Health and superpower in a bottle

Support when doing sports

Coca-Cola HBC Magyarország is present in the functional drinks category with its Powerade brand, in five variants: Powerade Mountain Blast, Powerade Mountain Blast Zero, Powerade Golden Mango, Powerade Lemon, and Powerade Blood Orange. Four are available with classic sugar content and one is sold in a zero sugar version. Powerade is a non-carbonated isotonic sports drink, containing carbohydrates and sodium to replace fluid lost through sweating during intense exercise. In 2024 the new product is Powerade Golden Mango, which was inspired by the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, as the Powerade brand is an official sponsor of the event. The drink is packed with electrolytes and vitamin B6 to energise muscles and cater for the body’s salt intake.

Márton Vecsei
head of soft drink brands
HELL ENERGY

Márton Vecsei, head of soft drink brands at HELL ENERGY Magyarország Kft. explains that finding a good price position can be a challenge for brands in the current market environment.

“SWISS Laboratory soft drinks are made with added vitamins, preservative- and aspartame-free, and contain quality ingredients, making them the perfect choice for keeping one’s vitamin stock up. From February 2024 the latest SWISS Laboratory product can be found on store shelves: SWISS Sour Cherry ZERO, with an incredibly high collagen content of 3,250 ml”,

says Mr Vecsei.

Over the last 1-2 years, the sports drinks category has seen the most dynamic growth within the non-alcoholic categories

Shoppers want more from products

In the functional drinks category consumer preference continues to be driven by brand, taste and product benefits. Consumers want something more than just quenching their thirst, so they need products that satisfy their extra needs. Functional drinks aren’t just for people who lead active lives, as vitamin intake is important for everyone.

Attila Kaszás
managing director
Viwa product Europa

According to Attila Kaszás, managing director of Viwa product Europa Kft., more and more people are looking for complex product variants, for example collagen-containing functional drinks are very popular this year. In 2024 Viwa product Europa Kft. launched its new vitamin water Viwa Body Pro, containing 3,000mg of premium collagen per bottle.

“We are in a fortunate position, as consumers know that the Viwa brand name stands for outstanding quality, and the recently launched collagen-enriched Viwa Body Pro has also become an instant favourite”,

informs Mr Kaszás.

For everybody, for every occasion

Maspex Olympos Kft.’s Apenta+ 750ml non-carbonated functional drinks contain a variety of vitamins, minerals and plant extracts.

Patrícia Peres
brand manager
Maspex Olympos

“In this category the most popular product is our collagen drink, which has 3,000mg of collagen. Since February 2024 it has also been available in peach flavour”,

says brand manager Patrícia Peres.

In June 3 new carbonated Apenta+ vitamin drinks appeared on store shelves: white peach flavour Apenta+ Immuno, pomegranate-acai-red grape flavour Anti-Stress, and Apenta+ Boost in pink grapefruit flavour.

Vilmos Várkonyi
group brand manager
Maspex Olympos

Topjoy has launched new vitamin-fortified functional fruit drinks this year. The products are available in three flavours with 20% fruit content: multivitamin flavour Immunity, apple-peach flavour Vitality, and Fitness with 0% added sugar in apple-pineapple-orange-lemon flavour.

Energy and sports drinks continue to be popular, with consumers becoming more conscious and focusing on health benefits and composition.

Judit Szabó
sales manager
R-Water

“Every year the range of products offered in the different retail channels is growing. Thanks to continuous education, many people know what a product’s function is good for and hopefully fewer and fewer people believe that a single functional drink is good for everything”,

opines Judit Szabó, sales manager of R-Water Kft.

Finding a good price position can be a challenge for brands

Expanding portfolio

R-Water Kft.’s experience is that it is trendy to look fit and youthful and to live a dynamic life. The amino acid composition of the company’s sports drinks gives consumers specific support, for example in fat loss, recovery or muscle building. Consumption is always recommended with sporting activities, but it should be stressed that this doesn’t only mean professional training or gym activity. At the moment the packaging of Absolute Live products is being replaced with an ergonomic, slim bottle design.

Conscious living is becoming more and more important, from which the market will benefit

Anna Kisházi
marketig manager
Sió-Eckes

Anna Kisházi, marketing manager of Sió-Eckes Kft. reckons one of the biggest challenges in the category is seasonality, with drinks with added vitamins (such as shots) being more popular in the autumn-winter season and functional waters in the summer.

“We are proud that the functionality of our hohes C brand is based on the fact that as a pioneering brand in health preservation, one glass (250ml) of any of our juice and shot products and one bottle of our hohes C Water covers the daily vitamin C needs of an adult”,

says Anna Kisházi.

Hohes C Water was launched in the spring of 2023 and this was an important milestone in the life of the company, as they entered a new category. It is available in three flavours, in three different formulations – blackcurrant-mint Antiox, orange and passion fruit Energy, and lime-ginger Immune.

Following the trends

The category is becoming increasingly diverse, in terms of product composition, packaging, and pricing alike. Manufacturer brands dominate, but private labels have already appeared on the scene. In terms of packaging demand is bigger for portable products, but sustainability considerations are also entering the spotlight.

Marianna Pinczés
managing director
Virgin Oil Press

“If the contradiction between the popular single-serve packaging and sustainability can be resolved, for example by offering a viable option for bottle return, refilling, recycling with these small-sized products – then the commitment can deepen”,

explains Marianna Pinczés, managing director of Virgin Oil Press Kft.

Virgin Oil Press Kft. is present in the functional drinks market with 3 flavours of a single product. They started from scratch when they came out with FROT fruit and vegetable purées with cold-pressed oils. The biggest challenge was to become visible and Grapoila FROTs were able to enter one of the largest drugstore chains right from the start. As the name suggests, Grapoila FROTs (FRuit & Oil Together) combine the bioactive substances of fruit and vegetable purées with the nutrients of seed oils, to give complex support for the body.