Functional Foods & Beverages Market Research Reports & Industry Analysis
A functional food has to do more than the basic function of supplying nutrients. The basic category of functional foods includes processed food or foods fortified with additives, like "vitamin-enriched" products. Fermented foods with live cultures are considered functional foods with probiotic benefits.
Health-conscious consumers have supplied the demand to make functional foods an emerging field in food science. Yet, as consumers seek healthy choices, they are often skeptical about the benefits claimed by the companies developing new functional foods and beverages. The fact is the benefits are simply difficult to detect.
The industry suggests the establishment of a health claim regulating agency, which may increase consumer confidence. However, strict examination of some of the functional food claims may discourage some companies from launching their products.
The burgeoning industry was also impacted by poor global economic outlook. Many companies were forced to reposition themselves in response to the global economic downturn by lowering prices, eliminating divisions and rebranding products. Others grew by targeting products that consumers believe make an impact on their health. Product functionality is the most important consumer decision factor, generally outweighing cost sensitivity.
Consumer surveys on a wide range of functional food areas -- such as heart, digestive, immunity, cognitive, joint and bone health -- find that shoppers have high levels of interest, but much lower levels of actual purchase behavior.
Cognitive-health products are one example, as more than two-thirds of Americans say they are interested in products that increase concentration, but less than one in five actually buy such products. Narrowing this gap is crucial for the industry to turn functional foods and drinks from a novelty into a steady growing business in the long term.
Functional Foods & Beverages Industry Research & Market Reports
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Fortified/Functional Beverages in South Africa
... in 2021 and generally resisted returning to offices, where the latter tend to be located in areas that support foodservice demand. Moreover, while COVID-19 regulations have eased throughout 2021, various restrictions remained in place, including ... Read More
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Fortified/Functional Packaged Food in Spain
... lower the cholesterol levels of consumers, the new approach focuses on prevention rather than cure. This approach has been intensified by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) experience, with consumers more aware of the importance of healthy eating ... Read More
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Fortified/Functional Beverages in Brazil
... and indulgence consumption, as in addition to a hot drink, it serves as the base ingredient for Brazil’s most popular sweet: brigadeiro. This means that for the average consumer, the product is not consumed or ... Read More
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Better For You Beverages in Mexico
... reduced fat or reduced caffeine. During the COVID-19 crisis, better for you beverages have primarily benefited from the migration of on-trade consumption within one brand, Coca-Cola Sin Azúcar. The “without sugar” labelling strategy that Coca-Cola ... Read More
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Fortified/Functional Packaged Food in South Africa
... in the country, with most staple products offering a fortified version. These products are not particularly expensive compared to standard versions, despite the added value of fortification. Hence, consumers have continued to purchase these products ... Read More
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Fortified/Functional Packaged Food in Mexico
... context of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. This encouraged new product developments that delivered extra protein, vitamins and minerals, and improved digestive function. Euromonitor International's Fortified/Functional Packaged Food in Mexico report tracks the developments of health-associated ... Read More
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Fortified/Functional Beverages in Spain
... the category performance was enhanced considerably in 2020 due to the exigencies of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) public health crisis. Against this background, the growth recorded in 2021 should be considered good. In general, the COVID-19 ... Read More
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Better For You Beverages in Brazil
... returned to growth, offsetting much of the 2020 fall in sales. Although in Brazil the COVID-19 indicators worsened during 2021, what transpired was the co-living of Brazilians with COVID-19 and the steady reopening of out-of-home ... Read More
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Naturally Healthy Beverages in Mexico
... previous year due to its health and immunity-boosting positioning. Tea has seen a significant move towards the use of ingredients that are strongly associated with health benefits, such as matcha, maca, turmeric and ginger. The ... Read More
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Naturally Healthy Beverages in Brazil
... they represent high growth rates in juice and hot drinks respectively. This growth is attributed to how the categories have been developing. Teas in Brazil are often consumed for their health benefits before any other ... Read More
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Fortified/Functional Beverages in Mexico
... benefit of tea consumption to help mitigate the symptoms of COVID-19. As a result, consumers flocked towards functional teas, and manufacturers have continued to invest in new product development in this space, as with the ... Read More
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Naturally Healthy Beverages in France
... and naturally healthy superfruit juice, two of the largest segments in overall naturally healthy beverages. Both categories continued to suffer from a broader consumer trend away from plastic packaging during the year. Furthermore, naturally healthy ... Read More
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Fortified/Functional Packaged Food in France
... COVID-19. For example, fortified/functional fromage frais and quark looked set to see continued decline in 2021, albeit at a less steep level than seen immediately before the COVID-19 pandemic. Consumers are increasingly seeking more natural ... Read More
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Better For You Beverages in Finland
... it boosted sales in the category, with growth being further supported by a range of successful new product launches. Due to the ongoing challenges in containing COVID-19, Finns continued to stock up on larger quantities ... Read More
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Better For You Beverages in Belgium
... some categories such as reduced sugar carbonates, better for you beverages is performing better than regular beverages. Euromonitor International's Better For You Beverages in Belgium report tracks the developments of health-associated product types and the ... Read More
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Fortified/Functional Packaged Food in Belgium
... 2021. While FF yoghurt current value sales were declining in 2019, moderate growth was seen in 2020 as players continued to innovate. Overall, in 2020 we witnessed a notable increase in the sales of fortified/functional ... Read More
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Naturally Healthy Beverages in Belgium
... well. Naturally healthy beverages were already becoming more and more popular before the pandemic, but it notably intensified after the emergence of COVID-19. Indeed, as a result of the pandemic, consumers are becoming increasingly focused ... Read More
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Better For You Beverages in Ireland
... channels experienced significant growth in value and volume sales. While certain products registered value growth, reduced sugar carbonates accounts for the majority of value sales within better for you beverages and it registered flat growth ... Read More
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Fortified/Functional Beverages in Finland
... to FF beverages with added vitamins and minerals in the hopes of boosting their immunity. Aside from this, with consumers spending more time at home there was also a natural increase in demand for beverages ... Read More
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Naturally Healthy Beverages in Ireland
... decline in volume sales, after the boon it registered during the lockdowns in 2020. With society opening up gradually in 2021, consumers spent less times at home and drank less naturally healthy beverages. All the ... Read More
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Naturally Healthy Beverages in Finland
... COVID-19 on consumption habits. The increased number of people working and studying from home lifted retail sales of NH tea in particular, with these products also benefiting from a range of health claims. Sales of ... Read More
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Fortified/Functional Beverages in Ireland
... 2021. As Ireland remained in the transition phase of easing lockdown restrictions for the majority of the year, consumers turned to fortified teas to boost mental and physical wellbeing. Euromonitor International's Fortified/Functional Beverages in Ireland ... Read More
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Fortified/Functional Packaged Food in Ireland
... volume growth both in 2020 and 2021, as consumers are more concerned about their health due to the pandemic and look to strengthen their immune system. On-the-go consumption of fortified/functional accounts for significant value sales, ... Read More
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Fortified/Functional Packaged Food in Finland
... 2021 as COVID-19 restrictions were eased and some consumers returned to the workplace. With demand remaining higher than before the pandemic, Finland continued to see new product launches within FF packaged food in 2021, often ... Read More
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Fortified/Functional Beverages in Belgium
... boost their immune systems due to fear of catching the virus. For example, fortified/functional bottled water experienced double-digit current retail value growth in 2021. Brand such as Vitamin Well and B-Better performed very well during ... Read More
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