Boosting nutrition: Life stage health spotlighted, microbiome-supporting and plant-based formats trend

12 Jul 2023 --- There is a notable shift toward a more balanced and holistic approach to nutrition. Consumers are placing greater emphasis on health, and with this comes the equation of consuming the right amount of nutrients while limiting certain macronutrients to match their lifestyle preferences and choices.

Food Ingredients First speaks with key players in health and nutrition, who share their insights on increasing nutrition across various F&B applications. 

“Today’s consumers are actively seeking customized solutions that deliver balanced wellness support, with 64% of global consumers taking a more proactive approach to health and wellness,” says Vaughn DuBow, global director of marketing, Microbiome Solutions at ADM.

However, the days of “one-size-fits-all” strategies for health and eating are being phased out in favor of more customized approaches, with many consumers looking toward multi-functional options that include ingredients to provide targeted support, he underscores. 

In today’s health-conscious climate, consumers demand efficient nutrition products that align with their values and beliefs.“Plus, wellness areas such as immune function, digestive health, heart health, mental well-being and cognitive health rank as the top five wellness areas global consumers would like to address over the next 12 months.”

Meanwhile, Anke Sentko, vice president for regulatory affairs and nutrition communication at Beneo, sees consumers wanting “more” from their functional foods. “They want products that deliver what they promise and are backed up by science,” she explains. 

Added health benefits
According to Aisling Aherne, nutrition manager at Kerry, consumers are looking for foods that are not only nutritious and tasty but also provide health benefits that address specific need states such as improved mental health, boosting immune health, better gut health and so on. 

“What consumers are looking for very much depends on their life stage and health status,” she stresses. 

“Moreover, credibility builds confidence for consumers, with 56% of European consumers saying they would purchase if recommended by their doctor or nutritionist and 49% wanting clinically backed or scientifically backed ingredients,” explains Aherne, adding that 41% of Europeans also said they were doing their own research on ingredients used in beverages and supplements to inform their choices. 

“This is higher among younger consumers, showcasing future momentum in this behavior,” she adds. 

Kerry’s Proprietary Consumer Research on Fortified and Functional Foods (2022) looked specifically at fortified and functional beverages and supplements and elucidated that the primary reason to purchase these products was to meet a specific health goal. 

The outputs highlighted various truths for the functional and fortified space, including need states that differ by day parts and occasions, signaling consumer need for satisfying multiple need states throughout the day. Secondly, need states vary by age and life stage, implying customized and personalized solutions are needed. Further, taste was a significant driver, indicating the need for taste masking and modulation solutions that guarantee longer-term success.  

Anne-Sophie Vercruysse, global market manager for Plant Proteins at Roquette, agrees that the desire to stay active and achieve personal goals is driving consumers to “seek out nourishing food and drink products that support not only their physical health but also their mental and emotional well-being.”

Sustainable nutrition 
For Neus Arenas-Sinisterra, junior market manager for Food Specialties at Roquette, one of the most notable trends in this space is the expansion of the plant-based revolution. 

“While plant-based protein powders and meal replacements have been popular for some time, there has been a recent surge in demand for plant-based nutritional compositions in medical and early life nutrition.”

Sustainability and ethical diets are becoming increasingly important to consumers, seeking solutions that address these concerns while providing the nutrients they need,” explains Arenas-Sinisterra. 

“Plant-based options are becoming more popular as consumers look to diversify their protein sources, reduce their carbon footprint and address specific dietary requirements such as veganism, intolerances, allergies and taste preferences,” adds Vercruysse. 

“Consumers are concerned about the potential negative effects of dairy or soy proteins on their health and wellness.”

ADM is also leveraging its plant protein range of soy, pea, wheat, ancient grains, nuts, beans and pulses, as it aims to maximize ingredient diversity and optimize functionality, which is particularly useful for delivering convenient fortified snacks.

“Our expansive range of mixed tocopherols and our naturally sourced vitamin E, plant-based oils, sterols and isoflavones can help elevate foods and beverages to meet consumer demands,” notes DuBow. 

“Plus, our botanical extracts can help support wellness goals and add a perception of premiumization to products. Specifically, our standardized and proprietary botanicals include extracts like green tea, acerola and guarana. Botanical extracts can be incorporated into various applications, from active nutrition beverages and bars to dairy alternative products,” he says.ADM is leveraging its plant protein range of soy, pea, wheat, ancient grains, nuts, beans and pulses.

Nourishing the gut 
Vercruysse also points to the rising popularity of ingredients linked to gut health, such as prebiotics. “Consumers are showing a growing interest in these ingredients and their potential health benefits,” she says. 

ADM’s DuBow believes that microbiome-supporting solutions pose “an excellent opportunity” to provide consumers with tailored support at a time when 58% of global consumers perceive a connection between the function of bacteria in the gut to broader aspects of well-being. 

“We are continually researching to uncover new microbial strains and solutions to support consumers of all life stages and lifestyles. As more research is conducted into the microbiome, more studies are being added to the growing evidence of the different targeted wellness support that gut microbiome-supporting strains can provide.”

Sentko at Beneo cites research from FMCG Guru’s prebiotics survey, demonstrating that consumers are shifting toward a “disease prevention” rather than a “disease cure” mindset. 

‘Interestingly, when asked about the health issues consumers were planning to address over the past 12 months across the globe, a key area of focus for over half (56%) was digestive health,” she outlines. “A major reason for this is that more and more are linking digestive health and other health benefits.”

Gut-friendly foods, such as prebiotics, can be supportive in nourishing the microbiota in the gut and, as such, are increasingly proving popular with consumers. 

“Four out of five consumers have heard of prebiotics and over half have linked them with ‘supporting digestive health’ and being ‘healthy.’ Their growing popularity is mirrored by rising demand for products containing prebiotics. Global new product launches with prebiotic claims experienced an increase of 10% CAGR from 2017- 2022.”

Applications expand
Prebiotic fibers have long proved popular in dairy and bakery applications and recently developed concepts by the Beneo-Technology Center include a fruit yogurt and cereal snack bar. 

“Thanks to the addition of Beneo’s Orafti Inulin, these formulations are reduced in sugar and high in fiber while offering – depending on the local legislation – the potential for digestive health and prebiotic claims,” Sentko explains. 

“These and other recipes, which include chocolates, fiber gummies and a powder-based meal replacer, not only help producers create products that deliver digestive health benefits but help consumers to boost their fiber consumption, enabling them to bridge the fiber gap prevalent in most Western diets.”

DuBow flags the importance of developing solutions that better support different wellness goals by providing customers with tailored functional foods, beverages and dietary supplements. 

“Manufacturers are looking to bring more solutions like vitamins and minerals, fiber and probiotics into these products. Notably, 89% of global consumers prefer products in functional food and drink formats. For instance, portable solutions like ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages, bars, snack clusters and gummies capture health-minded shoppers’ attention as they easily fit into consumers’ everyday lifestyles and diets.”

Innovative applications for boosted nutrition are emerging across a range of formats, adds Vercruysse at Roquette. “Carry-on options like nutritional and cereal bars, as well as powdered or ready-to-drink beverages, offer consumers a convenient and efficient way to meet their nutritional needs on-the-go.”

In addition to these popular formats, Roquette is seeing exciting new food formats and real meal options that can help diversify the delivery of nutrition. “For example, plant-based risotto meal replacements made with textured pea protein or protein muffins made with multiple protein sources offer consumers a tasty and nutritious alternative to traditional meal options.”

Gut-friendly foods, such as prebiotics, are increasingly proving popular with consumers.“However, less typical formats, like gummies or other confectionery applications such as tablets or chewing gums, are also being introduced to the market. These formats can provide a good matrix for delivering active ingredients to the body while also being convenient and easy to consume,” she details.

Future trends 
Aherne at Kerry says the company’s insight team has been scanning to understand the emerging future, and the research from several subject matter experts and data suggests that the personalization of our diets will significantly impact what we eat. 

“As we continue to explore our genetics and microbiome, and with the booming growth of health trackers, we will understand the individuality of our nutritional responses to food. This is likely to influence how consumers interact with products profoundly and, ultimately, how packaging and claims are presented to them,” she elaborates. 

For Roquette, Arenas-Sinisterra says as the demand for boosted nutrition products continues to rise, we may also see changes in packaging and labeling to reflect this trend. 

“Clear and concise information about nutritional content, as well as claims related to health and wellness benefits, may become increasingly important to consumers. Regulation in this space may also evolve to ensure that claims made on packaging and in advertising are evidence-based and accurate.”

Looking ahead, Arenas-Sinisterra also expects to see increased communication and claims related to positive impacts on stress management (food-mood connection), immunity and energy – all current challenges which consumers are facing in their daily lives.

“In addition, we anticipate more nutritional claims related to blood glucose management as diabetes prevalence continues to increase and awareness around the role of adapted nutrition in managing this condition grows,” she concludes. 

By Elizabeth Green