Functional beverage spotlight: The latest in gut health NPD

Gut health is a top trend across functional food and beverages. While people might have once turned to supplements, they're now thinking about how they can get benefits in a less clinical form, focusing on what they eat and drink instead.

In the beverage category, many consumers became aware of the concept in the 1990s with the launch of probiotic milk drinks such as Yakult and Actimel. These brands continue to boom: but gut health in the beverage category now means so much more.

Soda brands such as Olipop and Poppi are out to transform the sugary soda category into one that’s about health and wellness: with drinks containing prebiotics and other goodies. Natural gut-friendly drinks like kefir and kombucha might have existed for centuries – but they’re also finding their way into the mass market.

Gut health is here for good: we take a look at some of the latest NPD in the category.   

'Good for your gut' kefir

UK gut health food brand, Bio&Me, is expanding with new ‘Good for your Gut’ kefir drinks.

Bio&Me’s new releases are designed to ‘bring consumers the most authentic, tasty, and gut healthy kefir drinking experience yet’.

Each 500ml bottle contains more culture strains than any other kefir drink on the market (18 different culture strains including two of the world’s most studied: LGG and BB-12), as well as a greater number of active cultures overall (over 100 billion of them, and more than double the average of current kefir drinks on the market), says the brand.

In addition, these all-natural kefir drinks contain no added sugars, emulsifiers or thickeners, employing a unique fermentation technique at Bio&Me’s expert dairy to produce all the nourishment of fermented dairy without the need for ultra-processed protein powders or artificial sweeteners. The drinks are also naturally high in protein, as well as an excellent source of calcium, B12, B2 and phosphorus.

Dr Megan Rossi, known as ‘The Gut Health Doctor’ and Bio&Me co-founder, said: “Many kefir drinks on the market, even those labelled as ‘gut healthy’, are often packed with added sugars, thickeners and artificial ingredients. We’ve worked really hard to create as close a match as possible to traditional, homemade kefir, which is celebrated for its strain diversity, high active cultures count, and clean ingredients.

"Our unique fermentation process eliminates the need for emulsifiers, thickeners, or added sugars, letting the quality of the ingredients shine through – and importantly, they taste great too.” 

High protein kefir drinks

Biotiful Gut Health, the UK’s top kefir brand, is launching a new range of high protein drinks: combining clean protein with natural gut health.

The products represent a world first, says the brand, as they mark the first time that any brand has managed to combine 20g of clean protein with live cultures in a fermented dairy drink.

Kefir and protein are the two fastest growth categories in convenience, according to IRI Total Market data. However, Biotiful Gut Health spies a gap in the market for high quality clean protein products without artificial ingredients.

These new High Protein Kefir Drinks come in Vanilla, Chocolate or Strawberry, each with 20g natural protein per 330ml bottle [RRP: £1.95]. The products contain billions of live cultures, calcium and vitamin B12 and are low in fat.

Prebiotic soda

New prebiotic soda LEVO has launched in the US: setting out to bring a modern, healthy twist to old school classics.

A 12 oz can of LEVO contains 5g of dietary fiber and 5g of cane sugar, all while keeping the calorie count to 30 and claiming 80% less sugar than the leading soda. It also contains prebiotics and uses natural sweeteners: being zero caffeine, zero aspartame and zero sucralose.

The look and feel of LEVO has been designed to transport consumers back to simpler times, ‘evoking joy with every satisfying crack of a freshly opened can’.  The brand debuts with six flavors: Cotton Candy, Splice, Cosmic Punch, Root Beer Float, Orange Creamsicle, and Voodoo Cola.

“It’s an exciting time to release LEVO, a soda that is actually good for you to drink and has an exceptional taste, said Joseph Nickell, CEO, Clear Cut Brands. “We’re proud of the flavors we’ve created and can’t wait to see how people respond to modern twists on some of the old-school classics.”

Soda with prebiotics and probiotics

UK functional drinks brand, FHIRST Living Soda, has secured its first national listing with Ocado.

The brand is designed to offer a healthier alternative to current sodas on the market with great tasting, guilt free, healthy sodas that support gut, immune and brain health.

FHIRST’s is also the only functional soda globally to contain probiotics and prebiotics with zero sugar and no artificial sweeteners. Each can provides a combination of 2 billion living probiotic cultures, 5g prebiotic plant fibre, and added zinc, and just 6kcals.

The brand uses a unique microencapsuation process to facilitate maximum probiotic culture release and ensure than the living cultures are stable and effectively reach the gut - whether drinks are kept chilled or ambient.

Ocado will stock brand multipacks in the following flavors: Lemon Lime, Ginger Mandarin, Cherry Vanilla, and Passion Fruit (each multipack contains 4x330ml cans). 

Co-founder UK/Head of Brand, Pip Brook (ex Vita Coco) said: “With the backlash against traditional sodas that are full of sugars, sweeteners and a whole lot of nasties, people are genuinely looking for healthier alternatives. FHIRST is one of the healthiest functional gut lovin’ sodas on the market right now... Whether it’s adults or children, FHIRST is the guilt-free, healthy go-to soda.

"We’re here to change the soda landscape, showing that sugar and sweetener laden sodas are a thing of the past.”

ROBOT Kombucha​​

Sustainability focused start-up Net Zero Foods has launched an organic certified kombucha cola, called ROBOT, in the UK.

The drink turns to honey for sweetness: using more than 6g of organic honey in every 330ml can. The result is around 90% less sugar than standard colas, without any artificial sweeteners.

Honey - which itself is full of antioxidants, vitamins, omega 3’s - is combined with a probiotic organic kombucha which gives the drink a natural fizz, and a super healthy, friendly gut probiotic.

The super-premium drink is due to launch in a few weeks and will be on-sale in Harrod’s at £4:50 for a 330ml can.

Actimel puts the spotlight on gut health for immune support​

Danone is celebrating 30 years of Actimel with the launch of Actimel+ Triple Action: which debuts across Europe this month.

Actimel+ Triple Action is fortified with essential vitamins D and B6, to support the normal function of the immune system, magnesium to reduce tiredness, and vitamin C for its antioxidant properties.

At Danone’s Research and Innovation Centre in Paris-Saclay, immunology experts have been dedicated to studying the impact of diet on preventing immunity-related disorders including allergies, recurrent infections, and autoimmune diseases. With 70% of the immune system located in the gut, its role in supporting immunity is crucial.

Actimel’s recipe contain billions of beneficial ferments, including Danone’s exclusive L. casei, which promote the growth of good bacteria essential for gut health. Actimel uses a unique 72-hour slow fermentation process to allow the L. casei cultures to develop in the best possible conditions. This method results in a higher concentration of these beneficial cultures in each serving, says the brand.

Actimel Triple+ comes in peach-passion fruit, strawberry pomegranate, blueberry-blackberry and orange-peach flavors. ​

Fermented milk drinks

Yakult Plus Peach joins Yakult’s range of fermented milk drinks in the UK.

Each little bottle contains billions of L.casei ​​Shirota bacteria, scientifically proven to reach the gut alive and increase the bacteria in the gut. It is rich in vitamin C, which supports immunity and helps lower fatigue. The drinks also contain fiber that feeds the gut bacteria.

Yakult Plus Peach is fat-free, suitable for vegetarians, gluten free and contains fewer calories and less sugar.