Natural Soda and bottled water: two answers to a more careful consumer
In the non-alcoholic drinks segment, two very different responses are emerging to one shared consumer sensitivity: on one side, the demand for simple, recognisable ingredients; on the other, the expectation that an everyday product like water should be practical and trustworthy. These are distinct cases, but both suggest that a drink’s value today also depends on the confidence it can inspire.
In Germany, Joony’s, the startup founded by Josa Rödiger, formerly head of sales for the DACH region at LemonAid and ChariTea, and Bijan Mashagh, is launching Natural Soda, a product the company presents as a new category. It aims to sit between classic sodas, often associated with higher sugar content, and zero-sugar versions that rely on sweeteners. The formula is a sparkling drink made with real fruit juice, with no added sugar and no sweeteners, set to arrive from July 2026 in selected EDEKA stores and in chosen hospitality and travel retail channels.
The message is straightforward: offer an alternative that does not force consumers to choose between pronounced sweetness and an artificial aftertaste. Joony’s is trying to occupy a middle ground, building its positioning around readable ingredients and a promise of simplicity. It is an approach aimed at drinkers looking for a soft drink that feels less predictable than the familiar categories, without moving into the territory of functional beverages or products that lean primarily on wellness cues.
Packaged water and reputation
The second story comes from the United States and centres on a far more established product: bottled water. According to industry data, it has been the No. 1 packaged beverage in the country for ten consecutive years. Even so, the category remains caught up in a public debate made more complicated by microplastics, a topic that is often framed through images of plastic bottles even when the underlying issue is broader and concerns the environmental impact of materials as a whole.
Matt Herrick, president and CEO of the International Bottled Water Association, has sought to push back against that reading. His position does not deny the issue or the scientific attention it attracts; rather, it questions the idea that bottled water should automatically become the symbol of that debate. The distinction matters, because the way a topic is framed often shapes the way it is understood.
For the industry, the risk is that an overly simplified message may push some people away from a product that remains one of the most immediate and accessible ways to hydrate. The trade association argues that discouraging bottled-water consumption may lead some consumers to drink less or turn to sugary beverages instead. That concern is consistent with the product’s basic role, but it remains an industry view rather than a definitive conclusion about consumer behaviour.
In other words, the issue is not about defending packaging for its own sake. It is about seeing how a simple product can become the target of a broader narrative, while other materials or categories stay in the background. In beverages, reputation is not shaped by formulation alone: it also depends on how a category is described, interpreted and, at times, simplified beyond what it can bear.
Two cases, one shared attention
Read together, these two examples do not prove a single, fully formed trend. They offer a useful snapshot of how the non-alcoholic drinks market is changing its language. On one side, a new brand is trying to enter the space left open between excess sugar and artificial sweetening; on the other, an established category is working to defend its everyday role in a noisier communications environment.
In both cases, the point is not just taste. It is the ability to make a drink feel credible, understandable and aligned with what it promises. In today’s beverage market, that credibility can matter almost as much as the recipe itself.
