The Boom In Functional Beverages

You’ve probably noticed that so-called “enhanced health drinks” are taking up more shelf space at your local gas station or super market - drinks like Sobe, Propel, Vitamin Water, VitaRain, Snapple Antioxidant Water, just to name a few. Functional beverages are the fastest growing sector of the U.S. drink market. Sales in the U.S. reached $24.8 billion in 2006, and are projected to leap to $38.8 billion by 2011. It's part of a boom in technologically-advanced health foods.

One company, Function Drinks, was founded by Alex Hughes, a 31-year-old doctor and recently chief specialist of orthopedic surgery at the UCLA Medical Center. The company makes different beverages for different uses, among them Urban Detox, Light Weight, Brainiac, Shock Sports, Night Life, Vacation, and House Call. Their sales last year reached $10 million, and that figure is expected to double this year.

But skeptics remain: Gerry Khermouch, editor of Beverage Business Insights, explains the appeal of Vitamin Water this way: "they’re indulging the consumer’s sweet tooth and offering them psychological cover for drinking sugar water."

Nathanael Johnson is a freelance reporter based in San Francisco. His article about the enhanced water industry appears in New York magazine, and he joins Word of Mouth to talk about the science behind the health claims.

(Photo by Food Chronicles)