by Marion Nestle
Jun 14 2016

BeverageDaily.com on functional drinks

The Beverage Daily newsletter always has something interesting from its business perspective.  Its June 3 mailing was a special edition—a collection of its articles—about “functional” beverages.  In nutrition-speak, functional means something added above and beyond the nutrients that were there to begin with.

Here’s what Beverage Daily says about them:

Once, beverages were simply about hydration. Now, people want hydration and more from their drinks.

Rich with innovation, the functional beverage category is full of exciting developments and new ideas. From beauty beverages to digestive health drinks, these beverages offer something extra to consumers.

The functional beverage market accounts for around 7% of total beverages by volume, according to figures from Zenith International. But the real interest is in value, with functional beverages accounting for around 13% of the beverage category in terms of value.

From my perspective, functional beverages are about marketing.  You want hydration?  Try water!