Five-ingredient trend to capture the drink market

On October 9, the "all-new" lemon-lime soda Sierra Mist Natural was presented as the poster child for the five-ingredient drink movement in the US.

According to the announcement from PepsiCo, makers of Sierra Mist, in 2009 the consumer insights firm The Hartman Group "confirmed the demand for natural, revealing that the majority of Americans say natural is an important driver of food and beverage choices they make for themselves and their families."

This helps to explains why Sierra Mist Natural's lemon-lime market counterpart Sprite Green is "naturally sweetened" and why 7-Up (also from PepsiCo) is now being touted as "100% natural" as well as Mountain Dew Throwback's natural flavor claims.

In addition to "natural" drinks, it seems the wildly popular cooking and eating trend that promotes five-ingredient-only products and dishes has expanded to beverages.

Since five-ingredient beverage Sierra Mist Natural is currently only available in the US, you may want to try some other "natural" drinks that contain from between three to seven ingredients depending on flavor: the award-winning Fizzy Lizzy and IZZE beverages as well as Grown-up Sodas and Boylan's The Natural Kind. Each varies in price depending on location, size and quantity.

To learn more about this food trend you might want to check out various cookbooks including the Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet, free e-cookbook 5 ingredients | 10 minutes as well as celebrity chefs Ainsley Harriott's Just Five Ingredients and Claire Robinson's 5 Ingredient Fix (also a Food Network show) book released on October 6.