Flavored water products have been around for years, providing sweet, fruity, and caffeinated options to consumers who want to stay hydrated but want an elevated flavor experience.
However, as life gets busier and more stressful, consumers are also looking for beverage products with properties that promote relaxation and calmness while still tasting good.
Functional Infusions That Bring Peace Of Mind
Beverages created for relaxation bring new perspectives to what’s been traditionally considered healthy eating, presenting new opportunities for food and beverage manufacturers to develop products that address the compelling need for people to “feel good”.
Many relaxation beverages combine functional, naturally-sourced botanical extracts with properties that promote a sense of calm. Currently, they’re distributed in spas, hotels, airlines, and other locations where providing relaxation is a significant aspect of their marketing strategy.
Convenience also plays a role in these products’ usability. For example, soothing hot teas such as mint, lavender, and chamomile need to be prepared before consumption. Modern relaxation beverages come in ready-to-drink packaging that makes decelerating easier.
Here are a few examples of what’s currently available:
- Lull: This is a healthy, 100% natural product without sugars, preservatives, or colorants that comes in packaging that conveys simplicity, relaxation, and an atmosphere of calm
- Drank: Drank is available in such popular flavors as fruit punch, raspberry, and green apple, and contains B vitamins with natural relaxants like rose hips, valerian roots, and melatonin
- Purple Stuff: Available in grape, berry, and cherry cola, low-calorie beverages from Purple Stuff contain 100% FDA-approved ingredients that are GRAS certified (generally regarded as safe)
All three drinks promote their products as combining taste, functionality, and hydration to bring relaxation and reduced stress to the consumer, setting them apart from traditional fruit, carbonated, and energy drinks.
Relaxation ingredients aren’t limited to only beverage applications. Foods including snacks, cookies, cereals, and bars infused with stress-busting ingredients such as dark chocolate, brazil nuts, and pumpkin seeds can help food manufacturers enter the relaxation food market.
Relaxation Beverages For The Post-Pandemic World
There’s no question that our everyday lives have changed over the past two years. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, many consumers focused on products that helped overcome fatigue and maintain high performance at work, school, and in their personal lives.
As a result, brands from different categories such as energy drinks, juices, teas, flavored waters, supplements, and snacks were incorporating cognitive-boosting functional ingredients from nootropics, which are known to be natural stimulants. Examples of nootropics include caffeine, ginseng, and maca.
The last two years have seen new habits and lifestyles, such as working from home and going out less. The same physical space was being shared simultaneously with work, children, housework, study, and leisure. There was little to no separation between the different facets of life and a feeling of “never leaving the office” began to pervade. These lifestyle changes, combined with current world events, can trigger stress and anxiety, making self-physical, mental, and emotional care more important than ever.
Relaxation Beverages And Food Products And Mental Health Are Trending Among Consumers
Mental health and holistic wellness are more important than ever, increasing consumer interest in foods, beverages, or supplements that help people cope with daily challenges.
Consulting firm Innova Market Insights conducted a survey last year in countries including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Brazil, France, India, Germany, Mexico, China, and Indonesia. Their findings suggest that consumers were taking positive action to respond to stress:
- 53% of consumers indicated that they took steps to improve their physical well-being.
- 44% were engaged in improving mental and emotional well-being
- 32% were involved in some spiritual activity
Another Innova study reported that 30% of respondents had adapted their diet and nutrition plans in response to stress, with 25% proactively choosing foods or beverages that offer comfort.
These studies indicate that consumers are increasingly interested in food and beverage products that support their goal to have better emotional health. Relaxation is an essential part of overall well-being, giving food manufacturers a valuable opportunity to create new functional formulas and food and beverage products with colors, textures, aromas, and other satisfying sensory elements that offer “comfort” to consumers.
Read More: Tapping Into The “Feel Good” Food Market
A Promising Future For The Mental Relaxation And Wellness Market
Food and beverage manufacturers should consider investing in these value-added products that feature functional properties that combat increasingly common worldwide problems, such as insomnia, anxiety, and stress.
However, using functional ingredients that help promote a sense of calmness can pose unique challenges, such as researching ingredients, refining the formula, and developing an unforgettable flavor experience for your customers.
That’s where the flavor specialists at Osage Flavors can help. We source the best-quality ingredients from our worldwide network of suppliers to use in our custom flavor formulations. Our masking agents help hide unwanted notes while our specialists bring your flavor vision to life.
Osage Flavors offers complete turnkey solutions for virtually any food or beverage flavor application, including relaxation beverages. With our team on your side, you’ll feel a sense of serenity too.
