Wild Tonic Jun Kombucha (fermented from honey and green tea instead of traditional cane sugar and black tea) is banking on several growth trends in the kombucha category this year including its refreshed slim cans and expanding line of hard kombucha.
Austrian energy drink brand Dark Dog has established its Asia headquarters in Singapore as it looks to expand regional distribution of its organic product range.
New Zealand researchers are planning to conduct clinical trials on a kawakawa beverage with immune and metabolic health benefits, before refining the formulation and sell it in the export markets.
A molecular biologist, a medical doctor and a nutrition innovation expert have joined intellectual forces to create a cognitive health focused brand which they hope will redefine the caffeine-laden energy drink category.
The functional beverage consumer and their purchase motivations are just as diverse as the functional beverage category itself, which encompasses everything from sports drinks and energy drinks to ionized/alkaline water and nutrient-infused coffee, says...
A group of researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) has developed fermented probiotic tea and coffee with strains that confer digestive and immune benefits.
PepsiCo and Beyond Meat will form The PLANeT Partnership to develop, produce and market beverages and snacks made from plant-based protein. PepsiCo says plant-based protein offers ‘a new frontier’ in its efforts to build a more sustainable food system,...
Successfully meeting rising demand for “functional benefits” goes beyond adding on-trend ingredients with health properties to line-extensions or new products – it also requires brands to navigate a “two-way street” with consumers to balance education...
Leading Japanese firms Asahi, Ajinomoto, Kirin, Hotei Foods, Nippn and Nissin have underlined how their manufacturing, R&D and employee safety are being maintained as certain prefectures come under another state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Molson Coors has launched a new line of non-alcoholic, sparkling CBD beverages in Colorado: with each beverage offering ‘a unique blend of CBD and adaptogens’.
Scientists have revealed a web of interactions among bacterial species are necessary for the coexistence of health-promoting microbes in the popular fermented milk drink, kefir.
A Thai energy drink brand is introducing healthier versions of its products as it enters the domestic market, including less sugar and a higher nutrient content, to attract the growing skilled work force in the country.
Malaysia headquartered Ritamix Global has launched a tea modelled on a TCM formula used in China for COVID-19 treatment – but the new product is registered as food and beverage and makes no health claims.
What will be the top tastes of 2021? Classics like citrus will evolve with more exotic variants; botanicals and florals will offer a premium flourish; and our taste for adventure will bring flavors from the Mediterranean and Asia to the forefront. We...
“When we went on Shark Tank [in late 2018], Rohan Oza [managing partner at CAVU Venture Partners, who agreed to invest in the business] said to us, ‘I absolutely love your liquid, but I hate the packaging,” recalls Poppi co-founder Allison Ellsworth....
SternVitamin, a subsidiary of Stern-Wywiol Gruppe, has developed micronutrient premixes for the plant-based dairy alternatives segment that ‘upgrade’ plant-based drinks based on oats and other protein sources.
India’s health drink firm AV Organics is launching its black alkaline mineral water brand Evocus to New Zealand and UAE, with South East Asia countries to follow next.
The functional beverage space is heating up, but there are pockets of opportunity in enhanced sparkling water, says Colin McCabe, who co-founded fast-casual salad chain Chop’t, and is now moving into new territory with Free Rain, a line of beverages infused...
A new paper suggests that measuring proper hydration in the body is far more complex than might be assumed. Multiple tests might need to be done to get an accurate measurement, the authors claimed.
Following its acquisition by Beverage USA Holdings Inc. (BevUSA) earlier this year, mental acuity beverage company NERD is on track to become a nationally-recognized brand with new retail distribution, an expanded direct-to-consumer business, and refreshed...
Projecting its sixth straight year of double-digit growth, PepsiCo-owned Propel is taking advantage of the recent surge in consumer interest around immune health with the launch of its Immune Support line containing vitamin C and zinc.
A Nestlé-produced ketogenic (kMCT) drink could improve cognitive function in individuals suffering from Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), the firm's study suggests, as the product is set to be launched in Europe by the end of the year.
Personalized nutrition is somewhat a revolutionary technology within the beverage industry, offering consumer specific nutrition recommendations in real-time based on their DNA and gene profiling. But are consumers aware of this technology, and would...
Kombucha offers drinkers more complexity than your average alcohol-free alternative, writes Emma Thackray, co-founder of Booch & Brew, in this guest article.
Australian beverage firm Remedy Drinks is eyeing Vietnam as the next big market for its kombucha, banking on a rising health and wellness awareness trend and product ability to be transported without refrigeration.
Innovation is in full swing across the functional and fortified beverage category. From natural energy drinks to probiotic seltzers, we take a look at some of the recent launches around the globe.
While the US is the most developed market for kombucha, the category is growing in Europe with the drink’s natural and functional positioning ready to tap into health and wellness trends. But the evolution of the French, German and UK markets shows the...
Kirin Holdings and Kirin Beverage are set to relaunch its existing iMUSE brand as a functional food brand in Japan after six of its products received Food with Function Claims (FFC).
Singapore-based brand Nutrixin has relaunched its flagship immunity product, apple peel essence and rolled out two more functional beverages with cognitive and digestive functions.
Japan’s mellow has established its first physical retail presence in Japan after launching its CBD carbonated beverage and supplements online in June this year.
Thailand-based food biotech company JuiceInnov8 and national beverage giant TCP Group – the firm behind the original Red Bull - is set to roll out three reduced sugar and functional fruit juices this month.
A Google Trends analysis report reveals the "profound effects" of COVID-19 on interest in immune-boosting nutrients and herbs globally and which specific ingredients consumers favour across different global regions.
Malaysia-based kombucha brand WonderBrew is on track to more than double its sales this year, as it seeks to expand its e-commerce presence amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Two South Australian firms, functional beverage company Utonic and beauty firm Vani-T, are set to retail what they believe is the world’s first collagen kombucha nationwide in February 2021, following its online soft launch in September.
Malaysian kefir specialist firm MayKef says it is proudly taking a ‘health over taste’ approach to its production and marketing as it seeks to extol the virtues of goat’s milk and coconut milk kefir over traditional dairy.
By Prodromos Nikolaidis, Group Coffee Director, Coca-Cola HBC
Coffee represents a huge growth opportunity for Coca-Cola: not least with its acquisition of Costa coffee last year. In this guest article, Coca-Cola HBC's Group Coffee Director, Prodromos Nikolaidis, explores what is so attractive about the category.
The South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has introduced mandatory warning labels and tightened regulations governing ‘high caffeine’ beverages, including coffee and tea products.
The functional beverage sector is expected to gain traction as more ‘lifestyle consumers’ are attracted to the category, according to Kerry Taste and Nutrition.
The combination of a paraprobiotic derived from kefir and a prebiotic obtained from grape seed flour has been found to have anti-obesity effects in a mouse model.
PepsiCo is launching Driftwell: a functional beverage containing L-theanine to promote relaxation. Representing PepsiCo’s fastest beverage brand ever to market, it was created through an internal idea pitch competition for employees.
Kirin and FANCL is set to release two new beverages in Japan this October, including one with a Food with Function (FFC) claim - their first such products since forming a business alliance last year.
Demand for food and beverage products that boost mood, memory, focus and energy is said to be soaring. However, food consultant Julian Mellentin warns that food innovators should tread lightly: “It's a high-risk market and many entrepreneurs are...
New Zealand clean label energy drink brand Phoric is resuming its nationwide launch after plans were put on hold during the COVID-19 lockdown earlier in March.
APAC’s probiotics sector is continuing to soar, but consumers are increasingly seeking applications beyond supplements and dairy, with honey, tea and coffee emerging as potential formats for innovation.
Consuming cranberry juice twice daily reduces the risk of an infection which can lead to stomach ulcers, according to a new clinical trial supported by a grant from the Cranberry Marketing Committee (CMC),
A health and hospitality enthusiast with a passion for naturopathic nutrition is bringing the ancient wisdom of medicinal mushroom to the modern consumer with her new range of adoptogenic alcohol-free beers.
Atomo Coffee – a Seattle-based startup that claims to have reverse engineered your morning joe to make an awesome cup of coffee without using beans – has raised an extra $9m in seed funding, bringing its cumulative funding to $11.6m, with plans to bring...