From Powder to Pour: Herbal Ingredient Trends Reshaping Supplement and Functional Beverage Innovation

Quick Summary

The herbal supplement market is shifting from pills to RTDs, gummies, and functional beverages, driven by pill fatigue and demand for flavor, color, and heritage-driven ingredients.

If you've taken a stroll down the supplement aisle in your local grocer lately, you may have noticed just how much the section has transformed – so much so that what used to be a single shelf or aisle now spills out across end caps and throughout the store. Where there once were only capsules and powders filling the shelves, herbal supplement ingredient trends are now taking center stage. Familiar formats share shelf space with ready-to-drink beverages (RTDs), functional teas, gummies, adaptogenic sparkling waters, and botanical-infused snacks.

It's no surprise these changes are happening. Today's consumers are seeking herbal and supplement routines in formats that fit their lives: convenient, enjoyable, and ritual-friendly innovations. Currently, both consumer behavior and cultural interest are driving botanical supplement trends. The aging population is seeking proactive, preventive wellness approaches that are easy to incorporate in their current routines, while millennials and Gen Z are blending food and function by choosing supplementation as a lifestyle.

Herbs, supplements, and beverages that pack a punch – these are all part of the "daily ritual" movement where herbs are chosen as habit, not just for occasional use. And as supplements become part of everyday life, consumers increasingly report pill fatigue, a negative experience driving demand for more sensory formats (liquids, powders, gummies, chews).

Alongside consumer interest, the functional beverage and herbal supplement product categories have been growing rapidly, and they aren't slowing down. Recent data revealed that 43% of global consumers are using supplements at least weekly. According to Nutrition Business Journal, while the total US dietary supplement market hit nearly $70B in 2024, herbs made up one of the fastest growing segments, which has nearly doubled over the past decade.

What does all this herbal attention mean for ingredient buyers and product developers? Companies can no longer focus only on trendy use cases. Formulators, marketers, and educators must consider the full experience of the herb itself. From flavor to color and aroma to heritage, the factors that make each herb distinct are no longer an afterthought, they are selling points.

Top Herbal Ingredient Trends: Flavor, Color, and Heritage

How can innovative companies make herbs more accessible to consumers in a rapidly growing marketplace? Embracing what makes each herb unique – flavor, color, aroma – along with traditional rituals and nods to nostalgia make herbs accessible to an ever-growing, interested consumer base.

Herbs with Bold Flavor and Aroma

RTDs, teas, and culinary formats all call for flavor-forward applications. And while the sensory factors of herbs can sometimes be thought of as, well, "herbally", there are many herbs that add pleasant, punchy, nostalgic flavors and aromas across a shelf full of tasteless capsules and chalky powders.

• Ginger – A childhood favorite that is warm, spicy, and versatile across formats.
• Peppermint – Another nostalgia hero that is bright and cooling with a high level of consumer recognition.
• Lemon verbena – Trending in artisan and functional tea, the citrus-floral flavor and scent offer a light, cozy appeal.
• Chamomile – A long-time dominant in the herbal tea category, and approximately 25% of the total herbal tea market value in 2025, it provides a soft, floral, gentle aroma and taste that pairs well with fruit flavors and other floral herbs.

Herbs with Distinctive Color

Flavor and aroma aren't the only selling points for herbs. Color is a marketing asset in beverages and functional foods, even more so as artificial colors lose favor, and natural sources are increasingly sought after.

• Hibiscus – For deep ruby tones, hibiscus is first to mind. It is visually striking in both RTDs and loose-leaf teas.
• Turmeric – A historical favorite for adding a warm golden glow, turmeric has broad crossover appeal from culinary to supplement formats.
• Butterfly pea flower – Newer to consumer recognition, the vivid blue-violet, pH-sensitive color change of butterfly pea flower always delights. FDA approved as a natural color additive in May 2025, this herb adds color and flair to RTD beverage, ice cream, candy, and liquid creamer applications.

Herbs with Rich Traditional Heritage

Another factor driving new growth in the herbal category is the rising consumer interest in traditional herbal rituals, which is more than just a passing trend. Growth in mainstream consumer sales continues to move upward for long time favorites while new-to-the-mainstream herbs are beginning to receive recognition.

• Ashwagandha – Rooted in Ayurvedic tradition, the popularity of this herb continues to grow. In 2024, mainstream channel sales reached $144.5M, a +13.8% year over year growth.
• Elderberry – A longstanding favorite with use across European folk traditions, elderberry mainstream sales hit $145.2M in 2024.
• Turmeric – A perennial top herb in the natural channel, turmeric/curcumin extracts reached $141.8M in 2024 mainstream sales.
• Mushrooms (reishi, lion's mane, and others) – Once thought to be a passing trend, mushrooms have proven themselves as a steady source of consumer interest. Rooted in East Asian herbalism, mushroom extracts have enjoyed +78% year over year growth, reaching $15.7M mainstream sales in 2024 and making a first-ever appearance in the top 40 best-selling herbs.
• Holy basil/tulsi – Revered in Ayurvedic herbal tradition, tulsi is a growing presence in functional tea, quickly becoming a household name.

Herbs Gaining RTD and Functional Beverage Traction

Across the RTD and functional beverage categories, several herbs with broad appeal are gaining consistent traction. Ginger, hibiscus, elderberry, and tulsi all offer flavor versatility + visual appeal + heritage story, a combination with strong RTD positioning. Meanwhile, traditional adaptogens, such as ashwagandha, rhodiola, and holy basil, are crossing over from supplement capsules into canned beverages and functional shots.

Where Herbal Supplements Are Headed: Format Trends by Category

The combination of format innovations with traditional herbs is creating expansive opportunity across CPG categories. From supplements to beverages and functional foods to tea blends, there is something for everyone.

Format Landscape: Where Supplements Are Headed

• Non-Pill Dominance: Non-pill supplement forms now hold about 65% of the market share, with gummies in the lead followed by powders, softgels, liquids, and capsules.
• Gen Z and Powder: 53% of Gen Z supplement users prefer products in powder format, the highest of any generation.
• RTD Supplement Market: SPINS valued the U.S. RTD supplement market at more than $7 billion in 2025 and growing nearly 12% year-over-year.
• Format Trends: According to recent SPINS data, capsules and powders continue to trend upward. Yet pill fatigue remains a primary driver of demand for alternative formats, including chewable and effervescent alternatives.
• Format Experimentation: Though <1% of the market, functional chewing gum grew 95% between 2024–2025 per SPINS, an early signal of format experimentation.

Dietary Supplement Manufacturers

In the dietary supplements category, powders and capsules remain the workhorse while gummies, stick packs, and novel formats like chews are expanding. For herbs as dietary supplement ingredients, standardized dried extracts and powders are the primary format utilized in formulation. One challenge for formulators lies in sourcing herbal ingredients with strict quality standards. Ingredient brands can differ widely on ingredient sourcing and traceability.

RTD and Functional Beverage Brands

In one of the fastest-growing application areas, RTDs and functional beverages, herbs are pulling triple duty as flavor, colors, and functional ingredients. In this category, clean label, recognizable botanical ingredients drive consumer trust at the shelf. Sparkling adaptogenic waters, herbal-infused kombuchas, canned botanical teas, and herbal shots have carried consumer interest in a steadily growing botanical beverage market that market research projects will reach $2.4B by 2034.

Tea Shops and Botanical Tea Brands

Tea shops and botanical tea brands provide a consumer entry point for herbs in their most traditional form: whole, cut & sifted, or powdered herbal teas. The daily herb habit is a fast-growing trend where consumers are seeking teas as ritual, not just as beverage. Market research in the U.S. suggests 41% of younger consumers have integrated herbal teas into daily routines and nearly 49% of consumers prefer caffeine-free options. With over 480 new herbal tea SKUs introduced globally in 2024, the functional tea market is projected by market research to reach $13.19B by 2033 while the herbal tea market is projected to grow to $24.73B by 2035.

Health Food Retail and Functional Food

Along with supplements and beverages, traditional herbs are increasingly being spotted in the food aisles of health and functional food retailers as well. Ginger, turmeric, and hibiscus are crossing from supplement and tea into snack bars, broths, baked goods, and condiments. For consumers, ingredient transparency drives shelf decisions. Shoppers want to recognize what they're buying.

Herbal Ingredient Brand Examples and Case Studies

From freezer pops to RTDs, the following brands show what's possible when herbal ingredients move beyond the capsule. Each example reflects a different format, a different consumer occasion, and/or a different way of bringing the flavor, color, or heritage of a botanical ingredient to life.

Rescue Shots: A culinary ginger brand that parlayed its ingredient roots into a line of shelf-stable wellness shots, available in flavors like Lemon Cayenne and Turmeric, built around a single fresh ginger juice base.

Multi-botanicals for Flavor-Forward Solutions: An instant chai powder that layers six adaptogenic mushrooms with classic chai botanicals, including ginger and cinnamon, for a flavor-forward botanical formulation designed to meet consumers in their morning routine, blurring the line between spice blend and supplement.

Hydro Infusions: A botanical tea brand that brought hibiscus into a functional electrolyte format, demonstrating how the herb's bold color and tart flavor profile translates seamlessly for a new generation of consumers.

Herbal Teas that Blend Traditional with Familiar: A single traditional herb, holy basil, as the anchor around which other botanicals are layered creates an easy entry point to traditional herbal teas for consumers new to the category.

Ritual and Heritage in a Beverage: In golden milk powders and RTDs designed for daily ritual/ coffee alternatives, turmeric anchors multi-herb blends that benefit from its warm golden color as much as its heritage. A clean-label, ingredient-transparent example well-suited for natural retail.

On-the-go/Travel Solutions: A format innovation as solution to a consumer-friction point, these concentrated elderberry gummies are designed specifically to replace elderberry syrup for travel and on-the-go use.

Organic Functional Freezer Pops: A familiar childhood format, the freezer pop, rebuilt from the ground up with organic herbal tea blends, fruit juice, and electrolytes, and sold shelf-stable for pantry convenience to meet consumers, specifically families with kids, exactly where they already are.

Sourcing with Herb Co.

Monterey Bay Herb Co.'s strict sourcing standards promote long term sustainability and eco-social impact. Take hibiscus, for example. Herb Co. partners with the owner and manager of the land where the hibiscus is grown. Located in Egypt, an ideal climate for growing hibiscus, Herb Co.'s sourcing partners ensure a high quality, organic, sustainable, ingredient that respects the environment as well as the livelihoods of those who cultivate and harvest it.

Herb Co.'s commitment to quality includes third party testing and a certificate of analysis for all ingredients and facilities. A small gesture, but an important one as economic adulteration of botanical ingredients becomes more frequent. In 2024, the top 20 botanicals that most frequently failed identity testing included ashwagandha, elderberry, echinacea, reishi, lion's mane, and rhodiola.

Whether you're developing a new RTD line or reformulating a legacy supplement, Monterey Herb Co. can help. We'd love to talk about what's in your formula.

FAQ

What are some of the fastest-growing herbs in supplements right now?

Several botanicals continue to experience strong growth in the dietary supplement market, driven by consumer interest in. Some of the most notable include:

• Ashwagandha – One of the fastest-growing herbal ingredients for stress management, sleep, and mood support.
• Turmeric – Remains popular for joint health and inflammation-focused formulations.
• Ginger – Growing across digestive health, immune support, and functional food applications.
• Elderberry – Continues to perform well in seasonal wellness and immune-support products.
• Mushrooms such as lion's mane and reishi – Increasingly used for cognitive, immune, and wellness formulations.
• Yerba mate – Gaining traction as a natural source of caffeine and plant-based energy in both supplements and beverages.

Why are RTD herbal beverages growing?

Ready-to-drink (RTD) herbal beverages are growing because they combine convenience with perceived wellness benefits. Consumers increasingly want beverages that do more than hydrate — all in a grab- and-go format.

Key drivers include:

• Rising interest in functional ingredients such as herbs, adaptogens, prebiotics, and botanicals.
• Demand for lower-sugar alternatives to traditional soft drinks.
• Growth of the "better-for-you" beverage category.
• Consumer preference for clean-label, plant-based ingredients.
• Innovation by both startups and major beverage companies investing heavily in functional drinks.

According to New Hope Network, herbal ingredients such as ashwagandha, hibiscus, ginger, green tea, lemon balm, and elderflower are increasingly appearing in RTD teas, sparkling beverages, wellness shots, and botanical sodas.

What is a functional beverage?

A functional beverage is a drink that provides benefits beyond basic hydration or taste. These beverages are formulated with ingredients intended to support specific aspects of wellness lifestyle concepts.