A Functional Foods Feast

It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact size of the functional-foods market. While we can call functional foods and beverages “products that promote optimal health and wellness and reduce the risk of chronic disease,” there are difficulties in defining exactly what does or doesn’t qualify.  Is a pomegranate-blueberry beverage marketed as a potential anti-aging product on the basis of its antioxidant content a functional beverage? If so, does that mean that regular blueberries and pomegranates from the produce section that contain the same antioxidants are functional foods? Does it matter if oatmeal’s heart-healthy beta-glucans are sold in the form of a processed oat bar or come out of the bulk bin?

This is particularly perplexing in a global sense, given the varying definitions from Japan’s FOSHU to the European Union’s novel foods, to our country’s “conventional foods” vs. dietary supplements, particularly those “supplements” that take a foodlike form, such as a bar or a beverage.

Regardless, functional foods are a healthy business. Leatherhead Food Research estimated the global market will approach $30 billion in 2014, while Global Industry Analysts, Inc. says the market will exceed $130 billion by 2015. As I said, it’s all in the definition.

But the bottom line is: The functional foods market is still showing strong growth compared to regular foods and beverages as people search for the smoothest road to wellness. As the market matures, product designers searching for successful introductions have to carefully position their products to make sure they meet consumer expectations for efficacy and match the flavor of their conventional counterparts. To help your forays into the business, Food Product Design presents an overview of the market segments and opportunities in the functional-foods market.

-Lynn A. Kuntz