LifeAid Beverage Co. launched PartyAid, a functional beverage formulated to enhance, replenish and restore the body and mind before, during or after a night of partying.
Point Brands Inc. launched Citrus- and Berry-flavored iXtreme Hydrator functional beverages, which are infused with electrolytes and do not contain caffeine.
Orange, lemon and lime were three of the top flavors used by beverage formulators last year, according to Beverage Industry’s 2012 New Product Development Survey.
BYB Brands Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, added three new flavors to its line of functional ready-to-drink Bean & Body Coffees.
Code Blue, a zero-calorie, all-natural functional beverage, was originally introduced in cans. After discovering that consumers were mistaking the product for an energy drink, the company moved the product from cans to 12-ounce PET bottles.
Some parents and pet-owners have devised methods to hide medicine or supplements within the food and beverages consumed by their children and animals. These inventive methods parallel the behind-the-scenes work of flavor companies that collaborate with beverage-makers to increase the palatability of a new sweetener or functional formula.
Around age 30, adults begin to experience changes in brain function as part of natural development, according to Chesterfield, Mo.-based Nawgan Products LLC. Some effects are mild, such as occasionally misplacing everyday items, but others can be more significant. Although Nawgan functional beverages do not claim to reverse the brain aging process, they were developed specifically to support cognitive function over time, the company says. And when it comes to formulating a functional beverage, it’s not a job just anyone can do.
Somewhat serendipitously, I opted to read the May 16 edition of The New Yorker featuring an in-depth profile on PepsiCo’s food and beverage innovation plans while traveling to last month’s IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo in New Orleans. The “Snacks for a Fat Planet” article by John Seabrook details PepsiCo’s plans for innovation across its portfolio of products with insight from senior PepsiCo executives, including Jonathan McIntyre, senior vice president of R&D global beverages, who was featured in Beverage Industry’s April cover story.
Following a rather lackluster 2009, when new beverage introductions plummeted nearly by half, the number of new beverages appearing on U.S. store shelves increased slightly in 2010.