Euromonitor: functional foods will be worth $130bn by 2011
The global market for functional and fortified foods and beverages is set to grow 35% from $96bn to $130bn in 2011, according to new data from market researcher Euromonitor International.
Speaking at the world food technology and innovation forum in Dublin last week, Euromonitor International head of packaged food research Lee Linthicum said: “We’re predicting growth of 30% for functional foods and 40% for beverages between 2006 and 2011. This is significantly higher than the growth we’re predicting for the overall packaged foods and beverages market - more than double, in fact.”
The top five markets by value for fortified/functional foods and beverages in 2006 were: the US at $27.4bn (69% growth 2002-2006); Japan at $16.5bn (+14%); China at $7.2bn (+88%); the UK at $5.4bn (+102%); and Germany at $3.8bn (+18%).
Japan was the most mature market, explaining why growth rates were lower than in the other markets on the list, said Linthicum. It could therefore serve as a useful market in terms of predicting what might happen in Europe over the next decade.
The highest growth areas in functional foods in Japan were ready to drink coffee, chocolate confectionery and spreadable oils and fats, he said. The key trends were weight management, heart health, beauty enhancement, stress alleviation and performance boosting.
Ingredients underpinning these trends that could make headway in Europe included polyphenols from tea and cocoa; ‘black foods’ such as black tea, black rice, black soybeans; and amino acids such as stress-busting gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), predicted Linthicum.
While beauty foods showed great potential in Europe, the category would take time to develop outside of Japan, he warned. For example, Essensis, the ‘beauty yoghurt’ launched with great fanfare by Danone in Belgium and France earlier this year, had not met expectations, he said.
The yoghurt, which contained a mix of age-defying omega-6 fatty acids, probiotics and antioxidants, had seen sales “declining steadily since launch” despite ongoing promotions, he claimed.
