Health is the eternal topic of mankind, in recent years with the improvement of living standards, people’s concept of life has begun to transform from material survival issues to quality of life issues, as the premise of the pursuit of all the topic of “health” has also been re-examined and redefined.

This dimension of “health” is no longer limited to not getting sick, but the pursuit of a higher level of health, including both the external state of the overall state of the “spirit of good”, but also the internal immune system of the “resistance”. People’s understanding of health care is no longer limited to medicines and health supplements, but extends to functional and nutritious food and beverages.

Because they are more convenient and easily accessible, they can be integrated into all aspects of life and fit into life scenarios. For example, fitness people prefer to drink energy drinks to replenish their physical strength during exercise, mental workers prefer to drink memory-improving and mood-stabilizing beverages during work and study, and weight-loss people favor meal replacements or laxative-enhancing food and beverages. ……

Back to Nature: Immunity Comes First

A search of the mintel global database reveals:

The number of foods and beverages with natural ingredient claims has reached more than 600,000 in the last decade. Functional drinks market is closely related to outdoor sports, 2020 due to the epidemic shutdown and the reduction of outdoor sports affected by a slight decline in data, new products over the past ten years, data basically maintained a “year-on-year growth” trend.

The “black swan” event of the New Crown Epidemic in early 2020 had a drastic impact on the lives of all human beings, and the uncertainty of the outside world increased.

As the post epidemic era continues to unfold, the call for a “back to nature, healthy diet” has risen, and the desire for immunization has never been greater.

The mintel global database search comparison shows:

In the first quarter of 2021, functional food and beverages with immune-health claims grew 27.6% in the same quarter of 2020 (including 29.7% for beverages), and had the largest increase among the top 10 in terms of functional positioning.

Golden Nutrition The State of the Beverage

Ingredients with immune-boosting benefits are not just limited to micronutrients that consumers are familiar with. Globally, immune management products are beginning to utilize natural nutrients.

For example, in the ancient Indian system of Ayurvedic medicine, turmeric is a widely respected integrative herb, in fact, it is for its excellent ability to prevent inflammation and viral infections.

Curcumin is the most important active ingredient in turmeric that plays a pharmacological role. Chinese medicine believes that turmeric can move qi, disperse wind and blood, and relieve menstrual pain.

Modern medicine shows that curcumin also has special medical effects, mainly manifested as excellent anti-inflammatory and anti-viral, antioxidant, with the protection of the liver, improve immunity, enhance memory, protection of cardiovascular and joints and so on.

It is mainly used in medicine and health care products, food and beverage, in which it is often used as a natural coloring agent and functional raw material in food and beverage.

In fact, in the United States, Canada, and Europe, turmeric extract is already a relatively mature functional ingredient in the field of food and beverage:

In 2018, curcumin supplements were ranked as the fifth most popular dietary supplement among U.S. consumers; it was listed as the “Global Food Ingredient Formulation of the Year”.

Combinations of turmeric extracts with other nutrients such as vitamins, probiotics, and ginger are emerging in global beverage innovation.

For example, Buda Juice ensures the potency of ginger and turmeric root powder by maintaining freshness through high-pressure processing techniques.

Similarly, Liv Ginger and Turmeric Root Powder Drinks are blended with fermented oats and consumed to boost the immune system and quickly perk up the spirit, which suits consumers’ busy lifestyles.

So Good So You’s juice drinks add probiotics, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon and honey to botanical herbs + probiotics, a double factor to promote immunity, and through the application of traditional health drink ingredients such as Chinese medicine and Chinese herbal remedies, it greatly caters to the consumer’s interest in the concept of therapeutic food and wellness.

Curcumin as a natural nutrient trend is obvious:

A search of mintel’s global database shows that there are as many as 542 curcumin beverages marketed between 2016 and May 2021 that make functional and nutritional claims alone, and the trend is rising year by year.

Beverage Innovation Keeping Up with the Trends

Mood Management Direction:

The global neococcal pneumonia epidemic has made consumers realize that health is a priority. In the coming years, consumers will seek out more products and services that benefit mental and emotional health.

Functional formulations and multisensory products with emotional appeal will help food and beverage brands capture a greater share of the many mental and emotional choices.

In a recent study published in the international journal Nature Communications, scientists from the University of Queensland and other institutions have confirmed the link between depression and organic gastric ulcers by conducting the world’s largest study of genetic factors in peptic ulcer disease (peptic ulcer disease).

Curcumin’s excellent anti-inflammatory properties play a positive role in the treatment of peptic ulcer disease, and probiotics are uniquely suited to treating intestinal disorders, with gamma-aminobutyric acid playing a direct role in improving sleep, stabilizing moods, and promoting intestinal health.

So the innovative combination of Curcumin + Probiotics + γ-Aminobutyric Acid provides new options for people to cope with emotional aspects.

Immune Gain Direction:

In a May 2020 report based on a survey of 3,000 internet users aged 18-49, Ingenics reported that 70% of users would be interested in trying functional beverages because of fatigue-relieving claims, and 56% because of immune-boosting claims.

Curcumin, anthocyanins, phycocyanin, ginseng extract and dendrobium are effective ingredients for boosting immunity and relieving fatigue.2021 The brand can leverage these ingredients to deliver fatigue-relieving and immune-boosting benefits.

Low-sugar direction:

Low sugar has been the hottest topic in the beverage industry in the past two years, with younger consumers especially concerned about sugar content and calories.

53% of 18-24 year olds (vs. 41% of 40-49 year olds) will check the calorie content before making a purchase decision, while 51% will check the sugar content (vs. 44% of 40-49 year olds). Concerns about energy intake are predominantly among women aged 25-29; 18% of them will check the calorie content first.

Products targeted at younger consumers will benefit from “low/no/reduced sugar” or “low/no/reduced calorie” claims.

Looking at the top 10 exports of extracts from 2014-2019, steviol glycosides have consistently ranked first.

Stevioside has become the most used sweetener in new food and beverage products after sucralose and acesulfame due to its natural, high sweetness, low calorie, and health benefits.

Therefore, we consider the use of a “cutting-edge” ingredient: steviol glycosides as a natural sweetener for turmeric beverages, which has a huge market potential.

Flavor selection direction:

With the strong growth in consumption of sports and energy drinks in recent years, consumers are beginning to feel limited by the homogenized choices available in the market. 45% of consumers agree that there is a limited choice of flavors in the market for functional beverages.

Influenced by the modern concept of “back to nature, healthy eating”, more and more consumers want to return to the taste of natural food itself, and the application of fruit juice can bring rich flavor and nutrition to the beverage.

According to Stefania Apostol, Innovation Analyst at mintel, 2021 is the year of innovation for fruit juice concentrates and beverages.

China’s juice drinks market in 2019 was 143.5 billion yuan in terms of retail sales. It is expected that the market size of juice drinks can reach 149.9 billion yuan in 2021.

Data source: compiled by China Business Industry Research Institute

The addition of low-concentration fruit juices in turmeric beverages improves the added value of nutritional aid while pouring natural fruit flavors.

The addition of multiple low concentration fruit juices not only makes the beverage taste richer, but also improves the nutritional intake of consumers.