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Weight wellness hits tipping point; New nutrition trends emerge in ’15
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Saturday, 20 December, 2014, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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fiogf49gjkf0d The weight wellness market is at a tipping point, and in 2015, big brands, including Weight Watchers, would continue to see sales plunge. Even Special K, one of the world’s largest-selling foods for weight management, has experienced a ten per cent drop in sales.
In its ‘10 Key Trends in Food, Nutrition and Health 2015’, New Nutrition Business’ food and health trend forecast, stated that small entrepreneurial brands would find a wealth of opportunities in everyday foods for weight wellness. This was the third Key Trend.
“Consumers are switching to regular foods to maintain weight wellness. These are creating a wealth of opportunities for big brands and entrepreneurs alike,” said Julian Mellentin, the report’s author.
Ten Key Trends was the only forecast to focus solely on food, nutrition and health trends and what they meant to the industry.
“People’s desire to maintain a healthy weight and a trim figure is the biggest influence on the key trends in food and health, driving many of the trends in this report,” Mellentin said.
“Improving digestive health and avoiding a bloated stomach to maintain a good figure are the key reasons why people adopt gluten-free diets or those with lower gluten, avoid refined carbs and try to consume more good grains,” he added.
High-protein foods (the fourth Key Trend), in particular, have benefited from their link with weight management. Protein is an easy ingredient for people to understand. It is natural, backed by science and has a long-standing association with maintaining a healthy figure.
The idea of good carbs and bad carbs (the fifth Key Trend) has taken hold among health-conscious consumers. The number of people reducing carbohydrates for weight management is small, but growing, and already having an effect on the sales of grain-based products. Big brands, such as Cheerios, have experienced a five per cent drop in sales.
The sales of good grains (such as oats) and the so-called ancient grains are soaring. Sprouted grains have emerged a surprise winner, with a small snack brand jumping from zero to $25 million in just three years.
The eighth Key Trend is the fact that sugar has become the new dietary demon, replacing fat and salt, and the spotlight on sugar content has created a challenge for food companies, who are wrestling with how to meet expectations of lower sugar and boost business. Lowering the sugar content has produced some clear winners in the kids’ market, but no one has yet figured out how to make this work in the adult market.
The increase in consumer interest in free-from foods is the seventh Key Trend, and the biggest area is gluten-free, which is not a passing fad but an increasingly important aspect of new product development (even Nestle has launched gluten-free corn flakes). The 25 per cent of consumers who are motivated by gluten-free are not totally eliminating, but reducing their gluten, perhaps eating it two to three days a week.
The long, slow death of low-fat is the ninth Key Trend. People are beginning to understand that eating fat doesn’t make you fat. Although research is revealing that fat is not the enemy of health we thought it was, consumer change would be slow. Younger consumers are the group most likely to change their habits around fat.
The sixth Key Trend is the renaissance dairy is enjoying. The sector is emerging as a big winner as far as changing perceptions of fat is concerned (in the United States, butter sales have overtaken table spreads as people get permission to indulge in more traditional dairy products). Dairy’s image is getting a boost, as science both refutes negatives around dairy fats and uncovers the positive effects of dairy consumption.
Marketing products with naturally functional ingredients and benefits remains the top Key Trend, which it has been since 2005. Naturally functional is an innovation strategy, and is behind many of the biggest successes, including Greek yoghurt, coconut water and almonds.
Difference between trend and fad
“Many things are put forward as trends, but we select only those that are long-term drivers for our industry,” said Mellentin.
“This long-term focus allows both brand and ingredient companies to formulate meaningful strategies,” he added.
What the Key Trends mean to brands
The 10 Key Trends present a mass of innovation and renovation opportunities for both big brands and entrepreneurial brands.
The most successful products and brands connect to multiple trends, even if the connection is a secondary positioning for the brand rather than a primary positioning.
What the Key Trends mean to ingredient suppliers
In today’s competitive market, ingredient companies must be as knowledgeable about the final consumer as their customers are.
Ingredient suppliers need to know which trends their ingredients connect to, because the better connected they are, the more successful they are going to be.
“Understanding the key trends would help ingredient companies create applications and marketing messages, that would, in turn, enable their customers create successful brands,” said Mellentin.
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