While hydration is the foundational reason people consume beverages, it’s rarely the only – or even the main – driver of their choice. Today’s consumers turn to drinks for a wide range of emotional, social, and functional reasons. From fueling performance to enhancing identity, modern beverage decisions are closely tied to daily routines, goals, and values.

Functional Reasons: More than Thirst Quenching

Consumers often choose drinks to help them accomplish something specific. For example, the rise of energy drinks reflects a growing need for mental alertness and stamina – especially among students and busy professionals. Similarly, the popularity of functional beverages like kombucha or drinks with added adaptogens shows a shift toward wellness and digestive health.

Some common functional 'jobs' beverages fulfill include:

• Boosting energy or mental focus during work or study
• Supporting recovery after physical activity
• Replacing meals during busy schedules (meal-replacement shakes and smoothies)
• Helping regulate mood or stress (e.g., calming teas, CBD drinks)

Emotional and Social Drivers

Drinks also serve emotional needs, like offering comfort or control. A sweet indulgence after dinner, for example, may serve to satisfy a craving or mark a transition to relaxation. A fizzy flavored water might give a sense of indulgence without the guilt of sugar. These motivations are equally important when trying to understand beverage preferences.

On a social level, beverages can signal identity or belonging. Choosing a premium cold-pressed juice might reflect healthy lifestyle choices, while a popular canned cocktail could be part of participating in social culture. Even packaging and branding play a role in how drinks are perceived – and why they're chosen over others.

Real-Life Example (Fictional)

Imagine a consumer named Maya who grabs a matcha latte every morning. She isn’t just looking for caffeine – she sees matcha as a healthier energy alternative and a way to align with her personal values around wellness. For Maya, the beverage choice supports a lifestyle and a routine, not just hydration. This reflects hidden drivers beyond functionality, such as personal identity and aspiration.

Ultimately, understanding beverage choice through the lens of consumer motivation offers rich context. Instead of asking only "What are people drinking?", we can ask "Why are they drinking it?" – and that’s where deeper insights begin to emerge.

The Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework is a powerful way to uncover why consumers choose certain products – or in this case, beverages – in specific situations. It shifts the focus from who the customer is to the question: "What are they trying to get done when they buy this drink?"

Understanding JTBD in Simple Terms

Every time someone buys a beverage, they’re hiring it to do a job. That job could be to refresh after a workout, to replace an afternoon snack, or even to help them focus on a project. JTBD helps brands understand these moments and motivations by digging into the context around consumer decisions – including their needs, desired outcomes, and frustrations with alternatives.

Unlike traditional market research that often focuses on demographics or broad preferences, JTBD uncovers the functional, emotional, and social triggers that drive action. For beverage businesses, this can unlock real clarity on product positioning and innovation opportunities.

Applying JTBD to Beverage Market Insights

Here are a few fictional examples of how the JTBD framework can clarify consumer behavior in the beverage space:

• Job: Sustain mental energy through long workdays.
  A consumer might reach for a no-sugar energy drink with added nootropics, not just for the caffeine but for mental alertness without a crash.
• Job: Support gut health as part of a daily routine.
  Kombucha may be chosen for its probiotic benefits and symbolic alignment with a healthy lifestyle, even over cheaper alternatives.
• Job: Enjoy a flavorful evening drink without alcohol.
  A sparkling botanical soda may meet this need, offering a sophisticated yet sugar-free option that feels intentional and fun.

JTBD Connects Innovation to Actual Needs

Through a JTBD lens, drink innovation becomes less about chasing trends and more about solving specific, meaningful consumer problems. Instead of asking, "What flavors are hot this year?", brands can ask, "What ‘job’ isn’t being served well yet?" This makes space for breakthrough ideas grounded in unmet needs and use cases – like calming beverages for post-commute decompression or nutrient-forward drinks that appeal to aging wellness seekers.

Crucially, JTBD reveals that consumer motivation behind drink choices is layered and often non-obvious. SIVO’s experience with custom research shows that using a JTBD approach – often paired with qualitative interviews, journey mapping, or ethnographic insights – can illuminate these layers and bring clarity to otherwise confusing or contradictory behaviors.

By embracing this mindset, beverage marketers and innovators can stop guessing and start designing products and campaigns that align with what people actually want their drinks to do – creating alignment between consumption moments, branding, and product value.

Understanding the spectrum of beverage 'jobs'

The Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework helps unpack the full range of motivations consumers have when selecting a beverage. These motivations go far beyond hydration – customers “hire” drinks to get specific jobs done in their daily lives. These jobs typically break down into three categories: functional, emotional, and social.

Functional jobs: Meeting practical needs

Functional jobs are all about utility. Consumers choose a beverage because it solves a specific problem or provides a practical benefit. These choices are often unconscious, yet deeply consistent with daily routines or goals. For example:

• Energy boost in the morning: Coffee, energy drinks, or matcha are selected to support alertness and performance.
• Hydration after exercise: Sports drinks or electrolyte-enhanced water help replace lost fluids and minerals.
• Meal pairing: A soda during lunch or wine with dinner may serve as a complement to flavor profiles or digestion.

Emotional jobs: Satisfying inner feelings

These choices relate to how the beverage makes the consumer feel on a personal level. Emotional beverage jobs often involve comfort, reward, or escape. Examples include:

• Stress relief: A warm mug of tea at night to unwind after a long day.
• Comfort and nostalgia: A childhood favorite drink like chocolate milk or a regional soda brand that delivers some sentimental value.
• Treat or reward: Choosing a sweet smoothie or frappuccino as an indulgence after a tough meeting.

Social jobs: Shaping identity and relationships

Social jobs involve how we are perceived by others and how we reinforce our own identity through our choices. Beverages often serve as quiet signals of belonging, taste, or values. For instance:

• Projecting a health-conscious image: Choosing sugar-free beverages, kombucha, or herbal tonics signals wellness values.
• Feeling part of a group: Grabbing the same cold brew as coworkers to feel included during morning meetings.
• Lifestyle alignment: Sharing a photo of an artisan latte from a local café on social media to align with aesthetic or eco-conscious trends.

These examples help explain why people choose drinks not just for taste or refreshment, but to support how they function, feel, or relate to others. Recognizing this layered behavior is key to understanding beverage consumer behavior and identifying innovation opportunities grounded in real needs.

From understanding to opportunity: JTBD in action

Once you uncover the hidden motivations behind beverage choices, the next step is turning those insights into new value for consumers. The JTBD framework helps brands design and position their products in ways that directly respond to the jobs consumers are trying to get done.

Identifying unmet needs in the market

Start by analyzing existing beverage trends through the lens of JTBD. Ask: Which jobs are over-served by current options? Which jobs are under-served or entirely overlooked? For example:

• Consumers seeking energy without the crash may feel underserved by traditional energy drinks motivation formulas. This signals space for products with balanced, naturally-derived stimulants.
• People looking for a relaxing, healthy evening beverage might want something more interesting than herbal tea yet lighter than alcohol – a job crying out for creative solutions.

Understanding beverage consumer behavior through JTBD allows you to chart white space and avoid me-too products.

Mapping jobs to innovation opportunities

With jobs in hand, ideation becomes more structured. Teams can ask, "What new offering might this job require?" or, "How can our current product better fulfill this job?" For instance (fictional example):

A beverage company learns that young professionals "hire" mid-morning drinks to stay focused without the jitters. This leads to the development of a low-caffeine sparkling green tea targeting that specific job, rather than a general wellness play.

Innovation rooted in real-life behavior

JTBD-inspired innovation isn’t about inventing features in a vacuum. It’s about reverse-engineering products and messaging that fit naturally into how people live. By grasping consumer motivation behind drink choices, companies can deliver emotional and functional value that resonates.

Whether you're tapping into the sugar-free beverage appeal or exploring untapped emotional needs like habit change support or cultural identity, the JTBD approach lets you innovate with precision.

Most importantly, it moves product development beyond trend-chasing and into meaningful problem-solving – a strategic shift that can build stronger brand equity and customer loyalty over time.

Bridging the gap between insight and execution

Understanding why consumers choose certain beverages through the JTBD lens is just the beginning. The real power comes from activating those insights across your business to drive smarter decisions – from product planning and R&D to marketing and shelf placement.

Aligning teams around consumer jobs

When everyone – marketing, innovation, sales, executive teams – shares a clear picture of the “job” a product is meant to fulfill, brand strategy becomes more focused. This helps teams:

• Prioritize ideas that solve real consumer problems
• Create messaging that speaks to defined emotional or social drivers
• Position products with greater intention across channels

Instead of asking “How do we make this beverage sound healthier?” teams can ask, “What health job is this beverage solving, and for whom?” That single shift brings clarity and purpose.

Using JTBD to guide innovation and marketing

JTBD thinking empowers decision-makers to refine both beverage product innovation insights and go-to-market plans. For example:

• If a consumer segment is “hiring” a kombucha to reboot gut health while socializing, your messaging can focus on digestive function and social-friendly packaging.
• If busy parents want a smoothie that satisfies kids without sugar overload, the focus might shift to taste-appeal AND clean label claims in one complete value proposition.

This deeper analyzing of beverage purchase decisions allows you to communicate real, motivating value instead of leaning on generic descriptors.

Simplifying complexity for impact

At SIVO, we help teams simplify consumer complexity into clear, focused direction. It's not about more data – it's about the right insight, clearly translated into what your business should do next. That’s what makes the JTBD approach so powerful.

By connecting the dots between desire, behavior, and offering, your business can anticipate shifts in beverage preferences, adapt to emerging needs like healthy drink choices, and build strategies that scale with consumer relevance baked in.

In short: when company decisions align with why people truly buy, better products – and better outcomes – follow.