Beverages are no longer just about refreshment and hydration - they’re about sleep, focus, gut health and beauty, delivered in cans and sold via algorithms. This report unpacks the global rise of functional drinks, from TikTok-fuelled demand to regulatory grey zones, and explores what brands must know to innovate safely, price strategically and lead credibly in a fragmented, fast-moving market.
This report comes in PPT.
Energy drinks, sleep waters and gut health colas now borrow the language of consumer health yet bypass pre-market review, normalising a form of daily self-medication through colourful cans. Consumers perceive quick fixes while regulators play catch-up, raising stakes for transparency, dosage verification and credible science before claims collapse into backlash.
Many successful breakout brands lead with nostalgic flavours, viral colour palettes and playful storytelling, then back-fill a light prebiotic or nootropic claim to justify an indulgence. Function becomes permission rather than purpose, suggesting category growth is sometimes fuelled less by efficacy than by novelty, social media shareability and taste.
Premium gut sodas, collagen waters and protein RTDs now command café-style on-premise prices, clustering in boutique grocers and fitness studios. This affluence bias risks deepening health divides, as better-for-you convenience becomes a lifestyle marker rather than a practical tool for mainstream dietary improvement.
Influencer algorithms surface micro-trends at lightning speed, turning water-enhancer hacks, matcha booms and hemp seltzers into overnight staples. Brands that fail to monitor digital sentiment and prototype quickly risk irrelevance, despite evidence that quality erodes as entertainment value, not science, determines reach and credibility.
Retailers and regulators must decode overlapping benefit claims, psychoactive doses and personalised formats. Those who curate by need state, provide evidence and show restraint with dosing (particularly with ingredients such as caffeine and THC) will earn consumer trust, while passive, disorganised “functional” shelves and labels invite confusion, lawsuits and policy intervention.
This is the aggregation of the following categories; Carbonates, Fruit/vegetable juice, Bottled water, Functional drinks, Concentrates, RTD tea, RTD coffee and Asian speciality drinks.
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