlights the last three decades in the US beverage...

Instant hot coffee of the past is being replaced by higher quality ready-to-drink options.

Bringing back the brew: US coffee innovates for fall

By Beth Newhart

Coffee brands kick it up a notch in the fall, capitalizing on the category’s popularity during the colder months. From spiked cold brew to CBD infusions, US coffee is taking a fresh approach to autumn 2019.

Gen Z wants to consume and share beverages online that are in line with their own personal brand. Pic: Getty/Astarot

How does Gen Z respond to seasonal alcohol favorites?

By Beth Newhart

Gen Z-ers of drinking age are more traditional than they are given credit for, showing strong interest in IPA craft beers and wine moving into the autumn season, despite the noise and popularity of flavored malt beverages (FMBs) and CBD products.

Each new drink has a single serve option, designed for lunch boxes, after school activities and snacks

Juicy Juice ups the ante for back-to-school season

By Beth Newhart

The traditional juice model is getting refreshed at Juicy Juice, a kids’ beverage brand in the US. New organic and high protein offerings are part of a better-for-you campaign.

Millennial parents with children and are thinking about their health in a preventative way, different from older people who wait until they’re sick to seek medical care.

New functional teas powered by liposomal technology

By Beth Newhart

Bio-Up, a new line of functional beverages positioned for cholesterol and cardio health, is drawing on liposome technology from the pharmaceutical industry to improve uptake of active ingredients.

Carbonated soft drinks, water, coffee, energy drinks and sports drinks are the top beverages in c-stores. Pic: Getty/Sarah Casillas

Convenience store beverage purchases rise in the US

By Beth Newhart

Convenience store and gas station shopping habits for US consumers are analysed in GasBuddy’s 2019 C-Store Beverage Study, showing more impulse buys and higher demand for bottled water.

All the ingredients used in Coffee Booster are vitamin or herb based, without any flavor for easy incorporation.

Coffee gets a boost at-home and on-the-go

By Beth Newhart

Premium ‘boosters’ and functional add-ons have found a place in smoothie chains, and now they’re headed for coffee. Canada-based Coffee Booster wants flavorless function to be a new step in morning coffee routines.

“A critical part of our journey is taking bigger, bolder action to be more socially responsible in all the ways we operate.”

Dunkin’ ramps up sustainability commitment

By Beth Newhart

Dunkin’ Brands, parent company of Dunkin’ Donuts (DD) and Baskin Robbins, released a sustainability report this week, updating its progress on old goals and outlining new ones.

“People wanting to be healthier is not confined to a certain age group.”

Ethan’s shots dip into organic energy

By Beth Newhart

A beverage brand that specializes in functional shots, Ethan’s is breaking into the energy drink category for the first time with a line of Organic Energy Shots formulated with green tea, lion’s mane and guayusa.

Moringa dominates kale and matcha across nutrient categories like antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and amino acids.

Moringa stands out among superfoods at Fancy Food

By Beth Newhart

Known in ancient cultures as the 'tree of life,' moringa has grown into the western food and beverage industries, following the pattern of others like matcha. More competitors are now entering the market, and infiltrating the mainstream tea...

Mingle drinks are less carbonated than soda, and an ideal alternative for someone seeking an ‘upscale’ non-alcoholic beverage.

Mingle Mocktails wants to make drinking occasions 'fun for everyone'

By Beth Newhart

At the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City, Philadelphia-based Mingle Mocktails expanded its range of upscale alcohol alternatives with the launch of Blood Orange Elderflower. Founder Laura Taylor said the time is ripe for mocktails brands like hers...

Are avocados the future of tea?

By Beth Newhart

A couple of ‘accidental avocado farmers’ from California found a better use for the leaves of avocado trees than grinding and trashing them--hot tea. Now they are bagging and flavoring the tea to be sold worldwide, launching this summer.

Rwanda's climate conditions, good soil and high elevation make it an optimal tea-growing location.

3 Mountains sees the potential for premium, on draft tea

By Beth Newhart

Independent craft tea brand 3 Mountains is betting on consumers’ interest in premium beverages and social change with its new Silverback Draft Tea, available in kegs and cans. It showcased the concept at last week’s Summer Fancy Food Show in New York...

What’s new in beverage at the Fancy Food Show?

What’s new in beverage at the Fancy Food Show?

By Beth Newhart

The Specialty Food Association’s (SFA) Summer Fancy Food Show took place in New York City last week. Some top specialty beverage categories in the US are tea, coffee, hot cocoa and plant-based milks, with overall specialty sales making up 16.1% of the...

Beverage producers are working with international spices more because of their health benefits and function, rather than taste. Pic: Getty/oleksajewicz

Global flavor fusion dominates drink trends at IFT

By Beth Newhart

More consumers are prioritizing authentic, local food and drink when they travel, and are keen to experience global flavors at home as well. At IFT 2019, international fusion was on display with unique ingredient innovations.

Bottled water is the most recycled product in curbside recycling systems, topping soda bottles. Pic: Getty/SergeyKlopotov

Bottled water sales continue to rise in the US

By Beth Newhart

The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) has revealed that Americans still favor bottled water over all other packaged drinks, after consuming 13.8 billion gallons of it in 2018.

“People want to avoid calories and sugar, but they also don’t necessarily want the current options that are out there in artificial.” Pic: Cargill

EverSweet fights stevia aftertaste with fermentation

By Beth Newhart

Cargill thinks the future ‘looks bright’ for stevia in beverages thanks to fermentation that extracts the smaller, sweeter compounds in the leaf. It’s been one year since Cargill launched its zero-calorie EverSweet ingredient with the technology.

Coca-Cola's bubbler dispensers put an emphasis on 'craft, elevated' beverages with low sugar options. Pic: BeverageDaily

Coca-Cola cuts back on sugar with bubbler beverages

By Beth Newhart

Shifting consumer taste is causing major beverage companies to adapt, make ‘healthy’ drinks taste better and be more accessible. Coca-Cola is using its Freestyle machines and new bubbler dispensers to highlight its ‘craft, elevated’ drinks in the market.

Pic:getty/noomubon

Guest article

UK sugar tax: Historic sales shift to sugar-free

By Jack Winkler, Emeritus Professor of Nutrition Policy, London Metropolitan University; and Tam Fry, chair, National Obesity Forum

A historic change in the sales of carbonated soft drinks has taken place since the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) came into force a year ago -- with sugarfree drinks rising, and full sugar products falling.

Re-positioning soda and co-locating CPG divisions are just some of big brands' strategies. Pic: Getty/jonnysek

BEVERAGE FORUM 2019

How big soda is taking an ‘honest’ approach to consumer health habits

By Beth Newhart

PepsiCo, Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) and other major soda brands are still learning to grapple with the health and wellness wave that’s causing consumers to drop their sugary drinks for something ‘better-for-you’. Executives spoke at the 2019 Beverage Forum...

Tea is taking on bigger roles out-of-home and outside cafes with food pairings and tea-infused foods. Pic: Getty/ThitareeSarmkasat

How can tea stay competitive?

By Beth Newhart

Alternate brewing methods, teas on tap, hard kombucha and more. The tea world is experimenting with “unique and more unusual, innovative ingredients” to keep consumers interested.

By January 2019 more than 100 million Waterloo cans were sold in the US, since launching in August 2017.

Waterloo launches new flavors, leverages ‘classic’ packaging

By Beth Newhart

Waterloo Sparkling Water debuted an expanded portfolio at Natural Products Expo West last month, launching Strawberry and Grape flavors. It’s the latest in the increasingly crowded sparkling water category, where brands are seeking to separate themselves...

Machines have become easier to operate, and data collection is more accessible to display and monitor. Pic: BeverageDaily

Health & wellness drive processing trends, automation innovation

By Beth Newhart

At the ProFood Tech show in Chicago this month, more than 400 exhibitors showcased processing solutions for the food and beverage world, with particular focus on drinks, dairy and bakery. Greater focus on health and wellness and the rise in automation...

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