Heathly foods are on the minds of consumers and on the agendas of food manufacturers, with many more products aimed at improving the lives of the individuals who consume them. An article on FoodBev.com noted the market for healthy is robust, but also faces regulatory issues.
This healthy eating focus has been driven by a few major factors including the economic recession. The article, written by Chris Brockman and Mary Gilsenan from Leatherhead Food Research, said the bad economic times have caused people to get nostalgic and go “back to basics." More people are cooking from scratch and discovering what ingredients are in their favorite foods. People want simpler times and simpler food items, they wrote. Consumers look to avoid processed item and synthetics, such as artificial colors, flavors and preservatives.
Consumers want those more natural ingredients to also provide health benefits, the writers said. Many more food manufacturers have started to cater to the aging population with more natural claims aimed at enhancing and prolonging cognitive ability.
Weight management is also an increasingly hot food manufacturer trend. Foods nowadays are more likely to tout their ability to promote satiety or their fiber and protein ingredients. This weight-management idea has also been tied to the functional food energy market, noted the article.
This general healthy focus has more eaters looking for foods that will help boost their immunity, they wrote. Food manufacturers are answering this with pre- and probiotics, antioxidants and vitamins, and whole grain and high-fiber ingredients.
Additionally, more cholesterol-lowering products (plant stanols and sterols, and oat products) are increasingly addressing heart-health issues. These products will continue to be hot, the article predicts, but noted legislative issues regarding health claims may affect this market.
The immune and brain health food market will also continue to be affected by regulatory bodies, while the high-fiber and high-protein claims are generally subject to a less-stringent regulatory hurdles. These nutrition content claims must meet minimum thresholds of certain nutrients, not demonstrate health benefits.
The writers added other terms, such as “natural" and “super food," are not regulated at the European or U.S. level, but they writers expect regulation will increase in the near future.
