What Are Nootropic Beverages?

Whether you're a hardworking college student, busy professional, or just someone looking for some extra pep, nootropic beverages make an attractive offer: a brain boost!

As consumers continue to demand more functionality from their favorite drinks, brands are taking note. Driven by health trends prioritizing all aspects of wellness, including mood, cognitive performance, and mental health, brands are exploring creative beverage solutions with benefits that extend beyond those important to physical fitness.

While still a fairly new category, nootropic ingredients have built a solid platform within the functional beverage realm. But what exactly are nootropics? Continue reading to learn everything you need to know!

Nootropics: What Are They?

While you may have only heard the term in recent years, nootropics are not new as a class of ingredients. In fact, the term was coined by Romanian psychologist and chemist Corneliu E. Giurgea, who, in 1972, used it as a "catch-all" to describe brain productivity enhancers.

Today, we understand nootropics in much the same way: as substances thought to be linked to improved performance. Nootropic ingredients are marketed to enhance focus and memory, boost energy, and even elevate mood. Historically, they've been primarily utilized in dietary supplements, but that changed when they broke into the food and beverage industry.

Nootropics & The Beverage Industry

It's important to note that some nootropic ingredients have been widely adopted in the beverage space for years! L-theanine, for example, is a compound naturally derived from tea and is said to improve retention, recall, relaxation, and mood. Caffeine is another stimulant and common beverage additive that you should recognize immediately!

Of course, other nootropic ingredients have trickled into consumers' shopping carts more recently. Mushrooms like reishi, chaga, and Lion's Mane are excellent illustrations of trending beverage ingredients, marketed for cognitive and mental wellness benefits.

Building from the functional ingredient trend, consumers have also been experimenting with combinations of different nootropic ingredients that reputedly deliver various benefits when paired. Supported by continued interest in custom beverages and personalized nutrition, this may signal an opportunity for brands to create specialized blends of nootropic drinks that cater to niche demands.

Developing a Nootropic Beverage

As the functional sector of the beverage industry continues to grow rapidly, nootropics are being added to beverages of all kinds. From chocolate milk that supports immunity to energy drinks without the jitters, possibilities are endless, but not seamless.

The regulatory landscape can be challenging to navigate whenever functional claims are involved. If you're interested in bringing your own nootropic drink to market, you'll need to make sure it is formulated for success and labeled appropriately.

"Beverages cannot make health claims, so the marketing language you might use on a so-called ‘nootropic beverage' is pretty limited," says Flavorman's Chief Technical Officer, Kristen Wemer. "Many of the claims associated with nootropics can be construed as health or structure-function claims, which we would advise against putting on a beverage."

Of course, you can still make a beverage with ingredients that imply or are known by consumers to offer nootropic benefits; this is often how brands market themselves without making health claims.

A beverage you might drink to relax could include lavender, passionflower, GABA, and lemon balm. These ingredients are "Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS)" by the FDA, and therefore allowed in a beverage. You can highlight that the beverage contains them with the hopes that a consumer will understand why they're included. However, the more explicit you get about the purported functionality of those ingredients, the higher the risk that your product will face regulatory scrutiny.

As brands continue to pack their drinks full of functional ingredients, beverage builders must ensure their products simultaneously achieve their desired taste and drinking experience.

"The functional beverage category has become increasingly complex over the last several years," says Wemer. "Beverage developers are being asked to formulate drinks loaded with beneficial ingredients, each of which comes with individual formulation challenges."

Our experts can formulate your nootropic beverage with flavors that emphasize the presence of any functional ingredients while ensuring the integrity of the drink's quality. While our expertise is specialized in beverage and flavor development, our team boasts the resources, services, and industry connections you'll need to make your nootropic beverage idea a success. From Start Through Finish® - that's the Flavorman promise.

If you want to launch a beverage brand, we can help you do it right! When you're ready to discuss your idea for a breakthrough nootropic beverage, give us a call at (502) 273-5214 or tell your story here.