Three trends that are set to continue to grow this year are sustainability, veganism and health. More people are adopting a flexitarian diet, which claims to reduce your carbon footprint and at the same time improve your health with an eating regime that is mostly vegetarian yet still allows an occasional meat dish here and there. Research by the NDP Group show that plant-based products have grown with 62% globally between 2013-2017.

People are getting more aware of their plant-based drink alternatives. What works best in your coffee and tea (oat milk), your cereal (almond milk), cooking (coconut) and baking (soya). And consumers are starting to worry about carbonated soft drinks with sugar and sweeteners and the lack of vitamins and supplements in their daily drinks. Which makes people look at the medicinal effects from herbs and vegetables.

Some of the trends to look out for the rest of this year:

-Fermented beverages like Kombucha, milk and water Kefirs are very popular and will continue to grow. The fermented drinks include live bacteria that is good for digestive health. And Kombucha is also expected to be the next go-to mixer.

-Innovative ingredients. Using vegetables and herbal products will help to drive innovation across a number of different drink categories as vegetarian, vegan and plant-based lifestyles continue to grow. People are interested in specific ingredients with medicinal effects and health boosting properties. Such as CBD, Aloe Vera, Coconut, Algae, Turmeric, Cardamom and Ginger just to mention a few.

-Colourful drinks are popping up everywhere. Anything that is bright, looks beautiful and is social media friendly. But are these colourful drinks healthy? The ingredients we use to make these beautiful coloured drinks are luckily very good for us if they are made from natural and plant-based alternatives such as Blue Algae, Beetroot, Matcha, Turmeric, Cacao and Butterfly Pea Flower. These are packed with antioxidants, have anti-inflammatory properties, improve immunity and energy.

Two innovative new drinks brands this year are Kuji Drinks and Drink 420 that both offer great health benefits.

Kuji Drinks is a new plant-based latte brand offering 9 different colourful lattes. Their live-activated plant cream is crafted over 9 days and include therapeutic doses of superfoods, herbs, spices and mushrooms to support your wellbeing. Kuji’s Turmeric latte will boost your energy, the Masala Chai will relieve inflammation + oxidative stress and the Rose flavour works as an anti-inflammatory and anti-depressant.

Drink 420 is the highest quality sparkling CBD drink on the market. It is all natural, infused with fruits and 15mg of Hemp CBD and will deliver the health benefits from cannabis but without the high. This calming drink is low in sugar and is only 33 kcal per can. The perfect drink to help you unwind from a busy day.