A toast to better health
Today, whatever value-added beverages a consumer wants, chances are they can find them – including those designed to help people with medical issues. Read more in Functionality Rules part seven.
A beverage a day
From boosting our immune systems to helping us look younger, whatever benefits we want functional beverages to give us, it looks like the market can provide – including those that may help ease or support certain ailments. And things have moved on a lot over the last century for this niche segment, when doctors in the UK prescribed Guinness to pregnant women and post-op patients to help them build up their iron levels.
We’ve previously discussed the rising popularity of beverages that promote better health and wellbeing, so what sets aside beverages that are prescribed or recommended by medical professionals – and what does this segment consist of?
How are prescription beverages helping today?
While this segment is still largely unexplored, some medicinal beverage types have started gaining traction across certain parts of the world. In India, ready-to-drink ORS (oral rehydration salt) beverages, for example, are being used to minimise nationwide deaths resulting from dehydration and diarrhoea. And dysphagia, where people have trouble swallowing normally, can also be eased by buying special pre-thickened liquids from pharmacies.
Where there’s a beverage, there’s a way
Though the lines appear a little vague as of now, nutritional and meal replacement beverages can also be said to fit the bill. People who have restricted diets due to conditions like coeliac’s disease, for example, can be recommended meal replacement beverages by healthcare providers to help boost their fibre intake.
And people with more severe conditions like diabetes or kidney disease can now get beverages made specifically to support them during treatment and recovery. Elsewhere, protein-rich beverages are used by dieticians and family doctors to ensure elderly people get enough nutrients.
Why packaging matters
Product safety is always important, especially when it comes to food and beverage, but it becomes even more vital to minimise contamination when it comes to something that will be consumed by someone who isn’t in the best of health. All of which makes aseptic carton packs a wise choice for manufacturers working in this area. For starters, with aseptic cartons, the entire process is kept as sterile as possible, meaning consumers can rest assured they are not putting themselves at any extra risk.
How SIG is helping
Suppliers like SIG offer a range of aseptic cartons that mean manufacturers can do more with their medicinal/prescription beverage offerings. With drinksplus, for example, they can add particulates to beverages to boost the nutritional content, while Heat&Go means consumers can safely heat up, say, a meal replacement beverage without spoiling the content or changing the flavour.
Catch up on the entire series in our next and final chapter, where we’ll highlight all our key thoughts on the functional beverage market. And take a look at everything else that’s on our minds by subscribing to SIGnals Update, our exclusive bi-weekly newsletter.
- September 15, 2022