Last year, Beneo-Orafti witnessed the growing success of digestive health, accounting for 68% of sales of approved functional foods in Europe, and 64% in Japan in 2007 (source ACNielsen). Positioned as the number one trend in Mellentin’s Top 10 for 2008, the demand for such products shows no sign of slowing down, despite a cross-industry price increase due to increases in energy and raw material cost.
“The price increase hasn’t affected demand for prebiotics, as consumers are willing to pay a price premium for products with added health benefits,” says Beneo-Orafti marketing manager, Tim Van der Schraelen.
“As obesity becomes a global problem, ‘convenience’ has been overtaken in popularity by ‘health’ as the primary claim used to encourage sales, with 53% of the new products launched. With this in mind, we’ve seen a 90% increase in the number of dairy drink products brought to market that contain inulin and oligofructose over the last seven years. From small beginnings back in 2002, when only 15 dairy drinks contained this active food ingredient, 2008 saw 181 products brought to market globally that contained inulin and oligofructose.”
Beneo-Orafti said that, out of those 181 dairy drinks, 17% made gut health claims compared to only 3% five years ago. “Increased consumer understanding of specific claims and what they can do for the promotion of health, combined with the tightening of EU legislation on health claim labelling, will continue to prove a challenge for food producers in 2009 and beyond,” says Van der Schraelen.
“Healthy dairy drinks make up the majority of new product development launches, so it stands to reason that manufacturers who can tap into this sector, with tailored health benefit messages substantiated with scientific proof, will continue to see increased market development and penetration.”
The 2008 Beneo-Orafti study found that, although consumers may know the names of key ingredients such as vitamin C, calcium, whole grain or prebiotics, they don’t necessarily equate these with their key health benefits. By communicating these, manufacturers can add significant value.
The study also found that the benefits of most interest vary depending on their sex rather than the country. In the UK and Spain, heart health, strong bones and a healthy digestive system were the top three. Stronger bones, a healthy digestive system, improved natural defences, an improved regularity and weight management are all benefits closely associated with Orafti ingredients and especially with Orafti Synergy1. Several human intervention studies have shown that inulin and oligofructose enhance digestive health.
A leading dairy and fruit juice drink enriched with A,C and E vitamins was put through its paces: 45% of respondents chose the product with calcium absorption benefit. The leading brand was chosen by 88%, even if it cost more than the standard product, and 91% of regular users would pay the premium.
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