Beverages have always played a fundamental role in society, from the quintessential “social” tissue, to providing energy and nutrition, to offering plain and simple fun. There is a beverage for every occasion, need, ritual, and generation, and we continue to reimagine what we make, as well as why and how we make them. Will future beverages be able t o elicit on-demand emotions? Will packaging be zero waste? Will beverages be liquid a t all? These are the questions that Makers in molecular mixology, biolabs, and food-tech startups are asking themselves today. Their answers will no doubt drive our future. To better understand what’s ahead, sparks & hone y recently partnered with PepsiCo’s Creator team—a catalyst group on a mission to explore the edges of culture & co-create innovative experiences across the cultural landscape—and Toronto-based i&j to create a pop-up lab a t World Maker Faire in New York City. The lab was designed to learn from Makers through moderated discussions, surveys, and hands-on experimentation. This report offers five trends based on our experience with NYC Makers. There is no question that when it comes to the future, we turned to the right community to collaborate and imagine a new world of beverages.

1. Future beverage trends
from New York City
Makers.
TASTING
COLORS &
EXPLODING
DRINKS:
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2. Beverages have always played a fundamental role in society,
from the quintessential “social” tissue, to providing energy and
nutrition, to offering plain and simple fun. There is a beverage for
every occasion, need, ritual, and generation, and we continue to
reimagine what we make, as well as why and how we make them.
Will future beverages be able to elicit on-demand emotions?
Will packaging be zero waste? Will beverages be liquid at all?
These are the questions that Makers in molecular mixology,
biolabs, and food-tech startups are asking themselves today.
Their answers will no doubt drive our future.
To better understand what’s ahead, sparks & honey recently
partnered with PepsiCo’s Creator team—a catalyst group on a
mission to explore the edges of culture & co-create innovative
experiences across the cultural landscape—and Toronto-based
i&j to create a pop-up lab at World Maker Faire in New York City.
The lab was designed to learn from Makers through moderated
discussions, surveys, and hands-on experimentation. This report
offers five trends based on our experience with NYC Makers.
There is no question that when it comes to the future, we turned
to the right community to collaborate and imagine a new world of
beverages.
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3. “We’re inviting people from the Maker
community to come in and really examine
what beverage can be tomorrow.
The bar is set higher in terms of their
expectations of what they’re going to
do...When we start thinking about how
the Maker community differs from other
communities, people come in and they’re
ready to get their hands dirty.”
Irwin Eydelnant, i & j ideations
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4. “The consumer in 2015 is resourceful,
highly networked, and literate about their
health and the environment – they are
simultaneously more conscientious than any
prior generation over what they put into their
body, while also faced with more options than
at any point in human history.”
Ashley DuVal, Shoots & Roots Bitters
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5. FIVE MAKER-
APPROVED FUTURE
BEVERAGE TRENDS:
1. Technologically Crafted & Beyond Liquid
2. Multicultural & Multisensorial
3. Brain Health
4. Energy Management
5. Edible Packaging
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6. Makers feel a stronger sense of individual identity – they seek
unique drinkable experiences that reflect this sentiment. Makers
see a future where beverages cater to unique, disparate, and
exploratory palates in ways that address the senses beyond taste.
TECHNOLOGICALLY
CRAFTED & BEYOND LIQUID
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7. LAB INSIGHTS
• Makers want to control flavor
combinations, intensity, and other
personalizable beverage characteristics.
They experiment with new flavors and
beverage forms to create their own
“signature” mixed drinks.
• When asked, “If you could invent a new
type of drink, what would it be?” Makers’
responses identified personalization
areas like “glow in the dark” that signal a
broader spectrum of sensorial interests.
Q: WHAT SENSES WOULD YOU
LIKE TO STIMULATE WITH EACH
AND EVERY SIP?
BEYOND-
LIQUID
BEVERAGES
36% TASTY
23% GLOW-IN-THE-DARK
18% EXPLODING
14% CLOUD-LIKE
19% CHEWABLE
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8. “Using technology to amplify flavor is
an area where I see a lot of growth. For
example, a five percent fermented apple
juice in a beverage could not only provide an
interesting story for our marketing partners,
but the fermented juice could provide
a unique, potentially proprietary flavor
profile.”
Kyle Shadix, Corp Exec Research Chef at PepsiCo Global R&D
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9. CULTURAL SHIFT
• Cognitive Cooking learns from thousands
of recipes to select the perfect dish for a
food truck customer: IBM.COM
• This device regulates atmospheric
pressure around food and beverages for
the purpose of extracting distinct and
customizable flavors: BKONBREW.COM
• Bone broth adds savory elements and
the sensory experience of eating food to
drinking cocktails: ABCNEWS.COM
IMPLICATIONS
• Makers will come to expect technology
to craft the perfect beverage experience
specifically for them. Using taste input,
biological measures, and personality
profiles, subtle (and not-so-subtle)
boosts of flavor, flavor combinations,
and sensorial elements will be added to
beverages of the future.
FUTURE
• Frictionless, on-demand beverages
based on your mood in the moment.
Sensors will automatically understand
your needs and desires before you
become conscious of them.
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10. Beverages can be associated with specific places, cultures, colors,
tastes, textures, sounds, and smells all at once. As consumers grow
into engaged synesthetes, they want beverages that ignite multiple
senses, often simultaneously. Multisensory beverages will mix global
textures, smells, and flavors to spark imagination and transport us
to different corners of the world.
MULTICULTURAL &
MULTISENSORIAL
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11. “How do we integrate our senses from
the signals in our environment and
create a beverage experience? My
sight, my sound, my smell manipulate
how I experience flavor.”
Irwin Eydelnant, i & j ideations
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12. LAB INSIGHTS
• Makers mix their senses, associating
particular colors or music with beverage
taste. One out of seven Makers linked
their favorite soda to musical genres.
Over 50% want to stimulate their sense
of smell with beverages, wanting
maximum “mouth feel”.
Q: WHAT SENSES WOULD YOU
LIKE TO STIMULATE WITH EACH
AND EVERY SIP?
SENSE
STIMULATION
WITH
BEVERAGES
19% TOUCH
15% SIGHT
13% HEARING
53% SMELL
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13. “International flavors - Asian and Indian
flavors especially. Millennials love to
travel abroad more so than any other
generation and are curious about trends
in other countries, including what flavors
and products they are consuming. We
want to share global experiences and
beverages with multicultural, international
flavors in them will be intriguing for
the millennial audience (who are the
trendsetters, sparking the rest of the
generations to follow).”
Sam Klein, IBM Millennial Expert
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14. CULTURAL SHIFT
• Designer cookies combine aesthetics of taste
and smell:
EPICURIOUS.COM
• A project that converts data from “musical
DNA” into different flavors of meatballs:
KICKSTARTER.COM
• Wearable technology turns human bones into
speakers: BBC.COM
• Based on the idea that different colors of coffee
impact a consumer’s perception of taste, one
researcher correctly hypothesized that coffee
mug color also impacts taste perception:
COOLHUNTING.COM
IMPLICATIONS
• Makers will want to transform the entire
beverage experience into a multi-sensory
symphony that engages anything from multiple
senses at once to their sense of place, memory,
and their spirit of exploration.
FUTURE
• Future beverages will be designed on the
molecular level to offer layered taste-sensation
narratives that unfold over time. Packaging will
be provocatively tactile, incorporating
additional smells and sounds to compliment the
core drink experience.
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15. “In a world where unique and exotic
experiences are the new social
currency among young consumers,
it is no longer sufficient to provide
bland iterations on existing beverage
concepts. We’re looking for true
innovation – think: synesthetic, or even
extrasensory technologies that deliver
a richer, more dynamic beverage
experience. I truly believe that the
global maker community will be a key
driver of this innovative future.”
Carlos Saavedra, Senior Director, Creator -
Culture Strategy & Innovation
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16. BRAIN HEALTH
Beverages are moving toward increasingly complex health
and wellness benefits, such as supporting emotional states
often associated with creativity and focus. This new level of
nourishment promotes a mind + body balance that is equally
healthy and indulgent.
16 +

17. “There are over 70,000 edible and
medicinal species of plants in the
world, and very few utilized in foods
and beverages.”
Ashley DuVal, Shoots & Roots Bitters
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18. BRAIN
HEALTH
LAB INSIGHTS
It’s not surprising that the Maker
community is focused on brain health.
Makers expressed a genuine need for
non-caffeinated beverages with neuro-
enhancing benefits such as:
• UPLIFTING: Ability to change the mood
of everyone around them to infuse more
happiness into a situation.
• EXCITEMENT: Feeling emotionally ready
to take on challenges; focus beverages
for sharper concentration on tasks.
• PICK-ME-UP (NON-CAFFEINE):
Intellectual stimulation, curiosity, and
discovery; memory-making beverags to
help imprint and recall memories.
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19. CULTURAL SHIFT
• Charcoal has made its way from beauty
products to juice, trapping toxins and
gases in its pores and eventually
removing them from the body:
INTOTHEGLOSS.COM
• Top neuroscientists have concrete
evidence linking the microbiome (gut) to
the human brain, especially in early life:
NATURE.COM
IMPLICATIONS
• Besides traditional benefits such as
hydration, energy, and taste, Makers are
looking for beverages that play a
tangible role in the creative process.
FUTURE
• As the lines blur between pharma and
food, instant point-of-purchase scans
will tweak microbial mixtures to balance
the gut + brain connection.
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20. The beverage industry already provides drinks that offer a boost of
energy to support concentration or physical endurance. However,
this paradigm seems to be shifting as Makers imagine benefits
elsewhere on the energy spectrum. The market of beverage users is
growing more and more stressed, whether it is adults working jobs
or students in school. New drinks that enhance positive or calming
emotions could help consumers cope with their multifaceted lives.
FROM ENERGY TO
ENERGY MANAGEMENT
20 +

21. “I believe that all sodas that
are fortified with essential nutrients or
super foods with health benefits will the
be the norm for the future. It’s a trend that
we’ve been seeing for years, but is now in
the mainstream and will only continue
to gain momentum.”
Bryan Janeczko, Chief Executive Officer at The Fresh Diet
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22. LAB INSIGHTS
• Young Makers were particularly
interested in stress-relieving beverages
that would help them concentrate
at school or unwind after a day
of studying.
• Over 60% of young women chose
“Automatic Relaxation” as the top
characteristic for a mood-altering drink,
due to the stress they feel from school
responsibilities, social media, and more.
Q: IF YOU COULD CREATE
A BEVERAGE WITH MOOD-
ALTERING SUPERPOWERS,
WHAT WOULD IT DO?
32% AUTOMATIC RELAXATION
12% SOCIAL BUTTERFLY
11% TO BE FUNNY
45% INSTANT HAPPINESS
NEW BEVERAGE
CHARACTERISTICS
FOR MAKERS
:)
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23. CULTURAL SHIFT
• While there are foods and drinks that
provide endorphins and other everyday
mood uplifts, the Maker community and
wider audience for which they speak are
seeking bolder, stronger mood
enhancements: MENSHEALTH.COM
• Matcha is a Japanese green tea that
enhances energy, alertness, and focus and
is making its way into American diets:
FREEWILLIAMSBURG.COM
• The first Bulletproof Coffee shop opening
in Santa Monica will offer toxin-free coffee
that boosts energy, focus, and even skin
health: WELLANDGOOD.COM
IMPLICATIONS
• As previously obscure substances become
mainstream (mate, matcha, etc.), Makers
are looking for much more than caffeine or
electrolytes in regard to changing mental
states.
FUTURE
• Look to the complex taste and effect
profiles of high-end cocktails, teas, and
infusions to understand micro-shifts and
ingredients that can preconsciously adjust
to fine-tune moods.
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24. EDIBLE PACKAGING
New Age beverages have the potential to be self-recycling
ecosystems from creation to consumption. Plant-based and edible
forms of packaging could minimize environmental waste, allowing
for constant usability and conservation of resources.
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25. “What can packaging look like tomorrow?
How can we create more sustainable
packaging systems? How do we have
packaging systems that are edible?
How can we move away from liquid as
the singular phase or format that we
experience beverages as today?”
Irwin Eydelnant, i & j ideations
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26. LAB INSIGHTS
• Makers talked about a “cycle of energy”
which included low-energy access to
beverages and self-recycling packaging that
can go back into the environment without
causing harm.
• Makers favored edible packaging to reduce
waste and were even willing to pay slightly
higher prices for beverages with truly
sustainable packaging.
Q: SUSTAINABILITY IS IMPORTANT;
WHAT SHOULD BE DONE AS WE
CONTINUE TO EVOLVE HOW WE
PROTECT THE PLANET?
40% EDIBLE PACKAGING
19% REFILLABLE
PLASTIC BAGS
21% MADE FROM
MUSHROOMS
12% RIDE RECYCLABLE BIKES
8% DRONES TO DELIVER
WAYS TO CREATE
BEVERAGE
SUSTAINABILITY
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27. CULTURAL SHIFT
• Edible packaging is just one method of
promoting sustainability:
DEFENSEONE.COM
• These “frozen yogurt pearls” are
sustainable, healthy, and delicious:
THEDIELINE.COM
• A supermarket in Berlin dispenses with
traditional disposable packaging, making
shoppers as accountable as producers:
CITYLAB.COM
IMPLICATIONS
• Recyclable packaging, reusable packaging,
and systems to encourage such initiatives
will be expected by increasingly conscious
consumers.
• This self-contained beverage delivery
system has all the necessary tools and
ingredients to brew the perfect coffee in
any environment: OXX.COM
FUTURE
• In a similar way that personal data
is now being consciously traded for
goods, services, and money – participation
in the efficient and waste-free cradle-to-
cradle ecosystem will garner points for
active users.
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28. “The narrative around climate change is
changing and centering on the impacts
it will have upon our everyday routines –
focusing upon ‘endangered foods’ rather
than endangered species, and posing the
question of what climate change will
‘taste’ like.”
Ashley DuVal, Shoots & Roots Bitters
28 +

29. WHAT NOW
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30. “Innovation is the lifeblood of our
business and requires us to continually
rethink how we create new products and
experiences. And in an era of transparency,
our consumers are increasingly savvy in
their desire to understand the origin of the
products they consume. We look to the
maker community, not just as a source of
inspiration, but as true collaborators and
co-creators in the future of beverages.”
Simon Lowden, Chief Marketing Officer of PepsiCo Americas
Beverages
30 +

31. 1. Beyond Liquid: The future of beverages must be highly
intelligent and extend beyond the liquid phase.
2. Multisensory Celebration: Make the beverage experience
more than just “a drink.”
3. Focus on Biological Benefits: Growing consumer interest in
the relationship between the microbiome and neurological
functionality should be a top development priortity.
4. Make it Bold: The Maker community seeks audacious and
stronger energy enhancements.
5. Recycle/Reuse/Reimagine: In the world of increasing
transparency, consumers will expect and demand
accountability in dealing with packaging waste.
WHAT NOW
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32. THANK YOU
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