Why Natural Flavor Ingredients Matter in Natural Energy Drink Production
Many people choose energy drinks as their preferred pick-me-ups during long afternoons and late nights. However, these colorful cans of caffeine often come with side effects that are turning people off traditional energy drinks and towards cleaner alternatives. Many big beverage brands now offer natural energy drinks with plant-based ingredients, cleaner caffeine, and potent organic compounds that boost the body and mind.
What are Natural Energy Drinks?
Unlike traditional energy drinks, natural energy drinks do not contain artificial colorings and flavorings. They get their taste, scent, and color from fruit and vegetable extracts and other natural ingredients. What’s more, they don’t contain added sugars, which can have adverse health effects, including contributing to obesity, high blood sugar, and even Diabetes.
Natural energy drinks often contain extracts from “superfoods” to boost their vitamin, mineral, and antioxidant content. Some of the most common functional and flavorful ingredients in natural energy drinks are:
- Green tea or matcha
- Yerba mate
- Berry extracts
- Ginger
- Guarana
4 Reasons to Add Natural Energy Drinks to Your Product Offering
- They’re safer
According to the Mayo Clinic, most energy drinks contain 100 – 300 mg of caffeine per serving. The FDA’s recommended daily limit is 400 mg per day, which is easy to exceed if you drink multiple energy drinks per day. Plus, most traditional energy drinks use artificial caffeine, which is more potent, easier to digest, and made from synthetic chemicals.
Using plants that contain caffeine, such as black or green tea, instead of synthetic caffeine powder gives your customers peace of mind that they’re not consuming a chemical with unknown long-term health effects. - They contain fewer calories
An energy drink may contain anything from 30 – 60 g of added sugar in a single 16 oz can. That’s up to 12 teaspoons of sugar, which is more than the American Heart Association’s recommended limit for an entire day. Offering natural energy drinks cater to sugar-sensitive groups, such as people with Diabetes.
Using fruit extracts, stevia, and other natural sources of sugar can help you improve the taste of your natural energy drink range without increasing its caloric content. Sugar-free energy drinks are the perfect pre-workout treat for people trying to lose weight. - They boost energy for longer
Natural energy drinks that contain no added sugar also give your customers a longer energy boost than traditional alternatives. Regular, sugary energy drinks cause your insulin levels to spike, temporarily lowering blood glucose levels, resulting in an eventual “sugar crash”.
Using fruits or vegetables to sweeten energy drinks means they don’t spike the blood glucose levels as sharply, leading to a more gradual release of insulin and no sugar crash. This “clean energy” approach allows people to enjoy increased mental and physical alertness for longer. - They boost immunity and mood
The best part about natural energy drinks is that they do more than raise your energy levels. For example, using green tea as a caffeine source adds invaluable antioxidants to the mix, boosting immunity, supporting healthy digestion, and lowering the risk of cancer.
These healthful ingredients are often also mood-boosting, helping your customers feel good about making beverage choices that support a healthy lifestyle.
Using natural ingredients for energy drinks is important to stay ahead of healthy shopping trends. As people turn away from sugary, high-caffeine beverages, natural energy drinks will lead the way as afternoon pick-me-ups, gym-bag staples, and late-night study snacks.
Looking for natural ingredients to enhance your clean energy drinks range? Advanced Biotech is a leading supplier of plant extracts, isolates, oils, and more. Please contact us for more information.