The Future of Functional Foods

Scientific and technological advancements are changing every aspect of our day-to-day lives, and what we eat is no exception. Increasingly the food that we eat is becoming ‘functional’. Whether the product has added health benefits, vitamin enrichment or probiotics, we consume them on a daily basis. Often without realising, we eat foods that have been enhanced in some way, if you consider that most breakfast cereals are fortified with Vitamin B-12, Iron etc. The potential for these kinds of nutritional developments are limitless, especially when you consider that one-in-eight people around the global are going hungry right now.

Priscilla Samuel, PhD, Director of Global Nutrition at Tate & Lyle commented that “innovative food technologies and ingredients are critical and have a valuable role in the global food supply by delivering highly relevant health benefits. Tate & Lyle is committed to investing in innovation and nutrition research to ensure that our ingredients, when incorporated into great tasting foods, can also help consumers meet their nutrition, health and wellness needs every day."

Tate & Lye have developed sodium reduction technology which has incredible potential for the global diet, with high-sodium intake proven to be a factor of high blood pressure and heart disease. They have also developed technology to increase the dietary fibre of foods and absorption of calcium, showing that their company is attempting to pave the way for functional food development.

Alongside this Arla Foods Ingredients has forecast that the demand for products with additional dairy proteins is going to rise as we begin to realise their full potential. The company has introduced something called Nutrilac Hi-Pro Improvers, which is a line of functional milk proteins that boost protein levels in dairy products, without affecting taste and texture. Hi-Pro Improvers are made from natural milk proteins and help to create nutritious products with increased protein content, with no dryness or graininess. The potential there is for a high-protein diet that is much smaller in quantity than ever before. This particular functional food has stemmed from a direction consumer demand, which raises the question of what the future of food will look like.

So far most functional foods have a reputation of being un-appetising, especially probiotic yogurt drinks, but Copper Moon has just announced the release of a new instant coffee that contains probiotic GanedenBC30. This product is going to be widely available at supermarkets such as Walmart, and it doesn’t seem completely farfetched to imagine in a few years that you might be able to order your Tall Starbucks Latte with an extra shot of probiotics.

The market is currently very optimistic about the future of functional foods, according to 81% of industry players. It appears that consumers are now recognising the health benefits of functional foods, as well as the potential prevention of chronic diseases. Recognising the trends and insights of functional foods and where the market is forecast to develop is crucial for any business within the industry.

The Industry Report Store has just released a special survey report about the global functional food market. It contains detailed intelligence about the Arla Foods Ingredients predictions and what it means for the market as a whole, as well as other industry insights. This is an extremely visual report, illustrating exactly where the market is at and where it is set to go.

See more about this business intelligence report here: The Global Functional Food Survey: Trends and Insights 2014-2016

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