The booming market for functional drinks in China: a multimodal critical discourse analysis of how packaging conveys notions of health

In the context of the rising emphasis on health and healthy dieting in China, this article focuses on the booming market of functional drinks. The global market for such drinks has grown steadily and currently big international producers as well as local companies make huge investments in this field. The study concentrates on how functional drinks are promoted through their packaging design to appeal to Chinese consumers. Using the analytical tools of multimodal critical discourse analysis (MCDA), the analysis aims to reveal how notions of health and healthy ways of life are embedded in such mundane items. The data include two subcategories of functional drinks: vitamin/hydration drinks and health-improving drinks. Five of the most popular drinks were chosen from each category. The analysis shows that drinks are promoted as a form of ‘wonder drinks’ appealing to the aspirations of the rising Chinese middle class. Although the bottles have their obvious local design features, they are underpinned by the Western ideologies of nutritionism and the more self-centred morality of healthism, which contrasts with traditional Chinese values.