Consumers continue to demand functional food

Functional food sales should continue to grow in double digit percentage terms as consumers demand dietary solutions to keep them healthy, young-looking, energised, wrinkle and stress-free, according to Leatherhead Food International (LFI).

Speaking at a conference on nutrition organised by LFI last month, business manager Fiona Angus said: “If you use a fairly narrow definition of functional foods as products making health claims, the global market in 2007 was worth around $19.4bn. If you broaden the definition to include healthy foods that are perceived as functional but do not necessarily make claims, it is at least twice that size.”

Currently, the market was dominated by products in the gut health, heart health and immune system health categories, said Angus. However, there was growing interest in products that could help consumers control their weight and slow down the ageing process.

While more research was needed into the relationship between diet and cognitive function, demand for products that improved mental acuity, memory and concentration would also grow as the population continued to age, she predicted. “We also expect to see more developments in beauty-from-within: foods that target people at specific life stages, and anti-ageing products in general.”

While products that lowered blood pressure had had a mixed reception in Europe, there was still scope for new developments in this area as hypertension was such a common problem, she said. “We’ll also see continued innovation in pre- and probiotics as manufacturers find new applications, for example products with calcium and prebiotics, or probiotics in ice creams, cereals and dairy-free drinks.”