Food and Beverage for Energy, Mental Clarity and Creativity

In an unbalanced, out-of-control world, it’s natural for people to strive to reclaim some semblance of balance. New research released by Symrise has found this yearning for balance is one of the top functional health trends right now. 

 The use of natural ingredients — adaptogens, nootropics, and green foods — has increased in popularity as consumers and researchers both strive for a more holistic understanding of health and wellness. 

Symrise used a multi-lens approach — exploring secondary data, speaking with experts, and surveying consumers and manufacturers — to identify five innovation platforms that can be used to improve food and beverage manufacturing with customer needs in mind. These five platforms are: 

• Back to the Future
• Let Food Be Thy Medicine
• Blurring Boundaries
• Natural Power-Up
• Permissible Pleasure

In today’s guide, we’ll take a closer look at the concept of Natural Power-Up and how this platform can be used to guide innovation in the food and beverage industry. 

Natural Power-Up

 In today’s ultra-connected, productivity-focused world, consumers are looking for natural ingredients that can give them the boost of power they need to get through the day. They hope for mental clarity and creativity inspired by the foods they eat.

The idea behind the natural power-up platform is to provide bookends framing a consumer’s day, starting with a productivity and energy booster in the morning and ending with soothing, relaxing foods in the evening to help them put the day’s stressors behind them and drift off into an easy sleep. This powerful combination can keep consumers sharp during the day without disturbing their sleep or causing anxiety in the evening. 

Top Functional Health Trends: Permissible Indulgence

Healthy Food and Beverage Ingredients to Spotlight

There are four major functional ingredients to spotlight within this innovation platform. They are: 

• Green Machine: From spirulina to wheatgrass, consumers are looking for green, all-natural alternatives to caffeine with the power to boost energy levels naturally. 

• Nootropics: Consumers want to rev up their days with mind-sharpening ingredients, including ginkgo biloba and Siberian ginseng, that have been shown to boost focus and increase productivity.

• Relaxation Foods: Traditional nightcaps are being set aside in favor of warm drinks — like chamomile tea or golden milk — that soothe the body and the soul. At the end of the day, consumers want to destress and drift effortlessly to sleep. 

• Teas: Consumers are turning to herbal and botanical ingredients to lift their moods, both at the beginning of the day and at the end of the day, and to calm stress and anxiety. 

Want to learn more about about our top functional health trends? Contact us here today!

Market Examples for Holistic Health

From snack bars to energy drinks, there are many foods consumers reach for to make it through the day. What makes this new innovation platform different is that consumers care more than ever before what goes into these energy boosters. Consumers are searching for healthy food and beverage ingredients, suggesting they might be more attracted to an energy drink featuring spirulina and green tea than an energy drink largely composed of chemicals they can’t pronounce. 

Meanwhile, fortified waters and sweet snack foods are emerging as promising foods in this sphere. Functional ingredients combined with a sensuous flavor palette make these the perfect natural power-up foods and drinks. 

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