Hey, Food, what’s your Function?

For decades, consumers picked their food based on characteristics such as how it looked, tasted or smelled. Increasingly, shoppers are picking what they buy and consume depending on the role it plays in reducing the risk of disease and promoting good health.

So-called functional foods have been sold in grocery stores and specialty outlets for years — think calcium-fortified Tropicana orange juice or Activia loaded with probiotics — but a growing push by consumers to eat healthier and watch what goes into their bodies has increased demand for items that deliver an added benefit. “It’s really poised to grow significantly now because word is getting out more and more,” says Bob Bauer, president of the Association of Food Industries. “Even if the rest of what we eat perhaps isn’t what it should be, we feel better about ourselves if we do have some things on occasion that we would consider functional foods or that would help us out.”

Bauer said functional foods loaded with fiber, probiotics or other beneficial ingredients have grown in part because the technology has been developed to make products that contain them taste better or have a more pleasant mouth feel. With functional foods being added into portable products such as bars and yogurts, Bauer said they could make their way into more convenient channels such as vending machines.

Food companies such as Nestlé, Hormel Foods and Danone also are incorporating nutritional therapy or medical uses into some of their products. Some smaller companies have tapped into the niche space, too. Thrive, based in Florida, makes ice cream and gelato that provides nutrition such as protein, vitamins and minerals for people like the elderly, hospitalized or picky eaters. According to a study released in March by Kerry, 65% of consumers seek functional benefits from their food and drink. The top five ingredients perceived to deliver these kinds of benefits were omega-3s, green tea, honey, coffee and probiotics.

For food companies, most notably large CPGs desperate for ways to rejuvenate sales and profits, functional foods could be a lucrative way. Zion Market Research estimated the global functional ingredients market was worth $64.9 million in 2018, and is expected to reach nearly $100 million by 2025. Becca Hary, a spokesperson at Ingredion, said the ingredients supplier has witnessed growth in functional foods infiltrate multiple parts of its business, including plant-based proteins or clean and simple ingredients. Functional foods are “very on trend for consumers, (something) that they’re looking for,” says Hary. “That is really shaping the food industry and it’s impacting our customers.”

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