A functional beverage is a conventional liquid food marketed to highlight specific product ingredients or supposed health effects. Beverages marketed as "functional" include

dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

drinks,

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

and performance drinks,

energy drink An energy drink is a type of non-alcoholic psychoactive functional beverage containing stimulant compounds, usually caffeine (at a higher concentration than ordinary soda pop) and taurine, which is marketed as reducing tiredness and improving pe ...

s, ready-to-drink teas,

kombucha Kombucha (also tea mushroom, tea fungus, or Manchurian mushroom when referring to the Microbiological culture, culture; Latin name ''Medusomyces gisevii'') is a fermented beverage, fermented, effervescent, Sweetened beverage, sweetened black ...

, "smart" drinks,

fortified A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lat ...

fruit drinks,

plant milk Plant milk is a category of non-dairy beverages made from a water-based plant extract for flavoring and aroma. Nut milk is a subcategory made from nuts, while other plant milks may be created from grains, pseudocereals, legumes, seeds or endosp ...

s, and enhanced water. Although these beverages may serve to hydrate a consumer, they have no proven health effects, and accordingly appear not to be "functional". For example, there is no good clinical evidence that kombucha provides any benefit to human health.

Health concerns

Health experts are concerned about the increased consumption and popularity of functional beverages. Most functional beverages are sweetened, and consumption of sweetened beverages is associated with higher levels of obesity and heart disease. Most of these drinks contain significant amounts of

sugars Sugar is the generic name for Sweetness, sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides ...

and hence calories, which would add to discretionary and total caloric intake. As such, these ingredients pose health risks because of what they contain (sugar and caffeine) or what they replace in the diet (vitamin and mineral-rich foods).

Use

Functional beverages are commonly consumed by people seeking health benefits from their foods and beverages. Both convenience and health have been identified as important factors in consumers' decision-making about food and beverage purchases. Functional drinks are advertised as having various health benefits. For example, some claim to improve heart health,

immunity Immunity may refer to: Medicine * Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease * ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press Biology * Immune system Engineering * Radiofrequence immunity ...

digestion Digestion is the breakdown of large insoluble food compounds into small water-soluble components so that they can be absorbed into the blood plasma. In certain organisms, these smaller substances are absorbed through the small intestine into th ...

, and

joint A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...

health, while others promote themselves as satiating and energy-boosting.

Industry

The functional

beverage industry The drink industry (or drinks industry, also known as the beverage industry) produces drinks, in particular alcoholic beverage, ready to drink and soft drink products. Drink production can vary greatly depending on the product being made. Manuf ...

is a sub-sector of the

functional food A functional food is a food claimed to have an additional benefit beyond just nutrition (often one related to health promotion or disease prevention) by modifying the horticulture, cultivation of the native food or by food additive, adding ingr ...

and non-alcoholic beverage industry. It is the fastest-growing sector of the industry, partially due to the maturity of the carbonated

soft drink A soft drink (see #Terminology, § Terminology for other names) is a class of non-alcoholic drink, usually (but not necessarily) Carbonated water, carbonated, and typically including added Sweetness, sweetener. Flavors used to be Natural flav ...

sector and heavy investments by major food and beverage companies.Scholan, I. "Functional Beverages-- where next? Innovation in functional beverages market is set to continue." ''International Food Ingredients'' December 2007. Another reason for the industry's growth may be the consumer-oriented market scheme whereby innovative ideas come from consumers. By 2008, in the U.S., the market share of functional beverages accounted for 48.9% of the non-alcoholic industry, which is worth $118 billion.Roberts, W. "Benefiting Beverages." ''Prepared Foods'' August 2009 Functional beverage industry players are generally categorized into four types:"Functional Foods and Beverages in US. MaryLand." ''Packaged Facts.'' May 2009 # Traditional non-alcoholic beverage companies, like

PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase, New York, Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the f ...

, Fuze Beverage, and

The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational corporation founded in 1892. It manufactures, sells and markets soft drinks including Coca-Cola, other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, and alcoholic beverages. Its stock is lis ...

. # Major food companies, such as

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...

Altria Altria Group, Inc. (previously known as Philip Morris Companies, Inc. until 2003) is an American corporation and one of the world's largest producers and marketers of tobacco, cigarettes, and medical products in the treatment of illnesses ca ...

Kraft Foods Kraft Foods Group, Inc. was an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate (company), conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. on October 1, 2012, and was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz on July ...

General Mills General Mills, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded ultra-processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in ...

, and the

Campbell Soup Company The Campbell's Company (doing business as Campbell's and formerly known as the Campbell Soup Company) is an American company, most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products. The classic red-and-white can design used by many Campbe ...

. # Smaller-scaled private companies and specialized companies like POM Wonderful. #

Agricultural cooperative An agricultural cooperative, also known as a farmers' co-op, is a producer cooperative in which farmers pool their resources in certain areas of activities. A broad typology of agricultural cooperatives distinguishes between agricultural servic ...

s, such as Ocean Spray and Sunsweet Growers.

Marketing ethic issue

Although a "functional" beverage may be marketed as a panacea or a

performance-enhancing substance Performance-enhancing substances (PESs), also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. Many substances, such as anabolic steroids, can be used to improve ath ...

, there is no

scientific evidence Scientific evidence is evidence that serves to either support or counter a scientific theory or hypothesis, although scientists also use evidence in other ways, such as when applying theories to practical problems. "Discussions about empirical ev ...

for any specific health effects of such beverages or for their uniform regulation internationally, as of 2020.

Market

The functional beverage industry generally competes using four primary strategies: # Promote their own products as healthy and unique, by clearly distinguishing their health claims from similar products, and by specifying naturally healthy ingredients. # Consider extensions of existing brand lines. For example, Nestle extended their Boost product line by adding Kids Essentials to the line, thereby extending the adult-focused Boost line to a new market (children). # Larger companies compete for market share by acquiring smaller companies that may own a particular market sector. For example, Coca-Cola purchased Glaceau from Energy Brands, and Odwalla, and Fuze Beverage from their respective founders, in order to increase Coca-Cola's market share. # Explore new functional brands by identifying new markets and demands. Market segments of the functional beverage industry are divided mainly into four parts. Those include hydration; energy/rejuvenation; health and wellness; and weight management. Each segment has its own

target market A target market, also known as serviceable obtainable market (SOM), is a group of customers within a business's serviceable available market at which a business aims its marketing efforts and resources. A target market is a subset of the total m ...

and consumers. Overlapping of target consumers does occur—not because of undefined market needs, but due to consumer acceptance of functional beverages.

Types of Functional Beverages

Sports drinks

Sports drinks, also known as electrolyte drinks, are non-caffeinated functional beverages whose stated purpose is to help

athletes An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including trac ...

replace water,

electrolytes An electrolyte is a substance that conducts electricity through the movement of ions, but not through the movement of electrons. This includes most soluble salts, acids, and bases, dissolved in a polar solvent like water. Upon dissolving, t ...

, and energy before, during and especially after training or competition. The evidence is lacking pertaining to the efficacy of use of commercial sports drinks for sports and fitness performance.

Regulation of Sports drinks

In July 2024, the FDA revoked its authorization for the use of brominated vegetable oil (BVO), which is a stabilizer for fruity and citrus-flavored food and beverages. BVO has been found to have potential negative consequences for human health. In 2024, few beverages in the U.S. contained BVO, with many companies having phased out BVO in the 21st century, including PepsiCo with Gatorade in 2013, and Coca-Cola with Powerade in 2014. BVO was most commonly found in citrus-flavored drinks.

Energy drinks

Highly caffeinated, often highly sweetened, energy drinks are common on the beverage market worldwide. Consumer demand has helped generate a new generation of "energy drink" brands containing similar amounts of caffeine, calories, and sugar. Various ingredients found in energy drinks may include

taurine Taurine (), or 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid, is a naturally occurring amino sulfonic acid that is widely distributed in animal tissues. It is a major constituent of bile and can be found in the large intestine. It is named after Latin (cogna ...

caffeine Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine chemical classification, class and is the most commonly consumed Psychoactive drug, psychoactive substance globally. It is mainly used for its eugeroic (wakefulness pr ...

B vitamins B vitamins are a class of water-soluble vitamins that play important roles in Cell (biology), cell metabolism and synthesis of red blood cells. They are a chemically diverse class of compounds. Dietary supplements containing all eight are referr ...

, guarana,

ginseng Ginseng () is the root of plants in the genus ''Panax'', such as South China ginseng (''Panax notoginseng, P. notoginseng''), Korean ginseng (''Panax ginseng, P. ginseng''), and American ginseng (''American ginseng, P. quinquefol ...

ginkgo biloba ''Ginkgo biloba'', commonly known as ginkgo or gingko ( ), also known as the maidenhair tree, is a species of gymnosperm tree native to East Asia. It is the last living species in the order Ginkgoales, which first appeared over 290 million year ...

, L-carnitine,

, yerba maté, and

creatine Creatine ( or ) is an organic compound with the nominal formula . It exists in various tautomers in solutions (among which are neutral form and various zwitterionic forms). Creatine is found in vertebrates, where it facilitates recycling of ...

. Although these ingredients have been approved by the United States

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...

, health experts recommend that consumers understand contents shown on the product labels, as these ingredients are not included to improve health. In some functional beverages, particularly energy drinks, the caffeine content can range from 50 to 200 milligrams per serving. According to

Health Canada Health Canada (HC; )Health Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Health (). is the Structure of the Canadian federal government#Departments, with subsidiary units, department of the Gove ...

, beverage products with variable levels of caffeine may not be safe for children.

Notes

References

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