Walmart's Mood & Mind Set Shows Functional and NA Drinks Are Merging
Walmart's Mood & Mind set puts TRIP, Recess, and JUNI on one shelf, proof that functional and NA drinks are merging. Zembrin is the ingredient to watch.
On October 1, 2026, Walmart rolled out a dedicated Mood & Mind beverage set. It gives you one place in the store to shop for drinks by how you want to feel, rather than how wired you want to get.[1] It's the retailer's newest beverage set since Modern Soda, and the opening lineup includes TRIP, Recess Mood, and JUNI Sparkling Adaptogenic Tea.[1-3]
"More often, customers are choosing beverages based on how they want to feel, and our new Mood & Mind set reflects that shift," said Brian Salmon, Walmart U.S. VP of Beverage.[3]
PricePlow has been talking about this shift for years on the PricePlow Podcast and in its PLT Health Solutions coverage. Now the biggest retailer in the country has given it a shelf.
Who Made the Mood Shelf
- TRIP: Salmon said calm "was an important part of the assortment" and called TRIP "a natural brand to include."[1] TRIP's release says the brand is on track for $200 million in 2026 revenue. It also sits in Walmart's ambient beverage aisle and the cold New & Noteworthy set.[1]
- Recess Mood: Magnesium and adaptogens in sparkling water, now in more than 1,000 stores.[2] Salmon said Recess "helped define relaxation beverages," which made it "a must-have for the assortment."[2]
- JUNI: The only tea in the set, rolling into nearly 1,000 stores with zero sugar, 5 calories, and a Super 5 Blend of ashwagandha, lion's mane, reishi mushroom, acerola cherry, and green tea.[3]
All three releases lean on SPINS data to make the growth case. TRIP's release says mood support is the fastest-growing functional beverage benefit, outpacing protein nearly three to one.[1] JUNI's release puts it at 42.2% growth year over year.[3] Recess's release says mood beverages are growing faster than gut health, protein, energy, and hydration.[2] Each one frames it differently, but they all land in the same place: shoppers are buying a feeling.
Two Aisles Collide
For years, beverage innovation ran on two separate tracks. Functional drinks like energy, supplement RTDs, and nootropics came up through the sports nutrition world. Non-alcoholic "alcohol alternatives" went after the sober-curious and often sold through alcohol distributors. Different buyers, different trucks, different shelves.
Functional ingredients are the bridge between the two. Recess founder Ben Witte pitched his brand as relaxation's version of what energy drinks built around the need for a boost.[2] Meanwhile, NA drinkers want something that does more than taste like a cocktail. Mood & Mind is where those two crowds meet, and Walmart just drew the map.
This next part is our speculation, not anything that's been reported. Whoever owns this shelf in a couple of years looks like an acquisition target for a major brewer such as Anheuser-Busch or one of its rivals. A mood brand moving cans nationally at Walmart is exactly the kind of asset a brewer's distribution network could scale fast. That's how we'd read the board.
Why We'd Bet on Zembrin
Look at the ingredient lists in the Mood & Mind set and you'll see the usual suspects: magnesium, adaptogens, ashwagandha, and functional mushrooms.[2,3] Those blends have their fans. If we were formulating for this shelf, though, we'd start with PLT Health Solutions' Zembrin, a standardized extract of kanna (Sceletium tortuosum).[4]
Here's why:
- Two pathways in one ingredient: In lab work, Zembrin inhibited serotonin reuptake and the PDE4 enzyme. PDE4 inhibition raises cAMP, a cellular messenger tied to mood and cognitive function.[4] That pairing is why the ingredient is often described as supporting "alert serenity" rather than sedation.[5]
- Human trials: In a placebo-controlled fMRI study of 16 healthy young adults, a single 25mg dose reduced amygdala reactivity to threat.[4] In a 2020 placebo-controlled trial, 25mg lowered subjective anxiety and blunted the heart-rate response during a simulated public-speaking task.[4] A three-week crossover trial in adults aged 45 to 65 found improvements in cognitive flexibility and executive function.[4]
- Made for cans: Zembrin is part of PLT's beverage-stable ingredient lineup, and it carries self-affirmed GRAS status for beverage use at up to 50mg per day.[6,7]
- No caffeine, no sedation: Zembrin is non-sedating, and a caffeine-free can means there's no wrong time of day to drink one.[7]
On Episode #146 of the PricePlow Podcast, PLT's Dr. Jeremy Appleton explained that Zembrin calms the brain's stress response. That makes it a good fit for staying focused under pressure.[8] That's the feeling a mood drink should be selling. Proprietary adaptogen blends ask you to take more on faith.
Because Zembrin acts on serotonin, anyone taking SSRIs, SNRIs, or MAOIs should talk to a doctor before trying it.[7]
On the Brightside Gets It
The best example of this idea isn't part of the Walmart set. On the Brightside is a non-alcoholic "feel-good" soda built around a single active ingredient: 15mg of Zembrin per can.[7] It has zero sugar, zero calories, and no caffeine. It's sweetened with fermented Reb M and launched in two flavors, Guava Glow and Strawberry Sunshine.[7]
The founder's story fits the thesis. CEO and co-founder Adam Terry previously co-founded Cantrip, one of the earlier hemp-derived beverage brands.[7] He calls Zembrin a "connectogen," meaning something that quiets enough mental noise for you to connect with the room in front of you instead of your phone.[7] The brand pitches the soda as a swap for a nightly glass of wine or beer, or something to "zebra stripe" alongside alcohol.[7]
On the Brightside has one studied ingredient, a clear occasion, and some of the sharpest branding we've seen in the category. We'd love to see more launches follow that playbook.
Hemp Had Its Turn
To us, Terry's jump from hemp to kanna feels like a signal. CBD and THC drinks got a lot of people comfortable with the idea of drinking something that changes how they feel. As a cultural force, though, that wave is fading. We think the next one runs on studied botanicals with human data behind them and no intoxication pitch.
Walmart built the shelf. The brand that fills it with a studied ingredient, in a drink people want to buy twice, is the one a brewer like Anheuser-Busch will end up calling.
References
- TRIP. "Calm Is the New Energy: Walmart Launches Mood and Mind Set Featuring Global Calming Leader TRIP." PR Newswire, 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/calm-is-the-new-energy-walmart-launches-mood-and-mind-set-featuring-global-calming-leader-trip-302896192.html
- Recess. "Recess Leads Walmart Mood & Mind." Business Wire via Yahoo Finance, 2026. https://finance.yahoo.com/media-advertising/articles/recess-leads-walmart-mood-mind-140000923.html
- JUNI. "JUNI Brings Mood & Focus to Nearly 1,000 Walmart Stores Nationwide." PRWeb, 2026. https://www.prweb.com/releases/juni-brings-mood--focus-to-nearly-1-000-walmart-stores-nationwide-302902964.html
- PricePlow. "Zembrin: The Best-Studied Kanna Extract on the Market, by PLT Health Solutions." PricePlow Blog, 2024. https://blog.priceplow.com/supplement-ingredients/zembrin
- PricePlow. "Zembrin in the Wild: How the Top Kanna Extract Lands Across Seven Delivery Formats." PricePlow Blog, 2026. https://blog.priceplow.com/supplement-ingredients/zembrin/delivery-formats
- PricePlow. "PLT Health's Beverage Stable Ingredients: Get Ready for Novel Drinks." PricePlow Blog, 2024. https://blog.priceplow.com/supplement-ingredients/plt-health-beverage-stable
- PricePlow. "On the Brightside Launches Zembrin-Powered Non-Alcoholic Feel-Good Soda." PricePlow Blog, 2026. https://blog.priceplow.com/supplement-news/on-the-brightside-soda
- PricePlow. "PLT Health's Cognitive Ingredients: Enhance Focus, Mood, & Brain Health | Episode #146." PricePlow Podcast, 2024. https://blog.priceplow.com/podcast/plt-health-cognitive-ingredients-146
