The newest drink trends are all old favourites. And if that sounds like a paradox, so might most of these beverage trends.
Drink manufacturers are increasingly turning ideas on their heads to make sales, as even beers and milkshakes are being made healthy. These tried and tested favourites have been given new leases of life to meet consumers shifts to healthy, sustainable or decadent drinks.
These are the 2022 drinks trends tipped to be bestsellers this summer:
Milking it – capitalising on milkshakes
Milkshakes are making moves. They’re a growing 2022 drink trend, despite going against many other beverage trends.
Flying in the face of health-kicks is a big part of milkshake’s appeal. Sweet milkshake flavours allow for decadence and even full-scale desserts. In ‘freakshakes’ the drink is just the beginning, with cakes and candies sitting atop mugs filled with milkshake syrups or thick ice cream-like shakes.
Classic milkshakes, meanwhile, champion milk’s taste, health benefits and origins to support UK farmers.
With a similar aim, growing numbers of milk vending machines are now supplying fresh, fully-traceable milk direct from farms. Consumers can support both local businesses and global environmental efforts, topping up using reusable bottles.
For dairy-free drinkers, oat, almond, and coconut-based milks are being combined with complementary ingredients to create milkshake flavours for all. These also make for interesting bases to coffee shakes too, not dissimilar to the increasingly popular Einspanner coffee.
If coffee isn’t enough of a boost for milkshake drinkers, they’re also being packed with extra protein, probiotics, prebiotics and fibre to create ‘functional milkshakes’. For gym-goers already accustomed to dense protein shakes, healthy (ish) milkshakes are a tasty break from routine.
For drinkers seeking the most adventurous combinations, there’s also alcoholic milkshakes. Drawing on White Russians or Bailey’s ready-to-pour spirit, these make creamy cocktails using rum, vodka and even ales, giving this childhood favourite a grown-up twist.
Going for gold – mango drinks
Another 2022 drink trend giving a children’s favourite grown-up appeal are mango drinks.
The tropical fruit screams summer – already a staple of holidays, cocktails and refreshing smoothies thanks to its juicy texture and full, floral flavour. Like ever-popular citruses, mango drinks have broad appeal thanks to their blend of sweet and tart flavouring. The memories this evokes are what makes mango popular now, as the drink trend appeals to holiday-dreamers.
As a cocktail combination, mango drinks like mango vodkas and mango gins are already popular. Mango vodkas allow the fruit to give all the flavour, while mango gins draw on the fruit’s floral notes to complement the juniper in gin.
Building on the success of these flavoured spirits, are mango hard seltzers – a light, refreshing summer drink with good credentials for the health-conscious. Brewed in a similar way to beers, the fermented yeast in seltzers carries mango flavours well.
As brewers expand the flavour profiles of their beers, mango flavoured beer has worked well. Its tarter notes suit sour beers and are helping ales appeal to women and younger drinkers. And mango cider, a perfect pairing with apple, suits summer days socialising outdoors – even when the climate’s not tropical.
Creative beers and ciders are a growing 2022 drink trend.
New brews – creating functional beers
A new breed of beer is giving drinkers much more.
Functional beers sound like an oxymoron but as the functional drinks market booms it’s no surprise that all drinks producers want in – even brewers. As the name suggests, functional drinks do more than just quench thirst, containing extra nutrients or ingredients with a range of health benefits.
So functional beer is working to capture some of the functional beverage trend that’s worth billions globally. Obvious options are beers that are low calorie, no alcohol or gluten-free, but these are being taken one step further too.
Supporting movements focusing on good mental health, and repositioning beer as a ‘crutch’ in times of need, some brewers are adding adaptogens, nootropics and CBD. These substances allow functional beers to deliver calming or ‘brain boosting’ benefits, without the side effects of alcohol.
Elsewhere, brewers are targeting gut health with probiotics and prebiotics added in. And others are bulking out beer with post-workout supplements like electrolytes and protein to create a sports beer.
Sports beers are typically alcohol-free, as a refreshing and reviving drink. But while this trend has been inspired by the rise of NoLo beers, functional beer isn’t limited to alcohol-free options only.
(Source; trendhub @thefoodpeople, 2022)
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