It’s predicted that the global natural colours market will grow from $732.1m in 2011 to $1,320.5m by 2017, growing at the Compound Annual Growth Rate of 10.4% from 2012 to 2017. And while this growth and market change seems to be driven by the health- and fitness-conscious consumers of the health and sport food industry, it’s now filtering into the mainstream.
One reason for this is the bad media coverage a lot of artificial flavours, such as aspartame, have received ever since its approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1974, with many medical professionals claiming this artificial flavouring may contribute to everything from hormonal problems to neuroendocrine disorders.
Conversely, natural flavours have received fairly good media coverage following research that shows they could be beneficial to your health when substituted for sugar or artificial sweeteners. Perhaps the best example of this is the all-natural sweetener known as stevia, which derives from a leaf plant native to South America.
Containing zero calories, zero carbohydrates and with a zero glycaemic index, it’s been praised for helping with everything from preventing tooth decay, reducing blood pressure and aiding weight loss.
Ultimately, it was these market trends that fuelled the decision to launch Naked Whey Protein 80 (pictured), the UK’s first all-natural whey protein powder made using all-natural flavourings, colourings, sweeteners (stevia) and ingredients.
Since it seems natural flavours are here to stay, those companies that don’t adjust their product ranges accordingly could find themselves alienating their health-conscious customers. And in sports nutrition, this could be all of them.
Nick Smith is co-founder and head of product development at The Protein Works. This is a personal blog and views expressed are his own.
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