Patent applications filed by soft-drinks companies were most often linked to health and wellness in the first nine months of 2023, data shows.

In the period to 30 September, companies applied for 1,758 patents in the area of health and wellness, figures from GlobalData, Just Drinks’ parent, suggest.

GlobalData’s Patent Analytics database contains global figures on the patents filed – and granted – by businesses across multiple sectors. Each patent is classified by theme, including those linked to areas such as the environment, sugar reduction and robotics.

The next most popular theme was ‘plant-based diets’ with 313 applications, followed by ‘environment’ with 242.

During the period, Kotobuki Realty Co. – the ultimate parent company of Japan-based alcohol and soft drinks group Suntory Holdings – filed 52 applications for patents centred on health and wellness.

Ingredients companies DSM-Firmenich (with 30 applications) and Givaudan (22) came next.

Top of the list was Nestlé with 63.

Our signals coverage is powered by GlobalData’s Thematic Engine, which tags millions of data items across six alternative datasets — patents, jobs, deals, company filings, social media mentions and news — to themes, sectors and companies. These signals enhance our predictive capabilities, helping us to identify the most disruptive threats across each of the sectors we cover and the companies best placed to succeed.