Summary

- The functional era
- A definition, somewhat
- Once were sporting
- Going liquid
- A new panorama
- The medical opinion
- (Un)natural born functional


"Energy drinks? Well, I've heard about them once…". Wait a minute before smiling, this sentence could be on your mouth sooner than you guess. Leave the past behind: welcome to 2004, functional drinks' era.

The functional era
A market speaks for itself. Apart from scientists' suggestions and experts' previsions, we must give the right weight to data: opinions end where facts begin. And the fact today is one and sole: functional drinks lead the beverage market and the related research. The annual reports for energy drinks say that they are still on the rise, but consistently less than they were only two years ago. During this period, another segment in the category of bottled drinks emerged. Functional waters increased by a massive 806% in value terms between 1998 and 2003, carrying an unexpectedly new panorama to the sight of both companies involved in sports and energy drinks, as well as those involved in standard waters, due to its high growth and profit potential.
There are no clear boundaries among the many kinds of bottled drinks on the shelves nowadays, and this is the reason why companies promote drinks like radically different one each other, while the difference is not that evident to consumers' eyes. However, functional drinks have now a weight that is worth considering more precisely what they are and how they differentiate from the others.

A definition, somewhat
As stated by Susan Brienza, an attorney specialized in food and drug law, "functional" is just a marketing term and there is no legal definition for "functional foods" or "functional drinks". The market refers to a wide range of enhanced and infused waters, now geared to athletes and sports enthusiasts, then to dieters, many to women, most to baby boomers and others to 20-somethings. They all have in common one feature, to say using water as the most efficient delivery system to get various nutrients into the body.
Technically, functional drinks are obtained by mixing water to other ingredients of diverse nature. This leads to a primary division between conventional drinks and dietary supplements. In the US, FDA regulates the labelling of a product as food or supplement like follows: the former can contain only ingredients that are generally recognized as safe (vanilla, spearmint, and other natural ones) or approved by the FDA itself; the latter cannot claim health properties if not authorized by the FDA, and have to follow strict medical rules and unequivocal labelling.
Reality, in the US like in the rest of the world, is deeply different. Bottled drinks are advertised as "functional" in ambiguous ways, with the clear intent to attract the largest slice of custom possible. However, this responds to a growing consumer enthusiasm for wellness-oriented beverages. The idea those drinks were originally thought to help athletes recovering their fitness, quickly rehydrating them and catalyzing lacking supplements into their bodies during stressing performances, is surely the main element that brings in consumers' mind the conviction that functional drinks "must be healthy". People started to bring their Gatorade along at work, on a trip, at walks in the park, and not only at their tennis matches. Sport drinks perfectly fitted frenetic lifestyles, supporting the body all along a hard day. The market was ready for a massive spread of functional drinks, and there were only a few obstacles to overcome: a beverage - any beverage - is successful only if the product tastes good, is convenient to consume, has a clear message and can be bought at an acceptable price.


Once were sporting
Sport drinks lacked at least two of these features, if not all of them. They were expansive and tasted terrible; they were targeted at consumers with specific health issues (athletes); the only winning point was the extreme portability, that gave them the advantage of being easy to consume while giving a strong support to the body.
Brands leading the beverage market smelt the good deal, and moreover they had the economical possibility to invest considerably in the development, marketing and distribution of these products.
Gatorade was originally developed by PepsiCo in 1965 to keep football players properly hydrated. The eighties brought it big popularity worldwide, and the early nineties saw the first attempts to add new flavours to the original one. 1998 is the year for a radical change and sees the release of "E.D.G.E.", an ergonomically designed bottle. The drink is made easier to drink while active. Nestlé too is at the front line in all that concerns the packaging innovations: the most important change in 1998 is the introduction of the sports cap, that quickly becomes the custom for bottling brands of any kind of water, both plain or enhanced. Another leading company, Danone, feels that the wind is changing and in May 1997 decides to set up a completely new division explicitly devoted to beverages.
Sports drinks establish their leading position during the nineties, although energy drinks see the highest growth. But, in the meanwhile, other functional drinks entered the market, gaining higher and higher quotas: here it comes a third partner gaining land…

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