A glass half empty? The truth behind functional drinks and their promises to make us feel calmer

Wandering nan supermarket aisles of 2025, you’ve apt stumbled crossed colourful cans brandishing bold and alluring promises of ‘calm’ and ‘focus’. 

Known arsenic functional beverages, they often see a big of strange-sounding ingredients: Ashwagandha (a medicinal herb), Lion’s Mane (a type of mushroom), and various different works compounds, vitamins and minerals that declare to people heighten intelligence wellbeing. 

Their fame has swelled successful caller years, pinch nan world marketplace for functional drinks estimated to scope $248.51 (€212) cardinal by 2030 according to Grand View Research. It’s portion of a broader societal displacement distant from alcohol, pinch 44 per cent of British group aged 18-24 now choosing debased aliases non-alcoholic alternatives instead, a study by YouGov found. 

“These products fresh perfectly into today’s wellness culture, wherever group are much alert of their intelligence and beingness wellness and are seeking convenient solutions,” Nicolle Cucco, a registered dietitian and certified individual trainer astatine nan wellness app Muscle Booster, told Euronews Health. 

“In a world that feels progressively fast-paced, nan thought of a quick, drinkable hole is very attractive. Add societal media, clever branding, and rising levels of accent and worry to it, and you person an mentation for nan maturation successful demand,” she added. 

While drinks that sensation bully and make america consciousness amended so sound enticing, are they excessively bully to beryllium true? We said to experts to find retired really effective they really are. 

What are functional drinks and do they really work?

Functional drinks mention to immoderate beverage that includes ingredients that supply further use to intelligence aliases beingness health. 

From java to chamomile tea, humans person ever consumed functional drinks, but it’s nan emergence of brands specified arsenic TRIP and Huel, alongside wellness supplements, that person commercialised nan marketplace into a wellness behemoth. 

Founded successful 2019 by husband-and-wife Olivia Ferdi and Daniel Khoury, TRIP first gained attraction for its pastel-coloured cans and CBD (cannabidiol - a compound of cannabis plants) infused concoctions. 

Lightly fizzy and flavoured pinch botanical extracts, their drinks besides commonly characteristic L-Theanine (a non-protein amino acerb recovered successful beverage leaves), magnesium, and ashwagandha. 

“There is promising grounds for immoderate of these ingredients, though results alteration and nan investigation is limited,” said Cucco. “Ashwagandha and L-theanine person shown benefits successful randomised trials, peculiarly for stress, anxiety, aliases attention. Magnesium is amended studied, but supplementation only helps if you’re deficient - if your levels are normal, taking much isn’t apt to make a difference”.

This ambiguity connected efficacy has led to scepticism - and immoderate controversy. 

Beware of buzzwords

In July, an advert by TRIP was banned successful nan United Kingdom aft implying that its cucumber and mint-flavoured portion could trim accent and anxiety; claims which nan Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) recovered were  unauthorised. 

“If a merchandise is said to thief “calm” aliases “relieve anxiety”, these claims person to beryllium backed by science,” Lena Bakovic, a registered dietitian astatine Live it Up, a marque trading nutritional powders and supplements, told Euronews Health. 

“Over-promising tin and will yet lead to user disillusionment, misuse, aliases ignorant for replacement evidence-based methods,” she continued. 

The advert’s prohibition besides highlights nan good statement betwixt authenticity and placebo erstwhile it comes to wellness products, nan truth tangled successful quiet buzzwords and aspirational aesthetics. 

“The placebo effect is peculiarly powerful successful this abstraction because temper and attraction are subjective experiences,” Cucco explained. “Simply believing a portion will thief you relax tin genuinely alteration really your encephalon perceives stress. That doesn’t mean nan products are useless, but it does mean that anticipation tin often amplify their effects”. 

Euronews Health contacted TRIP for comment, but did not person a reply astatine nan clip of writing. 

Not a speedy fix

The functional portion activity has been mostly driven by societal media. Wellness influencers often advertise vitamin-infused drinks for illustration Huel and Athletic Greens connected YouTube and TikTok.

In this sense, nan entreaty of functional drinks becomes akin to nan videos they’re attached to: a seemingly quick, easy solution to much complex, nuanced issues.

“The increasing fame of societal media and influencer civilization has accrued consciousness and perceived trustworthiness of these products,” said Bakovic. 

While enjoying them successful summation to a patient manner is improbable to origin immoderate harm (except possibly to your slope equilibrium - a 12-pack of TRIP tin costs up to €27), these drinks are not a reliable measurement of treating symptoms of much terrible conditions, for illustration generalised worry upset aliases Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Cucco explained. 

“It’s important to statement that for group pinch neurodevelopmental conditions specified arsenic ADHD, nan image whitethorn beryllium different, and these drinks - placebo aliases not - are not suitable for aesculapian treatment,” she said. 

“I would impulse consumers to pause, look beyond nan marketing, and do a spot of investigation earlier deciding what to buy. Some ingredients whitethorn beryllium beneficial, others little so, and taking nan clip to understand what you’re putting into your assemblage is often nan wisest approach,” Cucco added.