Page 21 - FoodFocusThailand No.205 April 2023

SPECIAL FOCUS
SPECIAL FOCUS
New Trend of Beverage

Products

The beverage market has been tremendous growth and fierce competition. Therefore, manufacturers must
develop and tailor their products to meet the customers’ needs. Reports from Mintel and Food Technology
Magazine indicated that in 2023, consumers would prefer healthy food and beverages with reasonable
prices and environmental friendliness due to the impact of global inflation and recession as well as global
warming. These trends lead to creation of “Beverage Innovation” in order to satisfy consumers’ needs through
the development of ingredients, packaging, or advanced technology.

Beverage Innovation:
Good for Mental Health
The COVID-19 pandemic severely
affected the economy, society,
consumer attitude, and behavior. A
survey by Kerry in 2021 showed that
over 40% of consumers have bought
functional food and drink. Despite the
pandemic having abated, consumers
instead have increasing health
consciousness. The Mintel Global New
Product Database (GNPD) indicates
that beverages with functional claims
about health comprise 24% of the new
beverages launched to the market in
the past year. Most claims were about
benefits to the brain, neural system,
bone, heart, and digestion.
Furthermore, some beverages claim
to improve the immune system,
appearance, muscle, weight loss, and
relaxation. Due to the immense stress
during the pandemic, and concerns
about the recession, consumers have
started to turn to relaxing beverages
that usually have soothing ingredients
such as L-theanine Melatonin, CBD,
and GABA. Also, the ingredients for
adaptogens include lavender,
chamomile elderflower, ashwagandha,
Lion’s Mane mushroom, and Reishi
mushroom.
Beverage Innovation: Save the
World
Consumers have become more
conscious about the environment and
inclined to support manufacturers with
policies about environmental
sustainability. Aside from using
sustainable packaging such as plastic-
free or reusable packaging, beverage

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