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The soft drinks market: a growing trend
Understanding the soft drinks market
Looking to enter the soft drinks market or refresh your product line? At Metarom, we develop flavorings for beverages and food products. Explore flavor profiles and formulation challenges to consider as you develop your next beverage.
Why develop products for the soft drinks market?
In France, the soft drinks market covers both carbonated and noncarbonated beverages, including colas, sodas, lemonades, iced teas, and flavored waters.
Sweetened drinks share the market with options that meet different consumer preferences, including beverages with less sugar or an emphasis on natural ingredients. Functional beverages also broaden the range with products positioned around energy, focus, or relaxation.
This variety gives manufacturers more ways to refresh their product lines with soft drink flavorings suited to each formulation.
Soft drink flavor trends
In a competitive market, flavoring gives manufacturers a way to refresh their offerings in fermented beverages, iced teas, and flavored waters. Our soft drinks market research informs the flavor profiles we develop. Here are seven profiles to explore in 2025–2026.
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Apple
A fresh, fruity note that works well in a wide range of beverage bases.
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Elderflower
A delicate floral profile.
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Ginger Beer
A warm, spicy kick for fermented beverages and mocktails.
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Mango
A sweet tropical profile that pairs well with iced teas and flavored waters.
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Cherry
A rich, sweet profile that adds depth to still or sparkling drinks and pairs well with other fruits.
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Dragon Fruit
A tropical profile to explore for summer beverages.
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Hibiscus
A slightly tart note for infusions and iced teas. Hibiscus is also known for its red color.
Developing functional soft drinks
Some soft drinks contain ingredients such as electrolytes, adaptogens, or proteins suited to clear beverages. For R&D teams, the challenge is to balance the flavor of these formulations, especially when those ingredients introduce bitterness or other off-notes.
Beverages for different times of day
Brands are exploring drinks designed for specific occasions, such as morning focus, an energy boost during the day, or winding down in the evening. These concepts often go hand in hand with interest in lower-sugar formulations.
Four concepts to explore
Everyday hydration
Waters lightly flavored with botanical extracts and formulated with electrolytes such as magnesium or potassium, with attention to sodium levels.
Focus and relaxation
Concepts that explore ingredients such as ashwagandha, maca, L-theanine, or GABA, depending on the intended positioning.
Mocktails and alcohol-free options for celebrations
Mocktails are part of the sober curious movement. Bitter, spicy, or fermented notes add depth to the drinking experience.
Clear protein drinks
Clear, fruit-flavored, ready-to-drink beverages made with whey protein isolates or hydrolyzed plant proteins. The format opens up occasions beyond the gym.
How do you balance the flavor of a functional beverage?
Identify off-notes
Depending on the formulation, vitamins, minerals, botanical extracts, caffeine, or proteins can introduce bitterness, astringency, or metallic or earthy notes. An enjoyable taste gives consumers a reason to buy the drink again.
Reduce off-notes
Acti’Mask masking solutions help reduce off-notes associated with certain ingredients.
Restore flavor balance
Acti’Boost Sweet helps maintain perceived sweetness when you reduce the sugar in a formulation. Citrus, tropical fruit, or botanical notes can then give the beverage a flavor profile suited to the recipe.
Emerging soft drinks and their formulation challenges
Scroll horizontally to see all columns.
| Soft drink category | Consumer expectations | Flavor profiles | Formulation challenge | Metarom solution |
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| Flavored waters and everyday hydration | Subtle flavors, low-sugar formulations, and positioning around digestive wellness. | Elderflower, hibiscus, cucumber and mint, or sweet pear. | Limited body in very low-sugar formulations. | Acti’Boost Sweet to help maintain perceived sweetness. |
| Functional beverages positioned around energy | Interest in vitality and ingredients such as nootropics and adaptogens. | Ginger, tart citrus, mango, or dragon fruit. | Earthy or bitter aftertaste from botanical extracts or caffeine. | Acti’Mask to help reduce off-notes. |
| Mocktails and alcohol-free options for celebrations | An alcohol-free drink with a complex flavor profile. | Woody or spicy notes, ginger, fermented apple, or bitter botanicals. | Achieving flavor intensity and a lasting finish without ethanol. | Custom flavor profiles and stable aromatic caramels. |
| Clear protein drinks | Drinks for occasions centered on recovery or satiety, with a light, refreshing mouthfeel. | Black cherry, white peach, or tart red berries. | Astringency and a lingering protein aftertaste. | Acti’Mask to help reduce off-notes. |
Questions about flavoring soft drinks
How can you reduce sugar in a soft drink while maintaining sweetness?
A flavoring solution such as Acti’Boost Sweet helps maintain perceived sweetness in a lower-sugar formulation. If reducing sugar changes mouthfeel, you may also need to adjust the texture.
What flavors are worth exploring for soft drinks in 2025–2026?
Fruit and botanical pairings offer several possibilities. Try combining hibiscus, elderflower, or ginger with citrus such as yuzu or calamansi. Subtle fermented notes are another option for iced teas and flavored waters.
How can you reduce a metallic or astringent aftertaste in a functional beverage?
Depending on the formulation, minerals, vitamins, proteins, or botanical extracts may contribute to these off-notes. A masking solution such as Acti’Mask can help reduce them in the finished beverage.
Developing a soft drink line?
Whether you’re launching a product or reformulating an existing beverage, we can help you select and develop flavoring solutions for your formulation.