The rise of mood drinks
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On the Brightside launched cans made with Zembrin, which founder Adam Terry says is designed to promote a calming effect. Photo: Courtesy of Collin Findlay
As Americans rethink alcohol, beverage startups are racing to fill the gap with drinks that promise social connection without the hangover.
Why it matters: Consumers are increasingly choosing beverages based on what they want the drink to do — energize them, improve gut health or help unwind — fueling a boom in products marketed around function rather than flavor.
Driving the news: On the Brightside is among the latest entrants, launching canned drinks made with Zembrin, a patented extract of the succulent kanna that founder Adam Terry tells Axios is designed to promote a calming, "pro-social" effect without intoxication.
- The Massachusetts-based company, which held a launch party in Austin last month, joins brands like Recess, Hiyo and Trip — all of which market mood-support beverages as alternatives to alcohol or THC.
Terry says he wanted to create a drink that could occupy the same social space as alcohol without causing intoxication or a hangover.
- "Can I make an actually pro-social drink that tastes good but doesn't get you inebriated?"
By the numbers: Sales of functional beverages, or drinks marketed for health benefits, generated $31.3 billion in U.S. sales over the past year — up nearly 11% year-over-year and about 147% over four years, per NielsenIQ data shared with Axios.
- The category reaches 91% of U.S. households.
What's happening: The growth reflects a broader shift in how consumers shop for beverages.
- "The old beverage map was built around categories — soda, water, coffee, alcohol, sports drinks," Sally Lyons Wyatt, a global consumer packaged goods and food service industry advisor at Circana, tells Axios.
- "The new map is increasingly built around effects and occasions."
Zoom in: Younger consumers "are not necessarily abandoning alcohol — they are redefining what belongs in the adult beverage occasion," she adds, pointing to moderation, novelty and mood support as growing priorities.
- "The category is not yet a full substitute for alcohol," Lyons Wyatt says.
Reality check: Like other functional beverages, drinks with mood-enhancing ingredients aren't evaluated by the FDA for effectiveness, and evidence supporting their effects varies widely by ingredient.
The bottom line: Americans aren't just choosing what to drink. They're increasingly choosing how they want drinks to make them feel.