March Madness isn't just for basketball. At Harmonya, we brought the bracket energy to the beverage aisle.
Instead of basketball teams, we seeded beverage characteristics—from "cold brew" to "caramel" to "extra protein"—and let them battle it out based on one thing: year-over-year growth in consumer review mentions. These matchups reveal what’s gaining traction with shoppers in their own words, surfacing trends that reflect real-world demand.
And now, we have a champion. After weeks of matchups, surprises, and strong signals, the 2025 Beverage Bracket winner is Cold Brew!
How the Beverage Bracket Works
We seeded 64 beverage-related tags across four themes:
- Beverage Types & Formats
- Consumption & Occasions
- Flavors & Ingredients
- Functional & Health Driven
Each matchup was decided by the year-over-year percentage change in how often a tag appeared in consumer reviews. The higher-growth tag moved on. No guesswork. Just review data.
Behind the scenes, Harmonya’s AI models scraped and structured product pages and consumer reviews, quantifying the way shoppers talk about their drinks. This approach allows us to surface emerging trends before they show up in traditional data sources.
Key Early Upsets & What They Mean
It wouldn’t be March Madness without upsets, and the beverage world delivered:
- Cold Brew stunned its category with a 176% increase in review mentions, taking out Iced Coffee and eventually top-seeded Soda.
- Coconut Water breezed past Coffee and Smoothies, backed by strong moves from leading brands.
- On the flavor side, Raspberry jumped 147%, outperforming classics like Apple and Peach.
- Caramel, Banana, Matcha, and Mocha also pulled off early wins, reflecting a consumer appetite for indulgence and innovation.
The takeaway? Shoppers are branching out from legacy favorites and gravitating toward formats and flavors that feel fresh, functional, and flavorful.
Update - Sweet 16: The Themes Taking Shape
Now that we’re down to the Sweet 16, broader trends are starting to emerge:
Functional is flexing hard:
- Tags like Protein, Organic, and Hydration are all gaining fast, with "Protein" alone up 48% YoY.
- Meal Replacement and Electrolytes are riding the wave of performance-driven wellness.
Morning is having a moment:
- Coffee formats are thriving: Cold Brew (+176%), Latte (+131%), and Iced Coffee (+79%).
- Tags like Breakfast and Morning are trending up as consumers re-establish daily rituals and routines.
Flavor innovation is alive and well:
- Caramel, Banana, Mocha, and Matcha all show strong momentum, signaling interest in both comfort and experimentation.
Routines are shifting:
- Beyond "morning," tags like Snack and Classic Taste are showing up more in consumer reviews, pointing to evolving consumption moments.
Elite 8: The Field Narrows Further
With the Elite 8 locked in, some trends are solidifying:
- Cold Brew continues its dominance, taking out Iced Coffee and cementing its place as chilled coffee's breakout format.
- Breakfast edges out Classic Taste, while Morning beats Fizzy, solidifying the rise of early-day consumption moments.
- Hydration advances past Protein, and Organic takes down Meal Replacement, reinforcing momentum around clean, functional wellness.
- In Flavors & Ingredients, Caramel beats Banana, and Raspberry outpaces Matcha, signaling a consumer sweet spot between indulgence and fruit-forward innovation.
These matchups highlight the blend of health, comfort, and evolving routines driving today’s beverage trends—all through the lens of real consumer language.
Final Four: What's Left Standing
And then there were four:
- Cold Brew (Beverage Types & Formats)
- Breakfast (Consumption & Occasions)
- Organic (Functional & Health Driven)
- Raspberry (Flavors & Ingredients)
Coffee, clean label, fruit-forward flavor, and early-day rituals—these are the spaces where growth is happening now. The Final Four tags each reflect a powerful shift in what consumers want from their beverages, and how they talk about them!
🥇 And the Winner Is: Cold Brew
From niche favorite to category leader, Cold Brew emerged as the fastest-growing tag in consumer reviews year-over-year—and it showed up strong in every round. With support from big brand investments, convenience-driven innovation, and a consumer shift toward smoother, less acidic formats, Cold Brew clearly captured the attention (and taste buds) of shoppers!
It beat out Latte, then took down Breakfast and Organic on its path to the top—solidifying its spot as coffee’s biggest breakout story.
Why It Matters for Brands
These aren’t vague predictions or analyst guesses. These are real shifts in how shoppers talk about what they’re buying and drinking, drawn directly from their product reviews.
By quantifying product data from the consumer's point of view, Harmonya helps brands:
- Spot rising trends early
- Align product development with consumer language
- Optimize messaging by tying it to real demand
If you’re building your next beverage innovation, launching a campaign, or simply trying to stay ahead of the curve, this kind of review-based insight could give you the edge. And if you're curious what trends are bubbling up in your own category, let's talk.
