Functional Beverages Overflow in Popularity

“Functional beverages” — drinks that claim to fortify your hair and nails, give you clean energy, or make you live longer — are becoming one of the hottest markets in the food and beverage industry, as people look to boost their health, beauty, and performance.

Why It Hits: Health and wellness has been surging in popularity across hospitality, technology, and supplements, so it was only a matter of time before our drinks got a dose of the trend. They’re already a big hit in Asia. Mordor Intelligence estimates that the global market will surpass $329 billion by 2030.

Behind the Ingredients: Toasting to health and a long life is becoming very literal.

• Sparkling wellness sodas like Celsius, luxury smoothies from Erewhon, and magnesium-based drinkable supplement Magna are rising in demand.
• Black Swan Data found that search traffic has skyrocketed for “collagen drinks,” “anti-wrinkle beverages,” and drinks packed with protein and hydration.
• That’s led to some big-money deals, including PepsiCo buying an 8.5% stake in Celsius in 2022 for $550 million.
• And that’s despite the inclusion of some pretty bizarre ingredients, including marine collagen powder, crushed fish cartilage, and bovine colostrum.

Last Sip: Like any trend built on big promises, there will be an overflow of scams and dubious claims (especially in a largely unregulated space), so the companies that get validation from the established medical community or high-performing individuals will likely see the biggest boost.

Case in point: The supplement label IM8 was founded by healthcare entrepreneur Danny Yeung and none other than soccer legend David Beckham, who wanted to find a way to get his 15 daily pills down to one drinkable sachet. There’s no better marketing hook than that.