It’s been impossible not to notice consumers’ obsession with healthy foods. Not a day goes by when we don’t see newspaper, magazine and Web articles, new books and even entire Websites devoted to better health through nutrition. This has generated activity in the food–and-beverage R&D community as companies try to meet the demand for more nutritious foods.
Indeed, new data from market research company The NPD Group has found that approximately 80% of U.S. adults describe themselves as "extremely healthy" or "very healthy." But that may not actually be true, especially when it comes to their diets. In reality, only about 20% of adults actually have what is considered to be a "most healthy" diet,” and 65% of adults have a body mass index (BMI) considered overweight or obese. The recently released NPD food-and-beverage market study (“The Market for Functional Foods”) found almost half of all U.S .adults recognize the need to change their diet in order to improve the overall healthfulness of their lives.
Sometimes it’s difficult to know what consumers actually consider healthy and even if they follow their own advice about healthy eating. The NPD research found that U.S. adults define healthy eating in terms of adding something (healthy) to or taking something (unhealthy) out of their diets. Of the 1,921 adults surveyed, 55% said eating healthy is equally adding to and taking out of their diet. Of the remaining adults surveyed, 26% said “adding something to the diet” is healthy eating, and 19% said “taking something out” of the diet is the way to a healthy lifestyle.
But they don’t always walk the walk. Many consumers still believe a healthy label that indicates something has been taken out means the product will be lacking in flavor or organoleptic quality. For example, when a product is labeled low sodium, many consumers find it less desirable. This may account for new Mintel data that says global launches of foods with low/no/reduced sodium label claims have declined 5% from 2010 to 2011. In 2011, these sodium claims have appeared on just 2% of total food launches.
But consumers may be more responsive to products with something healthy added. According to NPD, one-third of adults have indicated strong interest in functional foods and beverages, and one-quarter of adults are already consuming a functional food or beverage at least once a day.
This has led Darren Seifer, NPD food and beverage industry analyst to advise companies that “A huge opportunity exists to increase functional product usage among adults, and teens, who have already tried functional products at some point but are not using them on a daily basis. If the 118 million less-frequent adult users could be encouraged to include just one more functional food or beverage into their diet each week, this would result in an increase of over 6 billion eatings each year.”
That would be a win-win situation for consumers and the food industry. Innovative, tasty products can make for a healthier population, as well as a healthier bottom line for companies that produce these foods and beverages.
