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.

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.

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Poison-ivy-eating goats will return to the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail this weekend, according to The Trail Conservancy.

Why it matters: The goats are an eco-friendly way to clear unwanted brush — including poison ivy — in hard-to-reach areas without the use of machinery or herbicides, officials say.

📍 If you go: This round of grazing will take place Saturday and Sunday near the Austin Rowing Center, across from Austin High School, at 1541 West Cesar Chavez St.

What's next: The Trail Conservancy is highlighting its Adopt-a-Goat program, which allows community members to support the grazing initiative through donations.

🚦 New data shows crashes and speeding have dropped after safety improvements along Cameron and Dessau roads in Northeast Austin. (Community Impact)

🏗️ SpaceX will build a $17 billion semiconductor plant near College Station. (Gov. Greg Abbott)

• "The first-of-its-kind Terafab facility will accelerate chip production in Texas at an unprecedented scale," Abbott said.

🏛️ Austin Mayor Kirk Watson's former chief of staff, Colleen Pate, has joined local engineering firm Boot Civil. (Austin Business Journal 🔒)

👀 A Houston man faces a criminal charge in Travis County for what police say was threatening the governor's office over a law he alleged prevented him from watching anime. (KXAN)

If you're a nervous swimmer, you can feel especially safe splashing in a Round Rock pool.

Driving the news: City of Round Rock lifeguards earned first place at the 2026 Texas Lifeguard Competition earlier this week in College Station.

• It's the program's fourth consecutive state championship.

How it worked: Teams had to demonstrate their technical skills, response time, communication and teamwork while responding to simulated emergency scenarios.

What they're saying: "'Everybody Goes Home' is our mission, and we say it together at every training," Nichole Bean, aquatics manager for the city's parks and recreation department, tells Axios.

• "Everything we do — from recruiting and training to leadership development and team culture — is centered around making sure every guest and every team member goes home safely at the end of the day."

The bottom line: "The competition isn't something we prepare for differently—it's an extension of the standards we expect every day on our pool decks," Bean says.

Three recent polls show state Rep. James Talarico (D-Austin) narrowly leading state Attorney General Ken Paxton in the U.S. Senate race.

Test yourself: Try our Senate-heavy Friday news quiz to see how much of a Texas political junkie you really are.

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