Global market for functional drinks to grow 9% every year until 2030

We explore the growing market for functional and mood-boosting drinks, and how these can improve the guest experience and increase revenue in spas.

Functional beverages are drinks or liquid foods marketed to highlight specific ingredients and their health benefits. They often have mood-boosting qualities due to content ranging from CBD, mushrooms and green tea to adaptogens such as ashwagandha and cordyceps.

According to Precedence Research, the global market for functional beverages was worth £110.3 billion (€127.8 billion) in 2021 and is projected to increase to around £238.1 billion by 2030, with an annual growth rate of nine per cent from 2022 to 2030.

The spectrum of choice within this category for spa and wellness operators is vast, with options including dairy beverages, sports and performance drinks, energy shots, ready-to-drink teas, ‘smart’ drinks, fortified fruit juices, plant milks, CBD infusions and enhanced water.

The power of tea Adaptogen plants and mushrooms are among the newest ingredients to be used in functional beverages, increasingly being added to foods, supplements and drink formulations.

“Adaptogens tap into our central nervous system and help us adapt to combat stress, build stamina and resilience against stress,” says Sarah Strang, founder of Tea & Tonic. “They help regulate stress hormones to maintain a ‘normalised state’, preventing sudden spikes and falls in hormone release.”

Tea & Tonic features ashwagandha in its English Breakfast Bright Awakening Tea bringing the power of adaptogens into a daily tea drinking ritual.

“The market for functional drinks is growing, with new products such as adaptogenic coffee helping people conveniently add adaptogens to their daily diet,” says Zain Peer, co-founder at London Nootropics, which creates premium adaptogenic coffee blends. “There is also strong word-of-mouth as consumers share their experiences and benefits. Much as we saw a trend for CBD over the last few years, functional and mood-boosting drinks will soon become the norm.”

Dirtea is another growing brand that offers a range of products formulated with potent functional mushroom extract powders, coffees and cacao super blends, said to improve health and wellbeing.

The CBD contingent Elsewhere, Ethos has a range of CBD Teas created from organically grown hemp in Ireland; chilled drinks by Trip, founded in 2018, have 15mg of CBD; and Gibson’s Goodology blends its tea products with 25mg CBD.

Making great inroads into the spa market, OTO CBD boasts an award-winning selection of CBD bitters and seltzers in varieties such as Green Tea & Garden Mint, Orange & Chilli and Elderflower and Juniper flavours.

The opportunities for such functional wellness drinks in the spa market is seemingly limitless. “Adding a CBD or functional drink can create an immersive experience in the treatment room or enhance the spa day experience for guests,” says Helen Cain, head of spa at OTO CBD. “This builds value for money with treatment inclusions for the client and treats the longer-term goal of bringing balance to the body, maximising the benefits with CBD. It allows the time to step down after the treatment and the day and not rush back to everyday life.” www.teaandtonic.co.uk www. londonnootropics.com www. dirteaworld.com www. ethos-cbd.com www. drink-trip.com www. gibsonsgoodology.com www. otocbd.com