Consumers’ interest in the health and wellness benefits of natural and organic food products has translated into the creation of beverages to meet these market

Solixir all-natural functional drinks contain three ingredients: water, fruit juice and botanicals.

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Jon Cadoux, founder of Peak Organic Brewing Co. LLC, Portland, Maine, says his company’s Peak Organic beer came from his team’s interests as food lovers. “I guess what we noticed in the food world was that food that was getting made with ingredients from small, local, organic farms just tasted better,” he says. The team started homebrewing a beer with organic ingredients, gave samples to friends, and learned that people loved the taste, he says. “At that point, we thought we might be on to something here, and we just went from there.”

The beer, which launched in 2010, contains ingredients that come from family farms that do not use chemical pesticides or fertilizers, Cadoux says. “They’re just pure ingredients, and we think that makes the beer taste better,” he says.

Peak Organic Brewing also has become a strong advocate for the organic hops industry. As a beer that uses 100 percent organic hops, the brand has worked to stimulate the hop market to increase the amount of organic hops available for brewing, Cadoux says. “Five years ago, there were barely any organic hops, but now there’s a lot out there, which is nice,” he says.

In using all-natural ingredients, Peak Organic gives consumers a brand that people can feel good about, Cadoux says.

Similarly, the all-natural claim on a product package demonstrates a level of trust and quality in the product, says Scott Lerner, chief executive officer of Sol Elixirs LLC, Evanston, Ill. The company’s Solixir brand of all-natural energy drink contains three ingredients — water, fruit juice and botanicals — fulfilling a need in the market for clean and healthy functional drinks, he says.

Solixir comes in Orange Awaken, Citrus Think, Pomegranate Ginger Restore and Berry Relax varieties that attend to the needs of the body and mind, the company says. The no-sugar-added drinks are available in the Midwest and New England in Whole Foods Market stores and some conventional grocery chains, Lerner adds.

To read our full Channel Strategies feature about natural and organic retailers, click here.