One of my New Year’s Resolutions (New Year’s Resolutions—remember those? Those are the things we made a few weeks ago and promptly forgot halfway through the month) is to drink more. Don’t get the wrong idea, I’m not talking downing Syrah on the regular! I mean drink more so that I can stay hydrated. According to several studies, Americans on the whole are dehydrated, which can lead to a host of problems, like fatigue or muscle cramps. So if I can avoid those unpleasant side effects by downing some water, then I will do my part to keep myself hydrated.
But there’s a flipside that is vaguely selfish to my resolution, which is that I want to get out of a drinking rut. I have a tendency to drink the same thing day after day, and while that’s good when it comes to water (yay, hydration!), it gets a little boring after awhile otherwise. My tastebuds need some pizzazz! Some oomph! And the beverage industry has heard my cries for help and has answered mightily. Take a look down your closest beverage aisle and you’ll see what I mean—the shelves are lined with new (and new-to-me) products that are eager for me to try them. I’m stoked to do so, and I want to share with you a few things that make me jazzed to shop at the beverage section.
3 Beverage Trends I’m Excited About
- Craft spirits
- Better packaging for better hydration
- To a T(ea)
I have to give my main squeeze credit for this one, as he tipped me off to something about small batch spirits—they’re often local treasures that play on the plants that grow in the area where the spirit is distilled. You can get a great taste of a region without ever leaving your den! Gin, I’ve found, is particularly great for this because it is botanical by nature, and there are some craft gin distillers that have put out some amazingly delicious new products.
Bottled water has raked in the dollars since the concept first hit beverage aisles, and it’s still going strong. But while people are increasing their intake as part of a healthy lifestyle, one thing they can’t reconcile is the amount of packaging that goes into their daily water habit. Several beverage companies are repackaging their bottled waters to be more eco-friendly (like eliminating the annoying wraparound plastic) or packaging their water in easy-to-recycle cartons (I’m looking at you, Boxed Water Co.).
Truth: I’ve never been a fan of iced tea. But I want to be. And as premium ready-made teas in just about any flavor a consumer could want are launching left and right, this could be my time. The ready-to-drink tea category is churning out innovation, and me and my tastebuds are ready.
What beverage trends are you excited about this year?
