Future beverage trends from New York City Makers.

TASTING COLORS & EXPLODINGDRINKS:

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Beverages have always played a fundamental role in society,

from the quintessential “social” tissue, to providing energy and

nutrition, to offering plain and simple fun. There is a beverage for

every occasion, need, ritual, and generation, and we continue to

reimagine what we make, as well as why and how we make them.

Will future beverages be able to elicit on-demand emotions?

Will packaging be zero waste? Will beverages be liquid at all?

These are the questions that Makers in molecular mixology,

biolabs, and food-tech startups are asking themselves today.

Their answers will no doubt drive our future.

To better understand what’s ahead, sparks & honey recently

partnered with PepsiCo’s Creator team—a catalyst group on a

mission to explore the edges of culture & co-create innovative

experiences across the cultural landscape—and Toronto-based

i&j to create a pop-up lab at World Maker Faire in New York City.

The lab was designed to learn from Makers through moderated

discussions, surveys, and hands-on experimentation. This report

offers five trends based on our experience with NYC Makers.

There is no question that when it comes to the future, we turned

to the right community to collaborate and imagine a new world of

beverages.

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“We’re inviting people from the Maker

community to come in and really examine

what beverage can be tomorrow.

The bar is set higher in terms of their

expectations of what they’re going to

do...When we start thinking about how

the Maker community differs from other

communities, people come in and they’re

ready to get their hands dirty.”Irwin Eydelnant, i & j ideations

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“The consumer in 2015 is resourceful,

highly networked, and literate about their

health and the environment – they are

simultaneously more conscientious than any

prior generation over what they put into their

body, while also faced with more options than

at any point in human history.”Ashley DuVal, Shoots & Roots Bitters

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FIVE MAKER-APPROVED FUTURE BEVERAGE TRENDS:1. Technologically Crafted & Beyond Liquid

2. Multicultural & Multisensorial

3. Brain Health

4. Energy Management

5. Edible Packaging

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Makers feel a stronger sense of individual identity – they seek

unique drinkable experiences that reflect this sentiment. Makers

see a future where beverages cater to unique, disparate, and

exploratory palates in ways that address the senses beyond taste.

TECHNOLOGICALLY CRAFTED & BEYOND LIQUID

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LAB INSIGHTS

• Makers want to control flavor

combinations, intensity, and other

personalizable beverage characteristics.

They experiment with new flavors and

beverage forms to create their own

“signature” mixed drinks.

• When asked, “If you could invent a new

type of drink, what would it be?” Makers’

responses identified personalization

areas like “glow in the dark” that signal a

broader spectrum of sensorial interests.

Q: WHAT SENSES WOULD YOU LIKE TO STIMULATE WITH EACH AND EVERY SIP?

BEYOND- LIQUID BEVERAGES

36% TASTY

23% GLOW-IN-THE-DARK

18% EXPLODING

14% CLOUD-LIKE

19% CHEWABLE

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“Using technology to amplify flavor is

an area where I see a lot of growth. For

example, a five percent fermented apple

juice in a beverage could not only provide an

interesting story for our marketing partners,

but the fermented juice could provide

a unique, potentially proprietary flavor

profile.”Kyle Shadix, Corp Exec Research Chef at PepsiCo Global R&D

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CULTURAL SHIFT

• Cognitive Cooking learns from thousands

of recipes to select the perfect dish for a

food truck customer: IBM.COM

• This device regulates atmospheric

pressure around food and beverages for

the purpose of extracting distinct and

customizable flavors: BKONBREW.COM

• Bone broth adds savory elements and

the sensory experience of eating food to

drinking cocktails: ABCNEWS.COM

IMPLICATIONS

• Makers will come to expect technology

to craft the perfect beverage experience

specifically for them. Using taste input,

biological measures, and personality

profiles, subtle (and not-so-subtle)

boosts of flavor, flavor combinations,

and sensorial elements will be added to

beverages of the future.

FUTURE

• Frictionless, on-demand beverages

based on your mood in the moment.

Sensors will automatically understand

your needs and desires before you

become conscious of them.

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Beverages can be associated with specific places, cultures, colors,

tastes, textures, sounds, and smells all at once. As consumers grow

into engaged synesthetes, they want beverages that ignite multiple

senses, often simultaneously. Multisensory beverages will mix global

textures, smells, and flavors to spark imagination and transport us

to different corners of the world.

MULTICULTURAL & MULTISENSORIAL

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“How do we integrate our senses from

the signals in our environment and

create a beverage experience? My

sight, my sound, my smell manipulate

how I experience flavor.”

Irwin Eydelnant, i & j ideations

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LAB INSIGHTS

• Makers mix their senses, associating

particular colors or music with beverage

taste. One out of seven Makers linked

their favorite soda to musical genres.

Over 50% want to stimulate their sense

of smell with beverages, wanting

maximum “mouth feel”.

Q: WHAT SENSES WOULD YOU LIKE TO STIMULATE WITH EACH AND EVERY SIP?

SENSE STIMULATION WITH BEVERAGES

19% TOUCH

15% SIGHT

13% HEARING

53% SMELL

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“ International flavors - Asian and Indian

flavors especially. Millennials love to

travel abroad more so than any other

generation and are curious about trends

in other countries, including what flavors

and products they are consuming. We

want to share global experiences and

beverages with multicultural, international

flavors in them will be intriguing for

the millennial audience (who are the

trendsetters, sparking the rest of the

generations to follow).”Sam Klein, IBM Millennial Expert

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CULTURAL SHIFT

• Designer cookies combine aesthetics of taste

and smell:

EPICURIOUS.COM

• A project that converts data from “musical

DNA” into different flavors of meatballs:

KICKSTARTER.COM

• Wearable technology turns human bones into

speakers: BBC.COM

• Based on the idea that different colors of coffee

impact a consumer’s perception of taste, one

researcher correctly hypothesized that coffee

mug color also impacts taste perception:

COOLHUNTING.COM

IMPLICATIONS

• Makers will want to transform the entire

beverage experience into a multi-sensory

symphony that engages anything from multiple

senses at once to their sense of place, memory,

and their spirit of exploration.

FUTURE

• Future beverages will be designed on the

molecular level to offer layered taste-sensation

narratives that unfold over time. Packaging will

be provocatively tactile, incorporating

additional smells and sounds to compliment the

core drink experience.

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“ In a world where unique and exotic

experiences are the new social

currency among young consumers,

it is no longer sufficient to provide

bland iterations on existing beverage

concepts. We’re looking for true

innovation – think: synesthetic, or even

extrasensory technologies that deliver

a richer, more dynamic beverage

experience. I truly believe that the

global maker community will be a key

driver of this innovative future.”

Carlos Saavedra, Senior Director, Creator - Culture Strategy & Innovation

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BRAIN HEALTH

Beverages are moving toward increasingly complex health

and wellness benefits, such as supporting emotional states

often associated with creativity and focus. This new level of

nourishment promotes a mind + body balance that is equally

healthy and indulgent.

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“ There are over 70,000 edible and

medicinal species of plants in the

world, and very few utilized in foods

and beverages.”Ashley DuVal, Shoots & Roots Bitters

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BRAIN HEALTHLAB INSIGHTS It’s not surprising that the Maker

community is focused on brain health.

Makers expressed a genuine need for

non-caffeinated beverages with neuro-

enhancing benefits such as:

• UPLIFTING: Ability to change the mood

of everyone around them to infuse more

happiness into a situation.

• EXCITEMENT: Feeling emotionally ready

to take on challenges; focus beverages

for sharper concentration on tasks.

• PICK-ME-UP (NON-CAFFEINE):

Intellectual stimulation, curiosity, and

discovery; memory-making beverags to

help imprint and recall memories.

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CULTURAL SHIFT

• Charcoal has made its way from beauty

products to juice, trapping toxins and

gases in its pores and eventually

removing them from the body:

INTOTHEGLOSS.COM

• Top neuroscientists have concrete

evidence linking the microbiome (gut) to

the human brain, especially in early life:

NATURE.COM

IMPLICATIONS

• Besides traditional benefits such as

hydration, energy, and taste, Makers are

looking for beverages that play a

tangible role in the creative process.

FUTURE

• As the lines blur between pharma and

food, instant point-of-purchase scans

will tweak microbial mixtures to balance

the gut + brain connection.

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The beverage industry already provides drinks that offer a boost of

energy to support concentration or physical endurance. However,

this paradigm seems to be shifting as Makers imagine benefits

elsewhere on the energy spectrum. The market of beverage users is

growing more and more stressed, whether it is adults working jobs

or students in school. New drinks that enhance positive or calming

emotions could help consumers cope with their multifaceted lives.

FROM ENERGY TO ENERGY MANAGEMENT

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“ I believe that all sodas that

are fortified with essential nutrients or

super foods with health benefits will the

be the norm for the future. It’s a trend that

we’ve been seeing for years, but is now in

the mainstream and will only continue

to gain momentum.”Bryan Janeczko, Chief Executive Officer at The Fresh Diet

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LAB INSIGHTS

• Young Makers were particularly

interested in stress-relieving beverages

that would help them concentrate

at school or unwind after a day

of studying.

• Over 60% of young women chose

“Automatic Relaxation” as the top

characteristic for a mood-altering drink,

due to the stress they feel from school

responsibilities, social media, and more.

Q: IF YOU COULD CREATE A BEVERAGE WITH MOOD-ALTERING SUPERPOWERS, WHAT WOULD IT DO?

32% AUTOMATIC RELAXATION

12% SOCIAL BUTTERFLY

11% TO BE FUNNY

45% INSTANT HAPPINESS

NEW BEVERAGE CHARACTERISTICS FOR MAKERS

:)

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CULTURAL SHIFT

• While there are foods and drinks that

provide endorphins and other everyday

mood uplifts, the Maker community and

wider audience for which they speak are

seeking bolder, stronger mood

enhancements: MENSHEALTH.COM

• Matcha is a Japanese green tea that

enhances energy, alertness, and focus and

is making its way into American diets:

FREEWILLIAMSBURG.COM

• The first Bulletproof Coffee shop opening

in Santa Monica will offer toxin-free coffee

that boosts energy, focus, and even skin

health: WELLANDGOOD.COM

IMPLICATIONS

• As previously obscure substances become

mainstream (mate, matcha, etc.), Makers

are looking for much more than caffeine or

electrolytes in regard to changing mental

states.

FUTURE

• Look to the complex taste and effect

profiles of high-end cocktails, teas, and

infusions to understand micro-shifts and

ingredients that can preconsciously adjust

to fine-tune moods.

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EDIBLE PACKAGING

New Age beverages have the potential to be self-recycling

ecosystems from creation to consumption. Plant-based and edible

forms of packaging could minimize environmental waste, allowing

for constant usability and conservation of resources.

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“What can packaging look like tomorrow?

How can we create more sustainable

packaging systems? How do we have

packaging systems that are edible?

How can we move away from liquid as

the singular phase or format that we

experience beverages as today?”Irwin Eydelnant, i & j ideations

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LAB INSIGHTS

• Makers talked about a “cycle of energy”

which included low-energy access to

beverages and self-recycling packaging that

can go back into the environment without

causing harm.

• Makers favored edible packaging to reduce

waste and were even willing to pay slightly

higher prices for beverages with truly

sustainable packaging.

Q: SUSTAINABILITY IS IMPORTANT; WHAT SHOULD BE DONE AS WE CONTINUE TO EVOLVE HOW WE PROTECT THE PLANET?

40% EDIBLE PACKAGING

19% REFILLABLE PLASTIC BAGS

21% MADE FROM MUSHROOMS

12% RIDE RECYCLABLE BIKES

8% DRONES TO DELIVER

WAYS TO CREATE BEVERAGE SUSTAINABILITY

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CULTURAL SHIFT

• Edible packaging is just one method of

promoting sustainability:

DEFENSEONE.COM

• These “frozen yogurt pearls” are

sustainable, healthy, and delicious:

THEDIELINE.COM

• A supermarket in Berlin dispenses with

traditional disposable packaging, making

shoppers as accountable as producers:

CITYLAB.COM

IMPLICATIONS

• Recyclable packaging, reusable packaging,

and systems to encourage such initiatives

will be expected by increasingly conscious

consumers.

• This self-contained beverage delivery

system has all the necessary tools and

ingredients to brew the perfect coffee in

any environment: OXX.COM

FUTURE

• In a similar way that personal data

is now being consciously traded for

goods, services, and money – participation

in the efficient and waste-free cradle-to-

cradle ecosystem will garner points for

active users.

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“The narrative around climate change is

changing and centering on the impacts

it will have upon our everyday routines –

focusing upon ‘endangered foods’ rather

than endangered species, and posing the

question of what climate change will

‘taste’ like.”

Ashley DuVal, Shoots & Roots Bitters

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WHAT NOW

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“ Innovation is the lifeblood of our

business and requires us to continually

rethink how we create new products and

experiences. And in an era of transparency,

our consumers are increasingly savvy in

their desire to understand the origin of the

products they consume. We look to the

maker community, not just as a source of

inspiration, but as true collaborators and

co-creators in the future of beverages.”

Simon Lowden, Chief Marketing Officer of PepsiCo Americas Beverages

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1. Beyond Liquid: The future of beverages must be highly

intelligent and extend beyond the liquid phase.

2. Multisensory Celebration: Make the beverage experience

more than just “a drink.”

3. Focus on Biological Benefits: Growing consumer interest in

the relationship between the microbiome and neurological

functionality should be a top development priortity.

4. Make it Bold: The Maker community seeks audacious and

stronger energy enhancements.

5. Recycle/Reuse/Reimagine: In the world of increasing

transparency, consumers will expect and demand

accountability in dealing with packaging waste.

WHAT NOW

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THANK YOU

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