Drink up! How vegetables are winning the functional beverage race

Consumers are thirsty for more than just refreshment. Today’s drinks need to do something, too – whether that’s boost energy, support immunity or even glow-up your morning routine. Enter the booming category of functional beverages. Once dominated by sugary sodas and neon energy drinks, functional beverages that bridge health and hydration are having a moment. With more consumers boosting their intake of healthy drinks, brands now have a major opportunity to rethink what the next generation of functional beverages can look and taste like. And this is where vegetables can give beverages the edge.

From fiery ginger immunity shots to red beet blends and spinach-powered smoothies, veggies are stepping out of the salad bowl and straight into the spotlight. Consumers want products with recognisable ingredients, naturally functional benefits and labels that you don’t need a PhD to decipher. So, why are veggies suddenly the stars of the functional beverage aisle? Let’s dive in…

Beverages shaking up wellness

Unlike supplements gathering dust in bathroom cabinets, beverages are familiar, accessible and – most importantly – enjoyable. They’re a low-maintenance way to support everything from energy and exercise performance to immunity and overall wellbeing. Ingredients like beetroot are associated with endurance and stamina, while carrot and spinach bring naturally occurring vitamins and nutrients that support broader wellness positioning. No meal prep required.

Despite growing awareness around nutrition, most of us know we should eat more vegetables – but most of us don’t. Only 51% of the EU population manage to consume veggies once a day,[i] falling way behind on intake guidelines. Busy schedules, convenience-first habits and a collective weakness for anything that tastes better than broccoli all play a role in what’s often called the “vegetable gap”. Functional beverages offer a refreshingly simple solution.

Rather than asking consumers to completely overhaul their diets, drinks provide an easy way to incorporate vegetables into existing habits. They’re not sitting down to a plate of greens; they’re grabbing a bottle on the way out the door.

There’s also a practical advantage: fresh vegetables can be highly perishable, while beverages offer a more convenient and longer-lasting format that still delivers nutritional value. That makes vegetable-based drinks an appealing option for consumers looking to balance wellness with real-life convenience. Consumers can increase their intake of beneficial nutrients while enjoying products that still taste indulgent, refreshing or energising. And for brands, it creates an exciting opportunity to deliver added value in a category that consumers already know and love.

The Dream Team

Vegetables are particularly well suited to functional beverages because they naturally deliver many of the things consumers are already looking for: vibrant colour, nutritional value and clean label appeal without artificial additives. And when it comes to beverage innovation, a few veggies are consistently punching above their weight.

• Orange Carrot: Rich in (beta)-carotenes, carrot brings natural sweetness that reduces the need for added sugars, alongside a warm orange colour consumers instantly associate with health and vitality. Its approachable flavour also makes it highly versatile in juice and smoothie blends.
• Red beet: Bold in both colour and character, beet delivers deep ruby hues naturally while also bringing dietary nitrates, which have been linked to cardiovascular and exercise performance benefits. Next to beeing perfect for natural colour, it can be used in sports drinks, wellness shots and energy-focused blends.
• Spinach: The quiet hero of the group. Spinach delivers iron and folate while maintaining a surprisingly neutral flavour profile in drinks. This means manufacturers can enhance the nutritional story of smoothies, juices and wellness drinks without dominating the overall flavour experience.

Choosing the right format

When developing vegetable-based functional beverages, format matters just as much as flavour.

Different ingredient formats can significantly affect taste, colour stability, texture and processing requirements – and the right choice depends on the product you’re building and the story you want to tell.

Not-from-concentrate (NFC) juices are gently processed, ideal for retaining natural flavour and nutrition. They’re also the strongest contender for “natural” positioning on pack, where provenance and authenticity are central to the brand story.

Concentrates offer flexibility and efficiency – easier to transport, store and work with at scale, and highly effective for standardising colour and flavour across large production runs. A good vegetable concentrate can also intensify flavour or colour without increasing the volume of ingredient used. For high-volume applications, they’re a smart choice.

Purees sit somewhere in between: excellent for texture and body, particularly useful in smoothie-style formats or thicker functional drinks where mouthfeel is part of the experience. Think of them as the ingredient that makes a drink feel as good as it tastes.

The decision between formats isn’t always straightforward, and it often depends on the specific application, processing conditions and the product story a brand wants to tell. Which is exactly why it helps to work with a partner who knows the difference inside out, and can help you make the call with confidence.

A bright future for veggies

Vegetable ingredients are showing up across the functional beverage category in increasingly creative ways – from fortified waters and sports drinks, to functional shots and hybrid drinks. The consumer appetite for these products extends well beyond the green juice drinker – and so does innovation opportunity.

At SVZ, we’ve been working with vegetable ingredients for as long as we’ve been working with fruit (a long time!). Whether you’re developing a new functional beverage from scratch or looking to reformulate an existing product with added nutritional credentials, our team brings the strong technical expertise, supply chain reliability and consistently high-quality ingredients to help you get there.

Find out why we’re your go-to supplier for vegetables in functional beverages. Get in touch: https://www.svz.com/contact/

[i] Eurostat, Nutritional habits statistics, 2022 [https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Nutritional_habits_statistics#Vegetable_consumption]