The research identified 9 key need-states that consumers are seeking to address with functional beverage products
Synergy Flavours has conducted an assessment of the functional beverages market, using data from a range of sources, including the consumer research platform, VYPR. The research analyses flavour trends and product launches that cover key consumer health concerns, or ‘need-states’, and highlights opportunities for new beverage and nutrition innovation in these areas.
The research identified 9 key need-states that consumers are seeking to address with functional beverage products: energy, gut health, immunity, muscle building, brain health, skin health, hydration, female nutrition, and healthy ageing.
5,000+ respondents, which included an even split of male and female consumers from around the world between the ages of 18 and 65+, were surveyed through VYPR. They were asked to confirm which functional products they either used or were interested in using. Responses were split by demographic profile to identify trends in usage, and respondents were also asked to highlight preferred flavours in products for the functionality they had expressed interest in.
Gut health was the most sought-after functional benefit in the research, with 39 per cent of respondents expressing an interest in products that promote it. It was also the fastest-growing search topic since 2019 when compared to the other need states, according to data from Google Trends and SEMRush. 32 per cent of respondents said they were interested in ginger-flavoured digestion products, and 31 per cent in mango – however, only 9 per cent and 4 per cent of launches respectively featured these flavours. Synergy has developed a mango and ginger flavour concept for gut-health beverages, for discussion with its customers. Other flavour concepts based on the insights from the research have also been developed.