Walk down the functional beverage aisle today and one ingredient keeps turning up on labels: kanna. A few years ago, most people had never heard of this South African succulent. Now it’s showing up in sparkling cans, social tonics, and alcohol-free aperitifs. That kind of rise doesn’t happen by accident. Here’s why formulators and drinkers alike are making kanna the ingredient to watch.
What Makes Kanna Stand Out
Kanna (Sceletium tortuosum) has a long history of traditional use in southern Africa, where it was chewed or brewed to ease stress and lift spirits. That heritage gives it a credibility that many trendy ingredients lack. Its main active alkaloid, mesembrine, interacts with serotonin pathways linked to mood, which is why researchers have started exploring its effects on stress and sociability.
It also does something a lot of functional ingredients can’t: you can actually feel it. Drinkers describe a gentle, mood-brightening calm that shows up within the hour, and that matters in a category where many products promise benefits nobody ever notices. Combined with a carefully dosed hemp derived THC drink, kanna helps round out an experience that stays upbeat rather than sleepy.
Why Formulators Love Working With It
From a product standpoint, kanna is easy to work with. Standardized extracts deliver consistent alkaloid levels, so every can feels the same as the last. It pairs well with other functional ingredients like Lion’s Mane or a light dose of hemp-derived THC, and its flavor is mild enough to disappear behind fruit-forward profiles like passionfruit and mango. It’s also shelf-stable and works at low doses, which keeps costs manageable and lets brands focus on taste rather than masking bitterness.
It also fits the way people drink now. More consumers are cutting back on alcohol without wanting to give up the ritual of a drink at the end of the day or the social ease of a night out. Kanna offers a feeling of its own, not just the absence of a hangover, and that gives brands something real to build around. For shoppers, that translates into a simple reason to pick up a can: it delivers a noticeable experience without the next-day trade-off.
Kanna’s rise comes down to a rare mix: centuries of traditional use, early research worth paying attention to, an effect people can genuinely notice, and the flexibility to work in modern formulas. As the alcohol-free category keeps growing, expect this once-obscure succulent to claim even more shelf space. As with any active botanical, anyone taking mood medications should check with a doctor first.