In Walt Disney’s 1966 animated classic “Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree,” Pooh finds some creative ways to get his hands on his favorite treat: honey. Lucky for beverage manufacturers, dressing up like a little black rain cloud is not a strategy they need to employ when sourcing a sweetener for their products.

More beverages are being developed with functional health properties and lower calories. 

Nth Degree Innovations Inc. launched a line of performance drinks with a low glycemic index.

In response to consumer requests for a light-tasting, less sweet all-natural tea, Dr Pepper Snapple Group launched Snapple Lightly Sweetened teas in Peach Passionfruit and Cherry Pomegranate flavors.

 The peer-reviewed journal Nutrition published the results of a study that found that students at the U.K.’s Southampton University Medical School who took Wellmune WGP, an immune health ingredient marketed by Biothera, Eagan, Minn., for 90 days reported fewer days of cold and flu symptoms than their placebo-controlled classmates. 

Whether it’s to enhance flavor profiles, reduce calories or to mask the off-notes of added vitamins and minerals, beverage manufacturers continue to turn to sweeteners to help produce products that appeal to consumers’ taste preferences. 

When it comes to tea, the more “colorful” the better. 

The International Society of Beverage Technologists (ISBT), Dallas, hosted its annual BevTech meeting from April 30 to May 2 in San Diego.