ROCKVILLE, Md.—Consumer demand for omega-3 products will continue to grow briskly over the 2011-2015 period and influence the activities of manufacturers and marketers worldwide in supplying omega-3 products across various categories and segments of consumer packaged goods (CPGs), including private label products, according to new market data from Packaged Facts.
According to the "Omega-3: Global Product Trends and Opportunities" report, global consumer spending on omega-3 food and beverage products (excluding fish), health and beauty care products (including supplements), and pet products will reach $13 billion in 2011. In the U.S. market, 9% of grocery shoppers buy high omega-3 food or beverage products in a typical grocery shopping trip, and the percentage of adults who take fish oil supplements has jumped from 8% in 2006 to 17% in 2011.
The market sector is being driven by several factors including expanding medical, governmental, and public awareness of omega-3 and its wide range of health benefits; continued consumer receptiveness to functional food and supplement products; positive mainstream and trade media reporting; and increased market participation by major marketers. New sources of omega-3s-ranging from krill and calamari to cranberry, chia seed and hemp are also making it easier for manufacturers to market high-omega products.
Consumers increasingly regard health and beauty care products as extensions of the foods they eat, which have created a new continuum of nutrient-positioned products extending from whole foods and fortified/functional foods through to nutritional supplements and personal care products, said David Sprinkle, publisher of Packaged Facts.
The report examines packaged retail products marketed as high in omega-3 fatty acids, whether the products are inherently high in omega-3 or purposefully enhanced or fortified with this nutritional content, and whether the omega-3 content is docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), or alpha linolenic acid (ALA). The report pinpoints opportunities in an industry that has grown explosively but remains far from reaching maturity.
