In recent years, the humble soft drink has evolved. No longer just quenching thirst, the latest wellness beverages – often referred to as functional drinks – are formulated to offer benefits from gut health to cognitive clarity, mood support to menstrual wellness. This marks a sea‑change from the traditional drink aisle into an era where each sip can actively support wellness goals.
In our Liverpool Food Network forecast What We’ll All Be Eating More Of In 2022 we predicted rising interest in “Drinks That Do More” utilising gut‑healthy fibres and mindful ingredients. Functional drinks have surged in popularity, aligning taste with health benefits in ways previously unimaginable.
So, what’s driving this tide of “drinks that do more”? Changing consumer expectations around health, wellness and purpose now sit at the heart of buying decisions, and lifestyle factors have driven a rising interest in non‑alcoholic alternatives, mental well‑being, gut health and energy support.
The category of functional drinks is no longer fringe – it’s mainstream, especially among younger consumers seeking holistic wellness. From sleep to stress, from hormones to gut health, creativity is flourishing. And we can all expect to see cabinets widening with beverages promising more than just taste. A sip is now a small act of self‑care.
Here’s a few of our favourite innovations from the last few years:
Collaborative Innovations: Calm × Trip
One standout is the Calm X Trip collaboration. Trip teamed up with the world’s #1 app for sleep, relaxation and meditation – Calm – to launch a Mindful Blend combining lion’s mane, ashwagandha, and L‑theanine. The drink was designed for stress relief and mental clarity, blending adaptogens with calming amino acids in a ready‑to‑drink format. It perfectly exemplifies how growing partnerships are embedding wellness at the core of drinks.
Designed for Women: G Spot Energy
Actress Gillian Anderson’s G Spot drink, which is now stocked Sainsbury’s UK stores, specifically targets women. Infused with botanicals like maca and bacopa for energy and stress reduction, it avoids the macho tropes of traditional energy drinks. It’s a notable example of how demographic‑tailored functional drinks are entering mainstream retail.
Menstruation Support – Cycle Tea Co.
In the menstrual wellness space, brands like Cycle Tea Co. create drinks formulated to ease cramps, bloating, mood swings and fatigue. These blends often include herbs such as raspberry leaf, chamomile, and adaptogenic roots, offering women beverage options aligned with their menstrual cycle needs.
Rise of Adaptogens – To Spacegoods & beyond…
Adaptogenic ingredients like lion’s mane, reishi, cordyceps, ashwagandha and rhodiola are now the beating heart of many functional drinks. UK‑based Spacegoods offers its Rainbow Dust – a powder packed with lion’s mane, cordyceps and chaga – in bright flavours like chocolate, vanilla cinnamon or coffee.
Gut Health: Shots & Low-Sugar Soda
Gut‑focused drinks are increasingly popular. Brands like Mockingbird Raw Press have launched Gut Shots containing chicory root fibre and vitamins A, B, C and D, all packed into a 60 ml shot. Meanwhile FIBE, a UK “prebiotic soda” ranges low‑sugar drinks with 5 g of fibre per can to support digestion, challenging traditional fizzy drinks with functional purpose.
Fermented beverages remain central to gut health and kombucha, kefir and water kefir brands like London‑based MOMO Kombucha and Belgium’s Fhirst Living Sodas offer live cultures and prebiotics. These are not only lauded for digestion but increasingly linked to mood and immune benefits.
Get Some Sleep: Moody Drinks
Other brands design beverages for relaxation or mood elevation: Kin Euphorics’ Dream Light combines reishi mushroom extract, magnesium glycinate and melatonin as a non‑alcoholic nightcap. Similarly, Peak Mood Drinks’ Unwind, Vitamin Well’s Focus, and Three Spirit offer sparkling calmers and alcohol‑free “spirits” emphasizing mental balance and stress relief.
Rollback the Hangover – Inside Out
Interestingly, functional drinks are not immune to economic pressures. Inside Out Drinks recently announced halting production of their “pretox” drink – widely recognised and much loved as a hangover cure – due to rising production costs, marking a rare retreat in an otherwise fast‑growing sector.
The One We Never Thought We’d See – Nicotine Drinks
One thing that wasn’t on our radar for 2025 was a nictotine energy drink, but Nicotina Energy from Nic & Jet Fuel is a new line of nicotine-infused energy drinks designed to sharpen focus, boost motivation, and elevate overall mental performance.
By tapping into the brain’s dopamine system, these drinks enhance drive and satisfaction, helping users stay locked in on tasks without relying on excessive caffeine. Nicotine also heightens alertness by improving reaction time and sensory awareness, while providing a subtle lift in mood for a more balanced, engaged state of mind. The result is an energy drink that claims to fuel clarity and creativity – and which will no doubt fuel controversy too.
These functional drinks aren’t just a niche: data shows Gen Z in the UK is choosing mushroom shots, matcha, kefir and kombucha instead of alcohol or sugary soft drinks. Ocado Retail reports a 54% year‑on‑year increase in health‑drink sales, with matcha up 67%. M&S has also launched adaptogenic lion’s mane latte and reishi shots, offering cognitive or calming effects.
In short: we’re all drinking better, and our drinks are working harder than ever.