Healthy eating is a trend and a way of life for a constantly increasing number of people. Consumers’ awarness of the importance of wholesome meals, full of vitamins and minerals, is rapidly growing. In the world of overproduction of chemical food, healthy alternatives are being sought, and people aspire for a „cleaner” lifestyle, not only for the benefit of the body, but also of the spirit. This is a convincing factor behind increasing the consumption of fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds as opposed to processed food, full of preservatives and artificial colorings. Nowadays, food is not only supposed to serve its basic function of satysfing hunger; it is also supposed to be a source of nutritive value and a way to maintain health. Nowadays, with our lives overloaded with duties, people want to facilitate their daily activities by looking for ready products on store shelves.
According to Mintel’s data from 2018, the market of functional hybrid drinks, i.e. drinks of higher health values and of better quality, is growing strong. The answer to consumers’ demand is to enrich food with a variety of super-ingredients, such as seeds i.e chia seeds, basil seeds (popular in Asia) or sunflower seeds.
From February 2013 to January 2018, the percentage of food and drinks containing seeds, produced worldwide, increased from 8% to 9%.
Consumers are convinced by the countless benefits of consuming superfoods. These are: high fibre content, a good source of microelements, antioxidants, appetite suppression or lowering blood glucose levels. The natural origin of sugars and the low calorific value of drinks are still very important. In its report, Mintel emphasizes great innovation is being looked for. Nowadays, food is expected to not only affect the sense of taste, but also to stimulate other senses. For this reason, the consistency of the product is also important – adding small seeds is a curiousway to meet market expectations.
According to Mintel, 1 in 5 UK respondents (22%) declare that they regularly buy healthy drinks: natural juices, infusions and sugar free drinks. In other European countries, consumers have similar tastes.
The young and conscious generation knows the importance of food. This drives the sale of healthy fruit drinks around the world. For this reason, the concept of liquid snacks is rapidly growing in European countries. Of all the drinks produced in the world, liquid snacks accounted for just over 3.6% of the total market at the end of 2015, and in November 2017 it rose to 6%. This shows how important it is to give the consumer more product value than just healthy juice.
The global food market is constantly changing. People are transforming their dietary preferences and are getting affected by numerous trends. It is important to adapt to consumer needs, for example by observing people’s preferences in foreign markets. Functional hybrid drinks undoubtedly turn out to be a new trend in Poland. According to current Mintel’s data, functional hybrid drinks are a huge potential for the food industry not only in Poland, but throughout the whole Europe.
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