Functional Food, Drinks & Ingredients: Consumer Attitudes & Trends

Table of Contents

• OVERVIEW
  • Catalyst
  • Summary
• Table of Contents
• Table of figures
• Table of tables
• THE FUTURE DECODED
  • Introduction: The functional food and beverage market is entering a critical era
    • Defining functional products: functional food and beverages contain specific physiologically active components that provide increased health benefits beyond basic nutritional functions
  • TREND: Consumers are more aware of food and dietary issues and are monitoring and adjusting what they eat and drink accordingly
    • Consumers have increasingly pro-active dispositions towards improving their general health
    • Consumers are actively looking to improve their health through diet on a global scale
    • Consumers are paying more attention to nutritional details and want to know more about functional products
    • Key takeouts and implications: health and nutrition is set to stay at the top of the agenda for the years ahead, creating a real incentive to invest in functional food and beverages
  • TREND: Aging populations are showing a strong concern and desire to improve their personal health
    • Aging is the dominant demographic trend across Europe, North America and much of Asia
    • Older consumers are making more concerted, active attempts to eat and drink in a healthier manner
    • Functional foods and drinks that target senior consumers are growing in popularity because they are a more vulnerable demographic
    • Key takeouts and implications: an aging society exacerbates the need for preventative or treatment benefits from food and beverage products
  • TREND: Consumers are looking for functional antidotes to both short-term and long-term physical and emotional health problems
    • The prevalence of long-term illnesses is increasing across Europe, North America and Asia, with hypertension being the most common problem
    • Diagnosis rates of heart-related health problems are growing in Europe and the US
    • An aging society is leading to more bone health problems being reported, most notably osteoporosis
    • The number of consumers suffering from gut health problems is relatively low, but growing rapidly
    • Individuals are increasingly reporting day-to-day emotional and physical health problems, such as fatigue and sleep deprivation
      • Job stress and difficulties in achieving a work/life balance contribute to sleep deprivation and fatigue
    • Continued increases in both adult and childhood obesity are paving the way for new satiety enhancing functional food and beverages
    • Busier lifestyles means that it is harder to meet nutritional requirements using traditional food and drinks, while less developed countries still have high nutritional deficiencies
    • People are even looking for ' easy' ways to make themselves more beautiful with beauty foods
    • Key takeouts and implications: despite long-term health problems becoming more apparent, consumers want solutions with more short-term, day-to-day relevancy
  • TREND: Consumers are spending more on functional food and drinks across Asia, Europe and the US
    • The US functional food market continues to witness impressive growth rates
    • The value of the European functional food and drink market is significantly lower than the US
    • Sales of functional food and drink products in Asia are being driven by increasing levels of disposable income and the long-established presence of such products
      • Beverages with health boosting credentials are especially popular in Japan, particularly energy drinks
    • Key takeouts and implications: functional food and beverages will continue to be driven by strong sales in the US and Asia-Pacific, while the European market is yet to reach anything like full potential
  • INSIGHT: Consumers are overly optimistic about their diet and are making more concerted efforts to consume a balanced and varied diet
    • A sizeable majority of consumers consider themselves to be in good health and perceive their diet relatively positively
    • Diversity and balance in diet is growing in importance, especially as people suffer from ' dieting-fatigue'
    • Key takeouts and implications: consumers suffer from an ' optimistic bias' with regard to their diets and are looking to embrace a more balanced and nutritious diet
  • INSIGHT: Consumers are skeptical about the sensory appeal of functional food and drinks
    • Consumers are most influenced by the taste, enjoyment and quality of the food and drink they consume
    • Healthy food is often perceived as bland and uninspiring
    • Key takeouts and implications: despite consumers making active attempts to eat healthier, they will not compromise sensory benefits for nutritional goodness
  • INSIGHT: Consumer awareness and understanding of functional food and drink claims and benefits is limited
    • Consumers have an increasing awareness about which food categories are good for them, without knowing a huge amount about the actual healthy component
      • Americans are increasingly aware of specific health benefits associated with various functional foods
      • Asia has a long history of consumption of foods for specific health benefits which helps boost awareness
      • Europeans exhibit a similar level of awareness and understanding of functional products as Americans
    • The impact of socio-demographics on consumer awareness towards functional food and beverages is inconclusive
    • Motivations for buying functional foods reflect a lack of knowledge about the specific health benefits of certain ingredients
    • Key takeouts and implications: awareness of functional products is increasing, but there is a general lack of understanding about the more detailed benefits derived from ingredients/food components
  • INSIGHT: Consumers have a lack of trust in food and drink manufacturers and in functional products more specifically
    • Consumers are skeptical about pharmaceuticals which may impact long-term adoption of functional products
    • Consumers find health claims confusing and contradictory
    • BUT, consumers are beginning to recognize the role that certain foods or food components play in reducing the risk of certain diseases
    • The credibility of functional claims is enhanced in certain scenarios
    • Consumers are skeptical about the price of functional food and drink
    • Consumers are showing a distrust towards food and drink with artificially inserted ingredients
    • Key takeouts and implications: overcoming consumer skepticism about a wide range of issues related to functional products and their purported benefits will be important in gaining long-term mass acceptance
  • INSIGHT: Natural ingredients are becoming a more important feature of functional products
    • New functional products released are touting the benefit of ' natural' health-boosting ingredients
      • Probiotics promoting general wellness are being released with greater frequency
    • New functional groceries in Asia-Pacific are commonly touted as being high in vitamins
    • New functional products in the US are reflective of consumer desire for health and convenience
    • New functional products in Europe continue to be high in vitamins and calcium
    • Key takeouts and implications: natural functional ingredients are becoming more popular
  • INSIGHT: Consumers of all ages are driving sales in the functional food and drink market, albeit for differing reasons
    • Parents are starting to take greater responsibility for the improvement of child health levels
    • The lifestyles of young adults are becoming increasingly pressurized
      • Younger workers are seeking out products that provide a quick-fix energy boost
    • Older consumers are still an important demographic group for functional food and beverage manufacturers
      • There are significant differences in the attitudes of senior citizens
    • Women, married couples and highly educated consumers are more likely to buy functional foods
    • Key takeouts and implications: although older consumers remain an important demographic group for the functional food and drink market, sales are being driven by a younger audience
  • Conclusions: the market drivers for functional products will have more influence than the inhibitors making it a highly important category for investment
• ACTION POINTS
  • ACTION: Develop a broad range of products offering antidotes to the myriad of problems consumers face
    • Reassure postmenopausal women about the benefits of functional foods
    • Respond to the growing interest in mental wellbeing
    • Educate consumers about the danger of gut health problems and look to eradicate the embarrassment surrounding gut health more generally
    • Release products that help consumers sleep better, and prevent fatigue
    • Launch satiety-enhancing products to help health-conscious consumers suppress hunger
    • Promote the concept of ' holistic beauty' with the development of functional oral beauty formulations
  • ACTION: Align brands with the softer image of natural ' wholesomeness' , rather than function and science
    • Avoid using scientific jargon on packaging and other above-the-line communications
    • Create an image of natural ' wholesomeness' to justify a premium price
  • ACTION: Use Productscan to track innovative functional products emanating from Asia
    • Embrace ' personalized nutrition' by aligning products with the requirements and needs of specific target audiences
    • Recognize and track the growing array of functional products from ' unconventional' categories
    • Promote hedonistic variables of functional products over and above health benefits
  • ACTION: Promote functional foods in a credible and honest manner
    • Promote functional products as an ' every little helps' option rather than a ' magic bullet' solution
      • Persuade consumers to use functional products regularly
    • Use websites and information books to explain the science behind functional products
    • Use independent experts as knowledge and information transmitters
    • Obtain and prominently display backing from an influential body
• APPENDIX
  • Supplementary Data
  • Definitions
  • Methodology
  • Further reading and references
  • Ask the analyst
  • Datamonitor consulting
  • Disclaimer
  • List of Tables
    • Table 1: Consumer survey: the extent to which European and US consumers used nutritional information on product packaging to help make food and drink choices, by country, 2006
    • Table 2: The number of consumers aged 55 and over, by region, 2002-2012
    • Table 3: Consumer survey: the propensity of European and US shoppers who have taken active steps to eat healthier in the last twelve months
    • Table 4: Consumer survey: the propensity of European citizens undergoing a long-term medical treatment
    • Table 5: Consumers suffering from heart health problems (millions), Europe and US, 2002-2012
    • Table 6: Consumers suffering from bone health problems (millions), Europe and US, 2002-2012
    • Table 7: Consumers suffering from gut health problems (millions), Europe and US, 2002-2012
    • Table 8: Consumer survey: the extent to which Europeans feel they have ' lots of energy'
    • Table 9: Consumer survey: the propensity of European and US shoppers to supplement their diet' s with vitamin, mineral or other dietary supplements in the last twelve months
    • Table 10: Overall and per capita US functional food and drink market value (US$ millions and US$), by product category, 2002-2012
    • Table 11: Europe functional food and drink market value (US$ millions), by country, 2002-2012
    • Table 12: European functional food and drink, spend per person, by country (US$), 2002-2012
    • Table 13: Europe functional food and drink market value (US$ millions), by product category, 2002-2012
    • Table 14: Asia-Pacific functional food and drink market (US $ millions), by country, 2002-2012
    • Table 15: Asia-Pacific functional food and drink market, spend per person (US$), 2002-2012
    • Table 16: Asia-Pacific energy drinks market value (US$ millions), by country, 2002-2012
    • Table 17: Consumer survey: US shopper' s awareness and consumption of nutrients that have health boosting credentials
    • Table 18: The level of trust consumers have in various claims made by packaged goods manufacturers, by country, 2004
    • Table 19: Consumer survey: the propensity of European and US shoppers who have taken active steps to reduce their stress levels in the last twelve months
    • Table 20: US functional food and drink market value (US$ millions), by claimed health benefit, 2002-2012
    • Table 21: European functional food and drink market value (US$ millions), by claimed health benefit, 2002-2012
    • Table 22: Asia-Pacific functional food and drink market value (US$ millions), by claimed health benefit, 2002-2012
    • Table 23: Definition of disease type covered
  • List of Figures
    • Figure 1: The functional food and drink market is being driven by a broad range of drivers and inhibitors
    • Figure 2: A nutritional continuum helps pinpoint the role of functional food and drinks
    • Figure 3: The proportion of consumers aged 55 and above is increasing across Europe, Asia and the US
    • Figure 4: Functional food manufacturers are offering solutions to the problems facing aging populations
    • Figure 5: Hypertension is the most common long-term illness in the US
    • Figure 6: The majority of individuals in the Asia-Pacific region struggle to get enough sleep
    • Figure 7: US consumers are more concerned about day-to-day health problems
    • Figure 8: With so many consumers seemingly overwhelmed by their daily responsibilities, they are looking for ways to slow down in order to improve balance and vitality
    • Figure 9: Consumers increasingly recognize the importance of a balanced, varied diet and focus on inclusion rather than exclusion of nutrition
    • Figure 10: Despite the perceived health benefits, consumers will not buy functional foods if they do not like the taste
    • Figure 11: Consumers are unaware of specific types of antioxidants
    • Figure 12: Over 80% of US consumers purchase, or are interested in purchasing functional foods
    • Figure 13: Pharmaceuticals are less trusted than consumer packaged goods, a fact that may inhibit the market potential of functional food and beverages
    • Figure 14: Consumers are skeptical about the perceived health benefits of functional foods
    • Figure 15: Consumers believe functional foods improve heart health
    • Figure 16: Professional medical endorsement is an important pre-condition to Europeans trusting functional food and beverage claims
    • Figure 17: Nutritional consultants and medical doctors are the most trusted sources of information when it comes to the health claims associated with functional products
    • Figure 18: More fresh content is being incorporated into diets while processed options are being rejected in Europe and the US
    • Figure 19: Higher educated consumers are making the most effort to consume more organic products
    • Figure 20: Functional products in Asia tend to be high in vitamins
    • Figure 21: Products that are both healthy and convenient are popular in the US
    • Figure 22: New functional products in Europe continue to be high in vitamins and calcium
    • Figure 23: Developing functional food and beverage solutions specifically for children represents key innovation opportunity
    • Figure 24: Effective marketing is required to capture the interests of consumers with bone health problems
    • Figure 25: Recent food and beverage innovations reflect the growing demand for solutions that improve mental health/performance
    • Figure 26: New functional products are targeting sleep-deprived consumers globally
    • Figure 27: Energy-boosting products also have to be tasty and convenient
    • Figure 28: Satiety-orientated products can help prevent unhealthy snacking
    • Figure 29: Manufacturers are responding to the notion that inner health = outer beauty
    • Figure 30: Marketing material to support functional foods should be easy to understand
    • Figure 31: Manufacturers are using ingredients that are both natural and healthy with greater regularity, especially in functional formulations
    • Figure 32: The increasing specificity of product formulation against age and gender requirements is symptomatic of a trend towards ' personalized nutrition'
    • Figure 33: Functional food and drink manufacturers are emphasizing ' great taste'
    • Figure 34: Consumer watchdogs are encouraging shoppers to be scrupulous about their purchases of functional food and drinks