Functional beverages feature big at Natural Products Expo West Show, predicts MarketPlace

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MarketPlace (St. Louis), a firm that helps companies in the food and beverage, pet, and health and wellness industries develop brand strategies, is calling out several trends it expects to see at the upcoming Natural Products Expo West trade show in Anaheim, CA. The company will be at Booth #2820 to discuss brand, business, and product launch strategies with B2B ingredient and B2C functional food/beverage and supplement brands.

Functional beverages will be a leading trend, said MarketPlace President Tracy Landau in a press release. “We’re predicting 2023 to be the big year for functional beverages—and particularly those that provide sustained, non-stimulative energy, focus, and brain health,” she stated. “We’re also anticipating a satisfying next-generation take on the zero-proof beverages that swept the show and shelves in 2022. This time, we’re expecting a more sophisticated variety of flavors and spirits, with an emphasis on those that have a ‘health halo’ like green tea and matcha.”

MarketPlace bases its predictions on its consumer research. In 2022, its consumer research showed that nearly half (48%) of supplement users said they would consume a functional beverage every day, or nearly every day, “if it contained the benefits or ingredients they would seek in supplements.” In fact, says MarketPlace, beverages was the third most popular delivery format, behind gummies and pills.

At Expo West, the company will discuss other trends it sees unfolding, including an increase in celebrity-founded wellness and personal care brands, carbon footprint labeling, the use of upcycled and/or regeneratively farmed botanicals and teas, TikTok-inspired pre-made sauces and meal kits, and plant-based seafoods and cheeses.