BEVERAGE TRENDS WORTH TASTING

Beverage & Food Gurus presents Beverage Trends Worth Tasting, a hands-on Innovation Degustation created for New Zealand beverage innovators, founders, R&D teams, marketers, category managers and commercial leaders.

Join the BFG team at The Annex, Auckland, on Tuesday 23 March 2027 for an expert-led tasting of 20 curated non-alcoholic beverages from the USA, selected to showcase emerging ideas, ingredients, formats and consumer trends shaping the future of beverages.

What to expect

Each session will feature a guided tasting across four broad areas of beverage innovation, with five products explored in each.

The BFG team will guide you through a curated tasting, unpacking the technical thinking behind each product, from key ingredients and formulation choices to flavour, texture and functionality, with insights into how these ideas could translate into new products for the New Zealand market.

The tasting will explore themes including:

Function & Everyday Wellness
How beverage brands are moving beyond basic refreshment through new functional ingredients, nutritional benefits and evolving wellness propositions.

Energy, Performance & Modern Lifestyles
The changing face of energy, hydration, focus and performance beverages, including new ingredients, formats and occasions.

Flavour, Texture & Sensory Innovation
Unexpected flavours, global influences, new textures, indulgence, nostalgia and the sensory ideas being used to create more distinctive beverage experiences.

New Formats, Categories & Consumer Signals
Products that challenge traditional beverage categories through new formats, positioning, occasions, packaging and emerging consumer behaviours.

Session options

The event will run as two identical sessions on Tuesday 23 March 2027:

Morning Session
9:00am – 12:00pm

Afternoon Session
1:00pm – 4:00pm

What’s included

Your ticket includes:

• Guided tasting of 20 curated non-alcoholic beverages

• Expert commentary and analysis from the BFG team

• Discussion of emerging beverage trends and consumer signals

• Insight into ingredients, formulation, flavour, claims and positioning

• Printed Innovation Booklet featuring product information, trend insights and space for notes

• Networking with food and beverage industry peers

Innovation Degustation Sample Pack

A limited number of Innovation Degustation Sample Packs will also be available as an optional add-on with your ticket.

Each pack will include the products featured in the tasting, giving you the opportunity to take the experience back to your wider team, revisit the products and continue the discussion after the event.

Sample packs will be couriered to a New Zealand address following the event.

GET TICKETS NOW

Early Bird Ticket
$250 + GST
Limited to the first 15 tickets sold in each session.

Standard Ticket
$300 + GST

Please select either the morning or afternoon session when purchasing your ticket.

Innovation Degustation Sample Pack
$200 + GST
Available only with the purchase of an event ticket.