Flavour with function: how functional nutrition brands are innovating beyond taste

Flavour’s an easy way to innovate; there’s a reason brands churn out new tastes, limited editions and nostalgic collaborations at pace. But not all flavour innovation is equal and novelty alone rarely differentiates. 

We’re seeing a shift in the way that flavour innovation is playing out. The strongest launches are intentional, clearly framed and increasingly anchored in function. 

Functional coffee innovation: when flavour, ritual and nutrition converge

Coffee flavour is nothing new. But consider coffee as a ritual, a non-negotiable for huge swathes of the population. All of a sudden you have a powerful emotional anchor. Now instead of simply creating a coffee flavoured SKU, use the anchor to create products that truly resonate with your audience and deliver functionality to them as part of their everyday habit. 

MyProtein’s ongoing collaboration with Jimmy’s Iced Coffee illustrates this well. Now in its third iteration, the partnership has evolved from a protein iced coffee to protein powder, and most recently incorporated Jimmy’s signature mocha flavour into MyProtein’s layered protein bar.

What’s really interesting here is the functional divergence. While the iced coffee and powder use coffee to deliver caffeine-led functionality alongside protein, the bar contains no coffee at all. Instead, it taps into the ritual of coffee consumption through flavour association alone, without delivering the functional energy edge that coffee offers. The perception of a coffee moment is achieved through the bar’s flavour profile alone. 

Regardless, this collab reinforces the value of strategically aligning flavour with function and the power of using ritualistic behaviours to engage consumers. 

Hot chocolate hydration: reimagining functional drinks through flavour and format

Where coffee goes, others will follow so it will come as no surprise that experience and temperature are shaping functional flavour innovation. 

While protein hot chocolate feels relatively familiar, pairing hydration with hot chocolate is far more disruptive. That’s exactly what Liquid I.V. did with its Hot Chocolate Hydration Multiplier, flipping the traditional category trajectory in two ways. 

First up, flavour, with chocolate replacing the light, fruity profiles typically associated with hydration. Second, temperature. This is a product designed for hot water, transforming the sensory experience and reimagining what hydration looks like. What was once a light, cold-water occasion is now associated with warm, cosy moments. 

Although this was a limited edition for the holidays, we wouldn’t be surprised to see it – or others – back on the shelves soon. After all, why confine a category to the usual experiential tropes when flavour and function can unlock entirely new experiences?

Flavour omission as innovation 

When flavour innovation enters the conversation, it almost always gravitates towards the bold, novel or indulgent executions. But what if the real innovation lies in deliberate flavour omission?

FORALL Nutrition makes a compelling case for exactly this with its WATER+PROTEIN functional ready-to-drink well, water. The product is intentionally stripped back featuring 10g of grass-fed whey protein isolate, no carbs, no sugar, and only 40kcals. 

It’s deliberately not a shake, and not a flavour protein water either, positioned as “clear, crisp and hydrating”, mirroring the experience of drinking plain water. By removing flavour entirely, the product mirrors perhaps the most ingrained daily ritual of all: drinking water. Just with a layer of protein-led functionality. 

Why function is becoming the real driver of flavour innovation

Flavour will always be a default when it comes to innovation but on its own, it’s increasingly predictable. However, when paired with function it opens up far richer strategic territories beyond its traditional scope. 

The bigger question brands now face isn’t how creative flavour can be, but whether flavour can go much further without function driving the narrative. Because in today’s market, it’s the functional uplift that turns flavour into a product's defining feature.