Whilst we saw some impressive increase in the sale of beverages during the pandemic, reports state that it might be difficult for beverage companies to replicate the record breaking statistics from 2020. The beverage industry is set to face a number of challenges including supply issues due to growing demand, skyrocketing prices and the nature of numerous beverage categories according to a survey conducted by a leading market research firm.
Let us take a look at the six beverage trends that have accelerated during the pandemic and expected to gain so much more traction in the coming years:
- Plant-Based Alternatives and Dairy- Free Beverages
One of the most popular beverage categories has to be the plant-based, dairy-free alternatives that are rapidly emerging to grow to take its fair share from traditional dairy drinks. Even though dairy-free beverages were developed for vegans, there is a growing interest from a range of consumers including omnivores and flexitarians who are focusing on their health, climate changes and animal welfare.
By now, most of us have tried or switched to almond milk. However, oat milk is slowly taking the spotlight. A lot of people prefer to consume almond, oat or soy milk drinks on a regular basis. And for good reason too, it is so much better for the planet. Did you know that it takes 628 litres of water to make just one litre of milk? Whilst one litre of soy milk requires just 28 litres of water.
- The New Range of “Better-for-You” Drinks
What we mean by “better-for-you” drinks are beverages that are made using natural ingredients, feature cleaner labels, zero or reduced additions of sugar, lesser calories, and reduced caffeine alternatives. Beverages Recipes with such qualities have been growing in demand as people have eventually started reading the nutrition label. And what’s more? It only took a pandemic for people to solely focus on their wellbeing, immunity and reduction of stress levels.
The next range of “better-for-you” beverages have special ingredients that have been marketed as ingredients with radical health benefits such as vitamins, minerals, probiotics, prebiotics, superfoods, antioxidants, proteins, botanicals, and adaptogens. This trend is drastically shaking up every beverage category, particularly tea, kombucha and kefir, sports and energy drinks, and even bottled water! People are actively switching to vitamin or activated charcoal waters for that additional boost of health.
- Reduced or Sugar Free Drinks
With most of us being more conscious of the stuff we ingest, consumers are actively opting for dietary habits to reduce their overall sugar intake. This has led to beverage manufacturers to release reduced sugar, zero sugar or naturally sweetened varieties of existing as well as new products. Packaged juice, aerated drinks, sports and energy drinks, and ready to drink (RTD) tea manufactures have all jumped on the bandwagon to produce sugar free or reduced sugar beverages. Recent launches Mountain Dew Zero Sugar, Red Bull Sugar Free, Monster Energy Zero and so on.
- Hybrid Beverages
One of the recent trends that we expect to become big in 2022 is the development of new products by blending the finest qualities of various drinks to blur the lines across different product categories.
For example, sports drinks contain stimulants and caffeine. Some energy drinks are launched with added electrolytes to advertise hydration. And, vitamins are added to water to improve overall health. Some sparkling waters can contain caffeine from tea too. Some sodas are crossed with coffee—such as Coca Cola with Coffee which was a great hit.
- CBD or Cannabidiol Beverages
Cannabidiol beverages might be the hottest new thing in 2022. There are numerous CBD products available in the market. But whether it will make it to the cold drinks aisle of every supermarket is something we have to wait and watch. It is slowly spreading across the west. For instance, Molson Coors recently launched the Verywell, a collection of sparkling waters with hemp-derived CBD and adaptogens. This drink is only available in the state of Colorado in the United States.
- Improved Sustainable Packaging
Whilst beverage trends are usually driven by what’s inside the bottle, the packaging itself plays a very crucial role when purchasing a drink. Many of us are suckers for packaging and will pick something up just for the unique branding or packaging.
According to studies, single-use plastic packaging has proven to be the leading challenge and concern for many beverage manufacturers. Most of the major beverage companies across the globe have pledged to incorporate bottles that are made using recyclable, biodegradable, and compostable materials and achieve specific targets for the company over the course of time in the near future. Ceremonial Cacao Benefits
What’s more? A significant number of drinks manufacturers have transitioned some of their plastic packaging to 100% Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) plastic, which has a much lower carbon footprint than virgin PET.
These are some of the beverage trends and predictions for 2022. What do you think about these? Let us know in the comments below.
