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Cognitive Health – A Key Platform

25 Oct 2016

Strong innovation is being reported in the cognitive health space, particularly in terms of addressing the demands of a burgeoning aging population.

Cognitive Health – A Key Platform

The supplements category continues to dominate the cognitive health space, with food & beverages launches still only representing a small fraction of the market. New data shows that of products tracked over the period of 2011-2015, between 11-13% of supplement launches had a brain health positioning. There was over +230% growth in new supplements carrying this claim over this period. Unsurprisingly, considering that it is a much larger and more developed space as a whole, less than 1% of food & beverages tracked between 2011 and 2015 carried a brain health claim. However, there has been growth here too, with a more than doubling in the number of products reported. Cognitive health NPD targets all of life’s different stages, including brain development for babies. In fact, statistics show that the main segment for growth is baby & toddlers food. The share of global launches with a brain health claim within this category has risen to 23% globally in 2015 and 17% in Europe. Cognitive health products often feature omega 3 fatty acids, but also include iron.