The International Market for Functional Foods

Rising consumer interest in the role of diet in health and a growing desire to take a more active role in promoting and optimising personal health and wellbeing have been key to driving interest in the functional foods market in recent years. Interest tends to be focused on three main areas - optimising current health, controlling specific health problems and promoting future good health - and product activity has focused around these areas, with the most successful products tending to be those targeting general wellbeing, such as gut health products, sold via mass-market outlets to be bought as part of a regular shop.

Although there is this interest in optimising health through diet, other factors driving the food and drinks market as a whole are also heavily impacting the functional foods market. Perhaps the greatest of these is the demand for convenience in the face of increasingly busy lifestyles, creating opportunities for solutions that are simple and convenient and can easily be integrated into everyday routines.

With ongoing product investment, market activity and considerable media hype, the functional foods market would appear to be developing apace in most parts of the developed world. The market is continuing to grow, but how much further will it get and what directions will it take in the future?

The report covers functional foods, using a strict market definition of "everyday food and drinks products (not pills or potions) that bear a health claim implying that the product has a physiological effect over and above that of just nutrition (e.g. can help lower cholesterol as part of a low-fat diet, helps maintain a healthy heart, improves the body's natural defences, etc.").

This includes products such as wholegrain cereals, probiotic and prebiotic products, soya products, products with omega-3 fatty acids, etc., where claims can and are being made.

In addition, a view of the broader functional foods market is also taken, whereby products have a healthy or functional positioning and may be perceived to be functional, but do not necessarily make claims. This will include products fortified with calcium, vitamins, etc., also antioxidants, cranberries, other botanicals, etc., where their content/use is highlighted but no specific reference is made to potential health benefits.

Key Features:

• Quantifies the current market for functional foods around the world, focusing on the key European markets of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK; the US; Japan; and Australia.
• Assess the relative importance and future potential of each of the major sub-sectors (product and benefit), looking at market, product and industry activity.
• Identifies product sectors for current and future development of the market.
• Highlights the potential for future growth in the overall functional foods market in the light of growing consumer interest in health and options for a healthy lifestyle.
• Reviews the extent to which functional foods are contributing to the development of the food and drinks industry as a whole.