Craving for a beverage? Well, there are so many options for you to choose from, for example, juice, beer, wine, etc. This wide variety of beverages may dazzle you. Yet, some of you might not know that there are, indeed, two main types of drinks: alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
In this article, we will get more details of each type of beverage and why selecting suitable drinks determines the success of any beverage business.
What are beverages? Beverage meaning and definition
The term beverage is used to define all types of drinkable liquids that humans consume. Thus, beside conventional types of beverage like tea, juices, or coffee, alcoholic drinks such as beer, wine or cocktails are also considered beverages. Unsurprisingly, water is also considered a beverage, making it the most widely consumed beverage in the world.
A beverage’s most important function is to keep us hydrated and provide nutrients. That’s why it is grouped with food to form the F&B – Food and Beverage industry. Outside of this obvious role, beverages hold a great significance in our cultures (with tea or wine served in traditional ceremonies). They also provide intriguing psychological effects like drunkenness from alcohol or the stimulating effects from coffee.
In the next sections, we will provide a deeper look into the most consumed types of non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages in the world.
12 popular types of non-alcoholic beverages
First, we will dig deep into non-alcoholic or alcohol-free beverages. They are drinks without alcohol, or with the alcohol excluded or lessened to almost none. Examples of non-alcoholic products are tea, coffee, squeezed orange juice, and energy drinks.
In the United States, a non-alcoholic drink is described as one that has below 0.5 percent alcoholic content, like grape cider and low-alcohol beer.
1. Water
Water is the world’s most consumed beverage and is vital to everyone’s life. It makes up about 70 percent of your body weight; hence staying hydrated is the number one must-do. As a result, water can be a profitable product for the beverage business because it owns the largest consumer market worldwide.
Different forms of water include sparkling, tap, still, bottled, and many more.
2. Milk
They are created from mammary glands of certain animals such as cows, goats, sheep; milk contains many nutritions such as calcium, vitamin D, phosphorus, and magnesium. Consumption of milk helps foster bone health and the immune system.
Because of a rich nutrient profile with essential calcium, this type of drink brings incredible health benefits for customers. Not only is it the most favorite drink, but milk must also be a good option for beverage companies.
Different types of milk include whole milk (3.25% milkfat by weight), reduced-fat (2% milk), low-fat (1% milk), fat-free (or skim) milk, organic milk, lactose-free milk, flavored milk (i.e., nut milk, fruit milk, chocolate milk), and raw milk.
Particularly, Nut milk and Fruit milk are the two most preferred beverage types due to their brilliant benefits of additional ingredients (various nuts and fruits). Check out our most popular Nut milk and Fruit Milk which are favored in more than 40+ countries worldwide.
3. Tea
You can make tea by pouring hot or boiling water over specific categories of leaves, herbs, and spices such as lemongrass, cinnamon, lavender flowers, honey, pine needle, ginger, mint, jasmine, rosemary, and many more. It is divided into two main categories: tea-based drink and milk tea.
Tea is a popular drink for a particular age; however, tea brings a unique taste and relaxing feeling that other kinds of beverages cannot. Therefore, tea must be a strong competitor among variable drinks to become profitable for the beverage business.
The way tea is processed, five different types of tea are black, green, white, oolong, and Pu-erh. There are many health benefits linked to drinking tea, especially green tea. The antioxidants, organic compounds are proven to result in a lower risk of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
4. Coffee
Coffee is a popular beverage used worldwide; you can pour water over the roasted coffee beans to make it. This morning routine helps you get through the day as it is composed of a certain caffeine level, therefore keeping you awake.
In addition to the source of caffeine, it also contains antioxidants that prevent cells from damage. Studies have also shown that consuming the right amount of coffee could lower your risk of type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s, improve your mood, and remember better.
Yet, it can be hazardous when you consume an excessive amount. Too much caffeine is linked to higher blood pressure, a higher risk of heart attacks, miscarriage, and many more harmful health benefits. That’s why you should maintain a suitable amount of coffee that brings surprisingly significant effects on your body.
Because ground coffee beans, coffee roasts, and brewing methods vary, so do coffee drinks. They come in so many different varieties and flavors, such as black coffee, espresso, latte, cappuccino, or mocha.
5. Sparkling drinks
Sparkling drinks or the so-called sodas contain carbonated drinks, a sweetener, and a natural or artificial flavoring. You can find these compounds in Coca-Cola Classic, Pepsi, Diet Coke, Mountain Dew, etc.
Sparkling drinks can improve the digestion system and helps constipation. It possibly results in a hungry feeling in the stomach, improving swallowing ability. With diversified varieties of flavors and significant benefits with health, sparkling has been familiar to consumers and become more and more outstanding among soft drinks.
6. Juices
The juice is enjoyed worldwide and extracted from many types of fruits and vegetables. The most common one is orange juice, which has long been served with breakfast. Fruit juices can be freshly squeezed or concentrated. Some are supplemented with sugar or extra additives or flavorings.
Juice can be a healthy choice for customers because most fruit and vegetable juices are rich in essential vitamins and minerals that the body needs. For example, pomegranate juice consumption helps improve heart and bone conditions thanks to its high nutritional value (including vitamin K).
Being a beverage made from fruits, a necessary food for our health, the juice is highly recommended by customers and has become an unmissed beverage entrepreneur choice.
7. Energy drink
If you feel fatigued, you may need an energy drink for strength in physical and mental terms. It can be ideal if you need to be alert during work or engage in sports activities.
Energy drinks contain a significant level of caffeine, sugar, energy-boosting compounds like vitamins and minerals. Additives in this type of beverage are loaded with compounds that have antioxidant properties like guarana or ginseng.
It brings the particular effects that everyone needs to regain power, a potential product line for the beverage business.
Energy drinks can help you gain quick energy, but remember that nothing is too good to be true! As they contain high levels of stimulant ingredients and sugar, they can be detrimental to your health if you abuse them.
What do you think if energy drinks also have freshing bubbles?
Yes, to meet the demand of drink-lovers, energy drinks have expanded into two types: Carbonated energy drink and Non-carbonated energy drink.
8. Mocktails
Mocktails are a blend of two or more juices and other sodas. You might ask how they are different from cocktails, and well, the difference lies in the alcoholic content. Mocktails contains none. Therefore, they are the so-called non-alcoholic cocktails.
From that idea, mocktails may be healthier and more beneficial than cocktails, especially for children, pregnant women, and recovering alcoholics. Choosing this non-alcoholic drink means less exposure to chronic diseases like gout, stroke, hypertension, cirrhosis of the liver, and even cancers.
At present, the health benefit is the number one priority of customers when consuming any products or services. With their undeniable use, Mocktails constitute a considerable.
9. Milkshakes
Milkshakes are among the most well-known desserts in the United States. You will be impressed with a wide variety of flavors that come with them.
People increasingly love this type of sweet and cold drink. As its name represents, the milkshake is made of milk. The ingredients vary, but mostly, in addition to milk, they contain chocolates, fruits, or occasionally ice-creams.
Like other non-alcoholic drinks with milk recipes, they can be very healthy. It is truly worth trying for yourself, and don’t hesitate to experiment making from scratch either.
10. Smoothies
A smoothie is a mixture of fruits and vegetables, fruit juice, vegetable juice, milk, or even yogurt. At first glance, it might sound similar to a milkshake, yet smoothies are relatively thicker and creamier (higher amount of yogurt and ice-creams).
They can be broadly categorized into fruit smoothies, green smoothies, and protein smoothies. With essential vitamins, proteins, and minerals, this delicious drink can help improve your overall health. Now, you have another healthy choice for serving your targeted customer’s needs.
11. Cocoa
Another favorite alcohol-free drink of clients is cocoa, made from hot water or milk blended with cocoa powder or melted chocolate. They also use sugar to sweeten certain sorts of cocoa.
Cocoa is generally thought of as a sweet drink, yet it has an incredibly high nutritional value. The cocoa powder contains antioxidants, organic acids, and other essential compounds. It means that a regular intake of cocoa can decrease the risk of high blood pressure, reduce cholesterol, improve brain function, etc.
12. Tonic Water
Tonic water is a mixture of carbonated water, quinine, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and occasionally flavorings. A pretty odd component is quinine, which is derived from the bark of the cinchona tree. When you drink tonic water, quinine will taste bitter in your mouth.
Despite the health benefits of quinine like malaria treatment or reducing leg cramps, be cautious about a significant amount of sugar intake.
Top 5 preferred alcoholic Beverages
Alcoholic beverages are liquid with 1% to 75% of ethyl alcohol or ethanol. They are fermented from the sugars in fruits, berries, grains, and other ingredients like plant saps, tubers, honey, and milk.
Broad classifications include beers, wines, and spirits (stiff drinks). Learn more about different sorts of alcoholic beverages below and lookup for the best products that fit the beverage business.
1. Beer
On a hot sunny day, you are most likely to think of beer as a refreshment treat. This refreshing alcoholic drink is created by brewing and fermenting starches – cereal grains, rice, corn, maize with yeast, herbs, and other ingredients.
Beer typically contains 4–6% alcohol. Overall, beer has 400 different varieties, which are principally typical ales and lagers. In addition to its hydration purpose, it can also be a unique flavor for your customer’s tastiness of the dishes.
The compounds in beer include B vitamins, potassium, and magnesium. Therefore, it is regarded as a healthy drink. If you drink an adequate amount, you may be less likely to suffer from heart disease, dementia, etc. But still, an excessive intake may lead to severe consequences.
2. Wine
Because of being the most classical beverage, wine always possesses a significant number of customers loyal to this type of drink. Wines produced by fermenting grapes like beer are generated by fermenting starches. Wine comes in two types: red and white.
Besides, wine is rich in antioxidants, polyphenols, and anti-inflammatory properties that help combat diseases like oxidative stress and inflammation. Studies have shown that drinking a glass of red wine is more healthy than a glass of white wine. Remember that everything is in moderation!
3. Cider
Cider is simply fermented apple juice. It is most consumed in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The biggest brand worldwide is Strong Bow.
Apple cider includes polyphenols that can fight oxidative stress and cell damage, and minimize the possibility of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. Polyphenols also assist in the prevention of inflammation. However, the amount of fiber in it is less than the whole apple alone.
You should try out this unique alcoholic drink for yourself and see how it transforms your body!
4. Cocktails
We have talked about mocktails, which is a perfect non-alcohol alternative for cocktails preferred by beverage customers. Let’s see what cocktails are.
A cocktail is an alcoholic blended drink made of spirits and other stuff like fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails are classified according to the volume and variety of components used.
Like other alcoholic drinks, cocktails own many consumers, which is one of the products that is worthy of involvement in the distribution process.
5. Hard Alcohol
On the list, the most substantial style of alcoholic drink is hard alcohol. It is made by distilling (careful boiling and condensing) grains, fruit, or vegetables after fermenting them.
Examples of hard alcohol are gin, bourbon, brandy, whiskey, vodka, tequila, liqueurs, rum, soju, and absinthe. They often have a high concentration of alcohol, even exceeding 40% by volume.
Why should you understand the types of beverages to develop your beverage business?
Among all the components of a business model, the product is the centric subject that directly affects your success and identifies your position in the beverage market. Therefore, choosing the right product among many different types or quality is extremely important. It is not an exception when it comes to the beverage industry.
With the rapid development of the industry, more and more new products were published to bring more impressive experiences for consumers. For selecting the best suitable product line, at first, you need to understand all these popular types of beverages.
In general, we have explored six main reasons you should acknowledge different drinks to develop your beverage business easier.
- Product is treated as the soul of business, playing an essential role in maintaining and developing business. Every operating activity of your beverage business depends on and serves the product life cycle: design, manufacturing, inventory, delivery, marketing and sales.
- Easily make the right decision in choosing the right product: due to a deep understanding of beverage types, you can make the best choice with accomplished considerations. Thereby, your beverage business can limit the risks of investing in the wrong or not unsuitable products that don’t match with your company.
- Serving customers with the best suitable products: By gaining fulfilling beverage types, you can ensure that your product will satisfy customers’ desires.
- Develop strengths and improve weaknesses of your drink. If you have a general picture of all beverage types, you will discover outstanding features of your product among numerous kinds of beverages. There is a famous quote: “The person who sees through life and death will meet most success.”
- Optimize inventory and delivery process: each of the products has its particular characteristics created by many different ingredients. By understanding their property, you can arrange the best inventory management for your products. Thereby, you can ensure the best quality of your products to serve customers.
- High opportunity for scaling up the business from having profound knowledge of different types of beverage, you must have had more chances to grow for other product lines horizontally. For instance, you have already been the giant in the alcoholic beverage of wine and recognize the potential market of non-alcoholic beverages. Understanding the types of drinks can help you easily choose the best suitable product that fits your company to broaden your market.
Top 3 trendy types of beverage in 2022
2021 is gone with massive damage to the global Covid epidemic. Yet, everything still operates daily. We need to consume beverages and drinks to survive. However, with the development of the world, especially in the pandemic period, people are spending more and more time and concern about their health.
As a result, healthy beverages tend to receive more love. Compared with alcoholic drinks, non-alcoholic product lines bring more benefits with essential nutrients and vitamins necessary for human development.
Running a business in the beverage industry, you should acknowledge these top-concerned product portfolios. In this way, you must have avoided outdated products that no longer satisfy customers’ needs.
Below are the three most special types of beverages that are forecasted to become trendy in 2022, with the most amount of consumption and preferred:
1. The bubble tea
Invented in the 1980s, it was not until the 2010s that bubble tea witnessed its popularity reach new heights. Nowadays, bubble tea has become one of the most favorite beverages worldwide, targeting youngsters and trend-catchers.
According to the estimated 2027, bubble tea will increase by $2 billion to gain $4.3 billion in market value. Being a Taiwan tea-based drink, bubble tea is modified with healthier variants. The most common adjustment is to lower the sugar amount, using organic soya milk or fresh green tea.
Mainly, bubble tea is beloved due to its diversified flavors, containing more than 200 flavor combinations. Therefore, this kind of beverage can serve a broad customer volume and expand the market’s potential.
2. Alcohol-free cocktails
It is nothing new. Spiritless cocktails will focus on fresh ingredients of high quality and non-alcohol that is good for users’ health. According to researchers, 83% of bar managers in Los Angeles stated that alcoholic-free cocktails are growing.
By remaining the preferred flavors, these cocktails still keep the nutrients or vitamins beneficial for health. By enjoying the free-alcoholic cocktail, the customers can get double benefits, satisfying the taste and serving their health needs.
3. Spiked sodas, alcohol-free beers and spirits
These kinds of beer and spirits have the same principles as alcohol-free cocktails. With little or no alcohol by volume and a lower amount of calories, consumers can avoid the harmful effects of alcoholic products on health.
These types of drinks are soon expected to take over the throne from national beers and spirits with great harm to human health.
In terms of outstanding statistics, non-alcoholic beers and spirits gained $280 million in revenue and then experienced a dramatic growth that will make up 7.1% in 2025.
Conclusion
To sum up, we have described different types of beverages as well as their content, benefits, or risks to your health. Besides, this article also clarifies the role of making out the importance of gaining this piece of knowledge when involved in the beverage industry.
You may now have background knowledge about every kind of drink and determine on this list which can be the favorite drink(s) that satisfies your customer’s thirst and triggers a potential business idea.
Beverage manufacturing requires a lot of resources and effort. With more than 25 years in beverage development, our experts are ready to support you on the way to gaining tasty drinks as your demand.
Tan Do is a global beverage ODM/OEM manufacturer and supplier located in Vietnam. Since 1996, we have built trust and credibility not only throughout Vietnam but also in many parts of the world. Leveraging state-of-the-art technology, we have crafted thousands of products that align with ISO, HACCP, HALAL, FDA, and many other standards.
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