The New Wave of Sparkling Drinks Swap Zero-Sugar for a Shimmer of Sweetness

“‘Better-for-you’ now includes ‘made of real things’ and, frankly, ‘tastes good,’” he says. “People ask us how much real yuzu juice is in there, where the fruit comes from, and what kind of honey is used. We even get questions about the specific islands our yuzu grows on.”

Yuzuco isn’t the only one betting that real ingredients can do the heavy lifting for taste. Bawi’s Agua Frescas put an effervescent twist on the traditional Mexican drink in flavors like passion fruit, pineapple, and guava, all from real fruit juice. Walker Brothers’ Forest Waters bottle wild-harvested botanicals (pine bark, calendula, juniper leaf) and sweetens them with a dash of wildflower honey. Earlier this year, Tractor Beverage Co. launched the Haymaker, its canned version of switchel, which is a zesty, centuries-old farmer’s tonic made from ginger and apple cider vinegar.

“It’s very important for us to have what we call ‘kitchen ingredients’—ingredients you understand and know,” says Duke Stump, chief brand officer and head of product at Tractor Beverage Co. That includes sweetness. Customers don’t want to have to Google what’s on their nutrition label. “We’re comfortable with sugar. It’s just what type of sugar,” he adds. “If I look back to how colas and sodas were made in the 40s and 50s, it was different. For us, it’s less about ‘we’ve got to get to zero.’ It’s more, ‘What’s the best use of the cleanest organic sugar that we can find?”

Photo by Travis Rainey

Molasses, maple syrup, fruit juice—these are all ways the bubbly beverage brands are getting sweetness without going overboard in flavor and caloric density.

“Honey does something really specific in our iced teas: it adds a sweet, floral, almost caramel-like note that balances the tartness of our citrus and fruit flavors without pushing the drink into ‘sweet’ territory,” adds Sophia Spring, co-founder of the sparkling iced tea brand, Ooso. “One of the first questions I get when sampling Ooso is, ‘Is there any stevia in this?’ And when I say no, just a touch of honey, the relief is palpable. That reaction tells me everything about where the consumer’s head is at right now.”