Kerry research has revealed there is consumer acceptance of dry-based beverages. In the retail marketplace, dry beverages – such as powdered water enhancers, powdered instant coffee and iced tea mixes – have experienced positive growth. Better-for-you, clean label and added functionality claims have driven this growth, the taste and nutrition company highlights.

Kerry’s latest paper, “Accelerating Beverage Adoption: Delivering a Premium Dry Beverage Solution,” focused on consumer preferences across five beverage concepts: kombucha, cold brew coffee, lemonade, iced tea and aguas frescas. 

Both current and potential consumers were studied to understand the potential to bring new participants into the product category. 

There are also formulation opportunities across both retail and foodservice.

Consumers gravitate towards better-for-you products
“Before the pandemic, we saw consumers gravitating to added function benefits in everyday food and beverages as a way to manage their health priorities proactively,” Sian Cunningham, senior marketing insights specialist at Kerry North America, tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

“Throughout COVID-19, prevention and wellness remain top of mind for consumers, and we’ve seen heightened demand for functional products, especially for immune health, stress and mood management and digestive health.”

The company expects to see continued innovation in the dry beverage market in the months to come. This includes flavor, added functionality, nutritionally positive details and clean label attributes. 

Shawn Gerstenkorn, director of marketing strategy for beverages, Kerry North America, agrees with this notion. 

“Consumers continue to gravitate toward clean label, better-for-you beverages. Dry beverages have expanded from value and convenience to premium, sustainable solutions providing the health benefits consumers demand,” he explains. 

“Advances in dry beverage systems present the opportunity to reposition brands as more environmentally sustainable. They’re also able to offer solutions that meet consumer preferences for premiumization, great taste and functionality.”

Pandemic boosts interest
During the pandemic, dry beverage sales in retail have continued to see positive growth, as consumers reach for shelf-stable and easy-to-use pantry items. 

For example, dry water enhancers hold over 70 percent market share. While both liquid and dry varieties saw positive week-on-week sales in retail, during the “pantry stocking stage,” dry sales exceeded those of liquid. 

As consumers continue to work around COVID-19 constraints, and with the economy preparing for a recession, dry beverages are expected to continue along their upward trajectory. 

Moreover, functional benefits such as immune support and gut health have become more prominent as consumers demand more added functionality in their everyday food and beverages. Thirty-eight percent of retail consumers find digestive health a significant functional benefit in a beverage.

In Kerry’s research, consumers responded positively to the kombucha concept’s health connotation and functional benefits.

Sixty-five percent of consumers liked the foodservice kombucha concept for its probiotic/gut health benefits. 

Flavors top of mind
When asked specifically what they liked about the concepts, flavors rose to the top. The concepts contained a combination of flavors from mainstream to emerging.

In the two studies, consumers gravitated to more mainstream flavor profiles such as vanilla in cold brew coffee, lemon ginger in kombucha and strawberry watermelon in aguas frescas. 

However, there was still interest in the more adventurous flavor combinations such as blueberry lavender in lemonade and cucumber mint in aguas frescas.

Mainstream flavors led in rank for the beverage categories, but consumer preference for more adventurous flavors were evident in kombucha.