News

Functional Ingredients and Functioning Bodies

In recent years, the relationship between diet and disease has been increasingly publicised in the hope of changing consumer lifestyle habits – and it seems to be working; with consumers paying more attention to their dietary habits and opting for beneficial foods which promise solutions to their nutritional challenges, sales of products which specify health […]

In recent years, the relationship between diet and disease has been increasingly publicised in the hope of changing consumer lifestyle habits – and it seems to be working; with consumers paying more attention to their dietary habits and opting for beneficial foods which promise solutions to their nutritional challenges, sales of products which specify health claims are booming. In addition, with people living longer and desiring a high quality of life throughout that time, the health and wellness market shows no sign of abating. Indeed, the global functional food market was worth around $175 billion last year and is expected to grow at an annual rate of 15 per cent, meaning functional food sales will exceed $230 billion by 2015.

A combination of diet and exercise has long been championed as the mainstay for a healthy lifestyle. One functional food which taps into this trend is sports nutrition. Whilst in the past sports nutrition has been considered the stuff of competing athletes and body builders, a major shift in recent years has seen it enter the mainstream market. Generally consisting of products formulated with natural ingredients, such as milk or egg proteins and fibres; sugars or vegetable starches; vitamins; and minerals, products are designed for and used by those undertaking exercise and wishing to improve their nutritional intake in terms of both health and performance.

Although nutrition bars and supplements still dominate the sports nutrition market, the functional beverage segment is growing and is expected to be worth $3,644.8 million by 2018. In particular, protein-based beverages have gained in popularity as consumers are increasingly aware of the benefits that protein can offer in regards to maintenance of, and growth in, muscle mass.

A combination of the rapidly increasing sales in the functional foods market coupled with large profit margins (products retail at around 30 to 50 per cent more than similar conventional foods) make this sector particularly attractive to food and pharmaceutical companies alike. To capture these market trends, Hi Europe and Ni will provide a global meeting place and environment for buyers and sellers in the worldwide health and wellness ingredients industry. The show will highlight ingredients and solutions for food and drink formulation and reformulation, dietary supplements, nutraceuticals, organics, and packaging and processing from more than 500 health and wellness suppliers in one location.