We choose ingredients to sleep better, perform more, concentrate, lower cortisol. Adaptogen drinks are up 18% year on year to 1.6 billion dollars. Searches for functional drinks grew 14% on Google, 43% on TikTok and 171% on Instagram during 2025.
01 — The trend
We no longer eat to fill ourselves up
We eat to sleep better, perform more, concentrate, lower cortisol. The menu is also a pharmacy — without promising anything that cannot be promised, but offering what the customer is already looking for on their own, in the supermarket and online.
What used to be a health-shop niche is now a supermarket aisle. What used to be a small brand’s bet is now a Coca-Cola acquisition. Functional food and drink is the category with the most measurable growth of the period in beverages — and the one with the easiest entry onto a restaurant menu. If it is done with judgement.
02 — The figures
The giants have already moved in
Four data points that settle the question of whether this is fashion or structure:
- Adaptogen drinks: 1.6 billion dollars and +18% year on year in 2025-2026 in the United States. A fully formed category with measured scale.
- Searches for functional drinks in 2025: +14% on Google, +43% on TikTok, +171% on Instagram. The customer is actively searching, not passively receiving advertising.
- PepsiCo bought Poppi in March 2025 for 1.95 billion dollars. When a consumer giant pays that multiple for a prebiotic soda brand, it is setting the reference price for the whole category.
- Coca-Cola launched Simply Pop in February 2025. The second giant coming in through the front door. From here on, the category is not a matter of opinion.
In Spain, María Pombo has launched her own brand YUZZ together with Mahou San Miguel — presented as «a drink on the outside and skincare on the inside», linking self-care with enjoying ingredients that look after your skin from within.
03 — The ingredients
The six names your kitchen and your bar will hear more and more
Six ingredients to watch. Each with a perceived function the customer already knows — and is willing to pay a premium for.
- Ashwagandha — adaptogen, perceived function: lowering cortisol. Fits in an infusion, a smoothie or a dairy dessert.
- Reishi — adaptogenic mushroom, perceived function: rest. Fits in a deep broth, a chocolate dessert, an infusion.
- Lion’s mane — functional mushroom, perceived function: concentration. The star of mushroom coffee and functional chocolate.
- Rhodiola — adaptogen, perceived function: sustained energy. Fits in tonics and bar drinks.
- Magnesium — mineral, perceived function: muscular and nervous rest. Functional waters and end-of-service snacks.
- Postbiotics — emerging category, perceived function: digestive health. The next generation after probiotics, with more solid regulation.
04 — How to bring it onto the menu without therapeutic claims
Three formats that already work
Three clean entry points, without regulatory risk — this is a real issue in Europe — and with genuine margin. The basic rule: never promise a therapeutic effect. Communicate it as an ingredient with a perceived function, exactly as you would communicate barrel ageing or an apple variety.
- A functional tonic at the bar. The crossover point with zebra-striping: alcohol-free with technique that also brings function. A tonic with bitter adaptogens, a house soda with magnesium. Same price as the cocktail with alcohol.
- Functional morning coffee or tea. Mushroom coffee with lion’s mane for breakfast or brunch. Afternoon tea with ashwagandha. It does not replace the classic list — it is added as a separate category, with its own narrative.
- A dessert or snack with a lead ingredient. Chocolate with reishi. Ice cream with cacao and lion’s mane. The functional dessert fits especially well in a hotel outlet or an urban lunch menu.
The mistake seen abroad that Spain should avoid: turning the functional menu into a medical list. «Helps you sleep», «reduces stress», «improves concentration» is regulated language in Europe and it brings problems. Communicate the ingredient, its origin, its technique, and let the customer — who already knows the function — make the connection.
05 — For your restaurant
Four concrete levers, each with the metric that measures it
- Choose one time slot, not the whole menu. Metric: percentage of the menu with a functional ingredient. Goal: identifiable as a commitment, not anecdotal, but without taking over. Brunch, after-lunch and the early-evening bar are three clear slots.
- Build one functional drink with a lead ingredient. Metric: average ticket of that drink against its classic equivalent. Goal: it should bill the same or more. If it bills less, you are positioning it as a cheap product or you are not communicating it well.
- Train the floor to describe the ingredient, not to promise. Metric: percentage of tables offered the functional option with a clear sentence. «Mushroom coffee with lion’s mane, a mushroom associated with concentration» works. «It helps you study» does not work and brings legal problems.
- Communicate the origin of the ingredient. Metric: presence of an identifiable origin or supplier on the menu or in the floor briefing. The customer paying for functional is paying for traceability — not for a label.
The operator who by 2028 has their drinks list and their coffee crossed with perceived function — without turning into a health shop and without promising miracles — will be capturing a customer who today buys this elsewhere, in a supermarket or on subscription, because their restaurant never offered it. From what I see in clients, I do not see another route.
Are your drinks list and your coffee for the next three years designed for the customer who is already buying functional elsewhere? At Eating Stories we integrate functional food and drink into the menu with technical criteria, without regulatory risk and with tracking metrics.
