Introduction

Functional Food & Drink Consumption Trends tracks the continuing rise of functional food and drinks and analyses the factors driving consumer interest in the market. It also reviews the concerns that still pose obstacles to market growth and offers best practice suggestions on how to answer these and secure consumers' trust, key to the long-term viability of any functional offerings.

Scope

In-depth quantitative data sizing European and US functional food/drink markets, tracking functional product releases and relevant demographics. Qualitative analysis of the key trends and insights into consumers' functional food needs. Detailed action points offering practical strategies based on the trends and insights analyzed in the report. Countries covered: France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the US.

Highlights

Consumer health awareness continues to rise, the increasing availability of health information going hand in hand with the aging of populations and increased propensity for lifestyle diseases. The growing importance of the Senior (50+) demographic will influence functional food sales making it essential marketers cater for this audience's needs. Functional food consumption is growing fast. The US market was worth US$21.3bn in 2006 whilst the European market reached US$8bn. The interest in functional foods and drinks has been fuelled by a desire for convenience, as well as health. Busier lifestyles are making it harder to meet nutritional requirements using traditional food and drinks. Consumers are wary about health related claims on food and drink products and skeptical of their efficacy. The breadth of functional claims and the lack of governance and independent validation have fuelled consumer concern. Success in the market is increasingly dependent on establishing a relationship of trust with the consumer.

Reasons to Purchase

Obtain exclusive data on functional food and drinks market sizing in the US and Europe. Uncover fresh insights into the motivations behind consumers' functional food purchases. Improve your marketing strategy by tailoring functional releases to best fit demographic groups.

CHAPTER 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3
The hot topic 3
The future decoded 3
Health issues are becoming increasingly important as a result of an aging population 3
Functional food consumption is growing fast 4
Consumers have an attitude-behavior gap concerning healthy eating 4
Functional foods offer a solution to time-pressured consumers 5
Consumers are wary of health-related claims on food and drink products 5
The increasing availability of health information has seen consumer awareness on health issues grow 5
Action points 6
CHAPTER 2 THE FUTURE DECODED 14
Introduction 14
Health is regarded as the most important consumer trend among manufacturers 15
Defining functional foods and drinks 16
TREND: Health issues are becoming increasingly important as a result of an aging population 16
The proportion of Senior consumers is growing 16
The Senior demographic cannot be targeted as one group 17
Early Seniors will lead increasingly active lives as retirement age rises 17
Functional health needs vary across the Senior demographic 18
TREND: Lifestyle diseases are becoming more common 19
Bone health problems are on the rise and affect many consumers 20
A rise in heart problems has prompted a rise in the number of products addressing this need 22
More people are targeting gut health but don't view it as a serious medical concern 24
Dairy is the most popular category in addressing gut health 25
Dairy products also dominate the probiotic sector 26
The probiotic sector is bigger than the prebiotic sector 26
TREND: Functional food consumption is growing fast 28
The US functional food and drinks market is larger than in Europe 28
The dairy sector is set to overtake soft drinks as the largest category in the US functional food and drinks sector 28
Functional yogurts have been a key growth driver in the dairy segment 29
Savory snacks suffer due to their perception as an unhealthy product 29
Energizing products continue to dominate the US market 30
The European functional food and drink market is growing at a similar rate to the US 31
Europeans consume a significant amount of functional confectionary 32
Energy products dominate functional food and drinks in Europe 33
Germany and the UK account for the most significant portion of Europe's functional food and drinks sales 34
The rising success of 'naturally functional' food and drink poses a threat and opportunity to the functional market 35
Naturally functional food consumption will be boosted by rising interest in '5-a-day' consumption and general healthy eating patterns 35
Green tea: a naturally functional beverage 35
INSIGHT: Parents are increasingly concerned about their kids' health 39
Parents are taking more control of their kids' eating habits 39
Consumers of parenting age are trying to eat more healthily and this has a knock-on effect 39
Household eating rules set by parents are important to developing children's healthiness 40
INSIGHT: Time pressures drive consumers to nutraceuticals 41
INSIGHT: Consumers are wary about health related claims on food and drink products 43
People are increasingly skeptical about corporate health claims 43
The lack of credible backing may inhibit a health food's success 44
Advanced packaging technology may reduce skepticism 45
INSIGHT: The increasing availability of health information has seen consumer awareness on health issues grow 45
Health issues are increasingly being reported on 45
Health issues are receiving increased coverage in the media 46
The Internet has proved a useful tool in making consumers more health aware 46
Consumers are increasingly relying on self-diagnosis 47
INSIGHT: While health is becoming increasingly important taste remains paramount 49
Functional ingredients restrict ability to meet consumer flavor preferences 50
Conclusions 51
CHAPTER 3 ACTION POINTS 52
Introduction 52
Develop trust as a cornerstone of your nutraceutical proposition 52
Act in a socially responsible way 53
Seek endorsements from reputable organizations 53
Extend health brands that consumers already trust 54
Consumers must understand products to trust their claims 55
Realistic and focused claims will benefit the sector 55
Alter the ingredient makeup of typically unhealthy products 56
Substitute unhealthy components with more healthy ingredients 56
Marry functional benefits to highly indulgent product categories 57
Target children with functional products that address parents concerns over health and nutrition 59
Develop child specific functional products 59
Case study: Danino utilizes 'junk food' design cues to appeal to children as well as adults 61
Educate the consumer sufficiently about the health benefits derived from the consumption of a particular product 62
Source natural products and incorporate them into functional offerings 63
Use the Internet to promote products 63
Consider whether your offering is better than alternative solutions 64
It is important to be a better alternative at the right occasion 65
Does your offering really provide a better consumer solution than existing options? 65
CHAPTER 4 APPENDIX 66
Supplementary data 66
Definitions 71
Research methodology 73
How to contact experts in your industry 73
List of Tables
Table 1: Responses to the question: "To what extent have you done the following in the past year? Used nutritional information on packaging to help make food and drinks choices", 2006 14
Table 2: Population by age group (m), Europe and US, 2001-2011 18
Table 3: Consumers suffering from bone health problems (m), Europe and US, 2001-2011 20
Table 4: Consumers suffering from heart health problems (m), Europe and US, 2001-2011 22
Table 5: Consumers suffering from gut health problems (m), Europe and US, 2001-2011 25
Table 6: US functional food & drink market value (US$ m), by category, 2001-2011 30
Table 7: US functional food & drink market value (US$m), by claimed health benefit, 2001-2011 31
Table 8: Europe functional food & drink market value (US$ m), by category, 2001-2011 33
Table 9: Europe functional food & drink market value (US$ m), by claimed health benefit, 2001-2011 33
Table 10: Europe functional food & drink market value (US$ m), by country, 2001-2011 34
Table 11: Overall green tea values (US$ m), US & Europe, 2000-2010 36
Table 12: Key influencing factors in children's snacking needs 62
Table 13: Functional bakery & cereals market value (US$ m), by category, Europe 2001-2011 66
Table 14: Functional confectionery market value (US$ m), by category, Europe 2001-2011 66
Table 15: Functional dairy market value (US$ m), by category, Europe 2001-2011 67
Table 16: Functional savory snacks market value (US$ m), by category, Europe 2001-2011 67
Table 17: Functional soft drinks market value (US$ m), by category, Europe 2001-2011 68
Table 18: Functional other food and drinks market value (US$ m), by category, Europe 2001-2011 68
Table 19: Europe functional food & drink market value (US$ m), by claimed health benefit, 2001-2011 69
Table 20: Definitions of disease types covered 71
List of Figures
Figure 1: Cholesterol lowering products are more relevant for Early Seniors 19
Figure 2: Examples of products which use calcium as a selling point 21
Figure 3: Examples of products which are said to help maintain a healthy heart 23
Figure 4: Examples of products which have received backing from an influential body 24
Figure 5: Probiotic product innovation is ten times greater in yogurts than its closest category across Europe and the US, 2001-06 26
Figure 6: Yogurt is the leading product category for prebiotic food products, 2001-2006 27
Figure 7: An example of a prebiotic bakery product 27
Figure 8: The extent to which European consumers have used nutritional information on packaging more or less in 2006 compared to 2005, to help make food and drinks choices 32
Figure 9: A growing number of products incorporate pomegranate for its health benefits 38
Figure 10: Functional and fortified food products are increasingly being targeted at babies 41
Figure 11: The extent to which European and US consumers sought food and drinks which are both convenient AND healthy more or less in 2006 than 2005 42
Figure 12: Examples of single-serve beverage products which satisfy both the health and convenience mega-trends 43
Figure 13: The Internet has changed the way consumers relate to health information, physicians, companies and other consumers 48
Figure 14: Sirco is an example of a product which has received backing from a professional body 54
Figure 15: Examples of confectionery products which offer a healthy option 59
Figure 16: Functional and fortified products need to be heavily promoted to parents, but equally accessible and fun to Kids 60