Beverage Industry’s 2026 state-of-the-industry coverage ran through seven mainstream categories this year: carbonated soft drinks, juice, bottled water, tea, coffee, energy drinks, and sports and protein drinks. None of them mention hemp. None of them need to. Read together, they lay out a consistent map of where beverage consumer behavior is headed, and hemp beverage brands are competing for the same shopper, the same shelf space, and, increasingly, the same occasions as in every one of these categories.

Here’s what seven categories’ worth of market research adds up to for hemp R&D.

Function is Not a Differentiator 

Every category in this report is layering functional claims onto a base product that didn’t used to need them. Prebiotic sodas pushed Coca-Cola and PepsiCo into the space with Simply Pop and their own Poppi acquisition. Juice brands are fortifying with immunity and gut health in mind. Energy drink consumers now expect a stack of benefits, not one, before they’ll call a product healthy. Even bottled water, the category with the least reason to add anything, is picking up probiotic and functional variants. Sports and protein drinks take functional stacking the furthest: hybrid products like Protein2O’s Whey Protein 20G Isolate Hydration Drink combine protein, hydration, and electrolytes in a single can, and even a legacy brand like V8 Energy added electrolytes to its existing lineup rather than launch something new.

While the hemp beverage category gets more crowded with new brands, competition is increasing, and brands are looking for ways to stand out by adding functional ingredients to their THC formulations. They are competing against energy drinks that stack caffeine, adaptogens, and hydration into one can, and juices that layer vitamin C, zinc, and probiotics into one bottle. The bar has moved from “does something” to “does several specific things, and says exactly what they are.”

Sugar Reduction is a Growing Trend

Across CSD, juice, tea, and energy drinks, zero-sugar and low-sugar options are in demand, especially among younger consumers. According to Mintel, a global market intelligence agency, sugar content is the leading reason consumers cut back on the category. Tea’s unsweetened and diet segments are propping up RTD growth. Energy drink brands like Alani Nu are winning specifically because their top flavors carry zero sugar alongside a familiar taste.

EY’s 2026 Consumer Beverage Survey: 66% of consumers now choose lower-sugar/lower-calorie drinks, 58% pay attention to ingredients, and 52% are willing to pay more for health-supportive beverages.

Classic Flavors are Winning

Juice buyers favor traditional, pure flavors over newer, fancier blends. Energy drinks saw C4’s Popsicle Cherry and Grape flavors jump more than 770% year-over-year, giving a nod to nostalgia. CSD brands are, in Keychain’s words, sticking with familiar favorites rather than reinventing the wheel.

Matcha and cold brew both grew fast, but neither is a new flavor; they’re existing, well-known drinks that gained traction through social media rather than through flavor innovation.

For hemp beverage flavor R&D, the takeaway is to keep the base flavor familiar and put the innovation somewhere else, in the functional claim, the format, or on social, rather than in the flavor itself.

Give the Product a Moment, Not Just an Effect

The most consumed drinks, bottled water, tea, and coffee, all attach themselves to a specific point in someone’s day: hydration, the evening wind-down, the morning routine.

A hemp beverage designed only around an effect alone has no built-in moment to fill, so the consumer has to conjure one up on their own. A hemp drink tied to an existing occasion, unwinding after work, a social pregame, a Friday night alternative to a cocktail, already has that moment waiting for it, instead of asking someone to invent one.

The Energy Drink Connection

Energy drinks compete for the same thing hemp beverages do: a specific effect, not just flavor, and both have an opportunity with sober-curious consumers since 33% of energy drinkers over 22 already view energy drinks as an alcohol alternative.

Energy drink shots declined by nearly 4%, while full-size, lifestyle-positioned energy drinks grew by over 3%, because shots are perceived as a quick fix rather than a daily product. On the flip side, wellness shots that offered benefits such as immunity, focus, or gut health grew by nearly 20% year over year.

Protein Demand Is Outpacing Hydration Demand

Sports drinks and protein products both target the same active, health-conscious consumer, but demand for the two is moving in different directions right now. Sports drinks are still mainly about hydration and energy. Protein products are riding two separate trends: rising consumer demand for protein overall, and growing use of GLP-1 medications, which is increasing demand for high-protein, low-sugar, higher-fiber products. Sports drinks grew just 1.8% in dollars, with volume down slightly, while weight-control nutritionals grew 11.3% in dollars and 13% in volume.

GLP-1 Usage is having an Impact on Beverages

Rising GLP-1 usage is influencing ingredient trends with increasing demand for low-sugar, high-protein, and higher-fiber products, as a growing share of consumers manage smaller appetites and different nutritional needs. Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides is one brand already positioned around this trend.

A beverage’s serving size, sugar load, and protein or fiber content matter more than they did even two years ago, now that so many consumers are on these medications and eating and drinking differently as a result.

The Era of Clean Labels

Consumers aren’t paying more for flashy branding or hype anymore. They want clean ingredients, sustainable sourcing, and a product tied to something they care about, whether that’s a female-founded brand, a plant-based formulation, or recyclable packaging. Bottled water’s packaging concerns around microplastics and sustainability are one example of this playing out.

Hemp brands already have a head start here. Their testing and dosing requirements mean most already know and disclose exactly what’s in the product.

What This Means for Hemp Beverage R&D

A few things are worth taking from this data directly:

High sugar formulations are losing ground. Stick with familiar flavors and innovate with other elements like functional ingredients, format, or a strong brand story as the hook. Build the product around a moment that already exists in someone’s day, rather than asking a consumer to invent a reason to reach for it. And include sourcing and testing information in the marketing, since clean label matters to consumers now.

Hemp beverages are earlier in this than any of these seven categories, which is a real advantage. They don’t need to reinvent the wheel; the data is already sitting in seven other beverage aisles.