Health Update: The rise of wellness in a can – What Experts Say

At the recent NCA Convention (12-14 March), several presentations all conveyed a similar message — cold coffee is here to stay.

During his presentation that focused entirely on the ready-to-drink coffee category, ‘Cold Coffee, Functional Beverages & Changing Consumer Habits’, Nik Allen, global insight manager at Euromonitor International, clearly stated that cold coffee is here to stay, but what is changing, is what consumers want in their RTD coffee, thus, we are seeing the ‘rise of wellness in a can’ (or bottle). Sourcing Voice of the Consumer Health and Nutrition and Lifestyles surveys, Allen said:

• 34% of global soft drinks since 2014 in absolute terms comes from categories that can be broadly defined as ‘functional’.
• 38% of global consumers plan to increase spending on health and wellness in the next 12 months.
• 35% of global consumers trust social media influencers as source of health information.

“One of the most visible shifts has been the rise of digestive health as a frontline functional benefit,” he said, noting that in 2024, the retail value of energy boosting beverages was USD $86.5 billion; immune support and brain health and memory were $4.6 billion; digestive health was $1.2 billion; skin health was $348 million; and cardiovascular health was $34.8 million.

“Consumers want natural health in a convenient, flavourful daily format,” said Allen.

He further explained that the ‘wellness economy’ has existed in the health space for a long time but it is now moving over to the F&B and convenience space. Supporting his statement, Allen referenced a November 2024 quote from Dean Kowarski, CEO, Brain plc (operator of Virgin Active health clubs and gyms): “Probably the most important changes in habits we see is that post-COVID, there’s a much, much greater awareness, increased knowledge about health, about personal wellbeing and fitness. (…) Exercise is certainly part of that, but [consumers] start looking at things like nutrition, sleep, mental wellness as well. All of this is driving what we call the wellness economy, and we’ve seen significant growth and strong growth in the wellness economy as consumers allocate a much higher proportion of their disposable income to wellness.”

“Transgressive wellness makes the future of function a moving target,” explained Allen, adding, “spurred by macro uncertainty and the cross-pollination of clinical, illicit and wellbeing trends, transgressive wellness is prompting consumers to re-examine their relationships with emerging and taboo substances, disrupting existing consumption routines across FMCGs and rebalancing the $3 trillion wellness industry.”

Pursuant to the focus on wellness, Allen shared that there are brands capitalising on convenience and gut health trends and that we are seeing increased usage of fringe ingredients because of functional benefits (e.g., mushrooms) and the real medical applications. Furthermore, consumable wellness is driving the bulk of innovation.

According to Allen, companies can help consumers create a sense of stability to support wellbeing. “Innovate to deliver emotional clarity, practical comfort and everyday resilience — through sensory design, wholesome solutions, functional benefits, flexible models and intuitive technology that empower consumers to feel calm, capable and in control.”

• Vanessa L Facenda is the editor, Tea & Coffee Trade Journal, and can be reached at: [email protected].