Innovation Takes Centre Stage with Functional Drinks, No & Low and Sustainability

The Food & Drink Expo provides a key opportunity for the UK food and drink sectors to meet and helps hundreds of companies showcase their exceptional products and creative spark. This year, more than ever before, we found a new generation of drinks brands exhibiting a range of solutions to meet the needs of an increasingly health conscious and environmentally aware consumer.

If there was one buzz word for this year’s show it would be: innovation. With a surge of drinks brands offering inventive new products across the functional, non-alcoholic and sustainable space.

Why are people slowly steering away from alcoholic beverages? According to Drinkaware, there are many different reasons, the most common ones being: interest in better physical and mental health, different lifestyle choices, higher energy levels, and higher quality social interactions.

The creativity was inspiring. Below are our key takeaways:

Functional First

At this years’ show, we had the pleasure of attending and hosting a panel on the topic of ‘Functional Drinks – Is this the Future?’ looking at consumer attitudes towards a new and rapidly expanding category.

Functional means innovation and today the drinks industry is evolving to focus not only on non alcoholic alternatives, but on drinks that provide added-health benefits or contribute to overall wellbeing, to meet consumer demand.  

From brands such as Rebel Wine, the first wine brand in the UK using CBD in its canned drinks, to Homrony Drinks, a company that provides natural solutions sold in powder format to rebalance hormones, and Kyon Drinks, a soft drink that uses the common ingredient ginger, to create vibrant, healthy drinks that offer the experience of drinking a strong drink, but without the alcohol – there is no shortage of new talent coming to market.

Our panel showed that consumers are more health-conscious than ever and that it is the customers who are leading the revolution in functional drinks and influencing creative strategy when it comes to NPD and what brands release to market.  

A key concern however, was regulation and the barriers to entry – with the CBD market in particular being a closed loop in the UK. A measure, which many believe stunts growth and prevents overall innovation and development across the drinks industry.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom! The brands and our panel concluded that the drink (and food) industry is led by consumers who decide what comes next in this category, and who are more aware than ever before of the effect ingredients have on them and choosing healthy, functional alternatives.

Keeping it Low & No

Just like functional, the low and no category was stronger than ever and a key place for innovation this year. 

There was an emergence of drinks brands operating in both the no and low and functional space, with drinks brands such as Flax & Kale Kombucha and Jinger Drinks blurring the boundaries by offering 0% abv alternatives with added health benefits.

The aperitivo occasion also reigned supreme in low and no sector, with well established brands, such as Campari, promoting Crodino, the Italian non alcoholic aperitivo, but also an increased presence of smaller, independent aperitivo brands including botanical drink Botivo and Citizen Spritz, the colourful alcohol-free spritz mixes, who have both been making waves at this year’s trade shows.

With more drinks brands seeking to elevate the occasion, we saw an emergence of new formats in the low and no space, such as Real Drinks Co offering its sparkling teas in 750ml wine bottles for the on-trade.

Sustainable Solutions

Most impressive and promising was the rise in sustainable solutions with creative branding – from liquid to packaging.

A recent study from Nielsen IQ found that over half (55%) of UK consumers say that living sustainably is important for society and that they try to make sustainable choices. It was evident at this year’s shows that the trend towards sustainability is having a positive impact on the drinks industry, with nearly every major drinks brand offering a sustainable format or eco-friendly option.  

Some of our favourite exhibitors included, Silent Pool’s Green Man Wildwood Gin, made from not only woodland botanicals but also the world’s first spirit to be packaged in a Frugalpac paper bottle. Nc’Nean, the female-founded Scottish whisky brand, also lived up to a greener promise by showcasing whiskies made from a net zero carbon distillery and bottles of recycled glass, contributing to one of many of the creative designs we saw on show.

Our sustainable packaging knowledge was put to the test however with One Water, one of the first UK drinks brands to become B Corp certified. Its bottles came in every format, and we were challenged to consider which format was actually most sustainable.

Can you guess what it was?

Sustainable inventions spanned beyond packaging and we loved seeing Crums Brewing fighting food waste by turning unsold bread into beer, and Sapling Spirits on a journey to plant 1 million trees by planting one for every bottle sold.

Conclusion

It is clear our industry is driven by innovation. Whilst there may be some hurdles to overcome when it comes to regulation and the fight against the climate crisis, it is clear that the drinks industry is prospering from the incredible amount of talented individuals, companies and branding specialists leading the way to a better future.

From incredible new packaging formats, to drinks that make you healthier, and inventive non alcoholic solutions (did we mention Myrkl, the natural food supplement that prevents alcohol from reaching the liver, by the way!?) it’s obvious that the only way is up.

We hope these insights have sparked some ideas for you.

If you are launching or growing a brand, and looking for a branding consultant or creative agency to help you do so in a more sustainable way, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!