New Directions in Drinks

There’s a sea change taking place in the beverage business as consumers quietly shift from bubbly to still, high-calorie to healthy, and familiar favorites to experiential, superpremium, and gourmet drinks. And, with Mintel/GNPD reporting that 20,188 new beverages were introduced globally last year, the battle for the beverage dollar will become an outright war.

During the past few years, newer beverage categories—energy drinks, bottled waters, ready-to-drink (RTD) teas/coffees, and enhanced func…