The top trends 2023 on the beverage market

The trends towards indulgence, health and sustainability continue to merge, and mental well-being is increasingly coming into focus. In addition, consumer budgets are getting tighter, which means maximum value at the lowest price! Here are the most important food and beverage trends that will accompany us in 2023.

The pandemic, economic upheaval and global events of recent years have changed consumer behaviors, attitudes and values. This transformation is also expressed with Pantone's current Color of the Year 2023, "Viva Magenta"  - a vibrant shade of red - that will stay across all industries as a trend color. The Pantone Color of the Year 2023 signals strength, growth and vitality. These are qualities that, with the resilience gained from events since 2020, will now allow us to emerge stronger from the crisis.

Multiple crises have changed us

All trend analyses for 2023 show that physical and mental health as well as mental balance will continue to strongly determine consumer demand for suitable products at the beverage market and thus result in  the top trends in the beverage market in 2023. Likewise, especially after the restrictive Corona years, people are hungry - and above all thirsty - for experiences, and that doesn't always have to be a trip across the globe. Small experiences at home, in particular, which bring more joy and variety to everyday life as moments of mindfulness, have gained in importance since the lockdowns. Due to the strong inflation, which determined in particular the past year 2022 and will continue, larger expenditures are decimated. For this very reason, small moments of pleasure are now rising even more in the average consumer's list of values. This development is reflected above all in the Flavour Trends 2023, which are characterized by variety, contrasts and fusion flavours.

According to Corona, more than ever, beverages and foods that satisfy the need for wellness, health and sustainability are at the center of consumer interest. Products with potentially stress-relieving ingredients and so-called botanicals will continue to gain popularity in the coming years, trend researchers predict.
Sources: "Top Trends for 2023," FMCG Gurus, November 2022

Top trend in the beverage market in 2023: Maximum value, low cost

Since the massive inflation, rising prices continue to hit people hard. In fact, 72 percent of global consumers are currently concerned about their household budgets. 63 percent are actively looking for ways to reduce their food and beverage spending. As a result, consumers are rethinking their food and beverage spending habits, cutting back on non-essentials and demonstrating less brand loyalty. However, this does not mean that people will go for the cheapest product if it is perceived to be of poor quality. Rather, the principle of "maximum value, minimum price" now applies.
Source: "Top Trends for 2023," FMCG Gurus, November 2022

Active Nutrition & Functional Drinks boost wellbeing and performance

In addition to taste reward expectations and price, consumers pay close attention to their health. Foods and ingredients related to a strong immune system continue to rank high and remain a leading trend in the 2023 beverage market. In fact, according to FMCG Gurus, the immune system ranks at the top of health goals at 66 percent. Digestion comes in second at 56 percent, followed by heart health at 53 percent, and mental health at 48 percent and cognitive health at 38 percent.
Source: "Top Trends for 2023," FMCG Gurus, November 2022

What's also striking about the 2023 beverage market trends is that consumers around the world are not only looking for healthy free-from beverages, but also drinks that actively promote their health. Today, they want holistic solutions that help them change their lifestyles in all areas of their lives. The ingredients in foods and beverages should be natural and preferably organic, the production sustainable, the taste unique, and the effect on the body or psyche targeted and traceable. In line with these current trends, AUSTRIA JUICE offers a wide variety of beverage solutions for a wide range of applications and industries.

Proactive health will become increasingly personalized in the future: Consumers have moved away from a "one size fits all" approach to wellness and nutrition to one that prioritizes individual differences. Awareness of the microbiome's connection to mental well-being and immune function is driving greater demand for "better for me" solutions. But beyond wellness, personalization is also about individual motivations and needs related to taste, culture, discovery and nutritional approaches that align with one's lifestyle.
Source: "Global Consumer Trends Driving Market Growth," ADM 2023

Let me smile!

After all the lockdowns, consumers are eager to break out of their limitations and have new experiences - both virtually and in the real world. And they want one thing above all else: to feel good.
High levels of uncertainty and turbulence have a negative impact on consumers' emotional well-being. This in turn promotes anxiety and poor sleep. This leads people to try to step back from daily pressures, reprioritize what's important to them, and maximize personal relationships with loved ones. It also results in consumers looking to improve their mental health and energy levels, and seeking natural and sustainable solutions to do so.

So in the coming months, the search for joy and emotional balance will take center stage. The next 18 to 24 months will be about sustaining joy, and the following five years will be more about finding happiness more within oneself - through mindfulness, for example - than through external events. For example, 88 percent of Polish consumers say they seek joy in all aspects of everyday life. Twenty-four percent of UK consumers say they escape reality via video games, and 42 percent of French consumers say they enjoy generating pleasure via beauty and personal care products.
Sources: "Top Trends for 2023," FMCG Gurus, November 2022

Taste Experiences - The escape from everyday life through taste

In addition, taste experiences are another key success factor for beverages and juices. "Taste Experience" is a current megatrend that is impressively shaping the beverage industry. It's about taking consumers on an adventure triggered by sensory, visual and tactile experiences. Especially in times of inflationary austerity measures in households, small, outstanding taste moments are gaining even more importance. Especially from premium products, they expect an increased outcome in the direction of an escape from everyday life and a tasteful experience.

Consumers want to enjoy uncompromising moments of pleasure for reward purposes and thus escape from everyday life. For example, 59 percent of global consumers say they enjoy consuming sweets on a regular basis. However, they do not want this to fundamentally conflict with their health goals. The new imperative is therefore conscious indulgence and balance as the key: the products may well be labeled with Better for You benefits.

Premium by Nature & Mindful Consumption - Holistic Beverage Concepts to Protect the Planet

In the future, however, it will no longer be just a question of eating health-consciously, but of a responsible eating culture that also includes the health of the planet. Beverages and foods that meet the need for control, health and sustainability continue to recover. This highlights the need for beverage and food manufacturers to focus more on healthy products and clean labels.

According to FMCG Gurus, consumers are now paying more attention to the following assets when it comes to food and beverages: claims for sustainability (47 percent), local product (53 percent), made in the country of origin (49 percent), higher quality through trusted ingredients (57 percent), trusted brand (29 percent) and freshness (62 percent).

The flexitarian trend continues to grow worldwide, and vegetarianism and veganism have become mainstream. As more people seek to moderate or abstain from animal products for health, sustainability and ethical reasons. At the same time, they may be aware that they are missing out on vital nutrients. This is something that creates an opportunity for empowerment in plant-based meat and dairy markets. In her "Food Report," Hanni Rützler describes how work is already underway on vegetarian and vegan high-tech alternatives to animal products - for example, beef steak from the 3D printer - and how insects are also increasingly mutating into meat substitutes.

Alongside this "from natural to high-tech" trend, interest in herbs and ingredients associated with historic times is on the rise, especially as consumers become increasingly interested in alternative forms of health and wellness in general. This is driving demand for "pure" ingredients that are associated with rawness and purity and have a positive impact on a variety of health areas.
Sources: "Food Report 2023," Hanni Rützler
"Top Trends for 2023," FMCG Gurus, November 2022

"New Glocal" instead of globalization

The food and beverage industry also needs a reorganization, which food expert Hanni Rützler calls "New Glocal." Multiple crises and their effects call for a reregionalization and realignment of the globalized food system. Regional agricultural structures, shorter and transparent supply chains, and a new focus on domestic markets are important steps toward greater resilience and sustainability in food supply worldwide. For example, supermarkets are seeing a steady increase in the supply of regional food from local farms.

The trend movement toward glocalization is driven by strong dynamics, writes Hanni Rützler: "The ecological consequences of a ruthlessly globalized food industry are increasingly entering the public consciousness," she writes in her Food Report 2023, "The first outages and shortages in pandemic times already revealed the dependencies on globalized supply chains as well as their fragility. And geopolitical crises make the system's vulnerability even more painfully apparent."

"New Glocal" will therefore not be a passing trend, but "is a harbinger of the next evolutionary stage in global food production, which will be characterized by a new focus on regionality and sustainable management with resilient interconnections to supra-regional and global structures," Rützler said. Step by step, this will also lead to a reorientation of the product range in supermarkets, but also to the expansion of international direct sales.
Sources: "Top Trends for 2023," FMCG Gurus, November 2022
"Food Report 2023," Hanni Rützler