Functional foods not just for dysfunctional people, say shoppers

Functional foods are now well and truly in the mainstream, according to exclusive research conducted by HI Europe for Food Manufacture magazine.

A nationally weighted study of 1,792 main grocery shoppers conducted by market researcher HI Europe at the end of June shows that 48% of women and 35% of men regarded products such as probiotic yoghurts or calcium enriched drinks as playing an important role in everyday good health rather than simply for people with medical conditions.

When it comes to purchasing behaviour, shoppers were divided into three main camps: those that never buy (representing about two fifths of main grocery shoppers), those that buy now and again (representing between a quarter and a third of shoppers) and those that buy regularly (representing between a fifth and a quarter of shoppers).

Almost a third (29%) were prepared to pay extra for functional foods, with 50% not prepared to pay more and 21% not specifying.

This is actually quite encouraging for manufacturers, said HI Europe’s Caroline North: “While just 29% of main grocery shoppers are prepared to pay more for functional foods, this increases to as many as 46% amongst those that think functional foods play an important role in maintaining everyday good health.”

She added: “There’s further encouragement for manufacturers and retailers, as 75% of consumers that are prepared to pay more for functional foods say that they are buying them fairly regularly.”

Interestingly, the fact that many consumers are not really interested in the science behind functional foods, might suggest that fears that stricter regulations governing health claims could put a stranglehold on growth in the market could be misplaced, said Dorothy MacKenzie, chairman of international brand agency Dragon Brands.

She said: “All the research suggests that consumers are actually turned off by detailed scientific claims and explanations.” The more vague companies have been about the precise physiological benefits of some so-called functional products, the more successful they have been, she added.“People want to eat food, not something that is marketed like a medicine. If they really want detailed information about ingredients or claims, they can go to a whole bunch of other sources rather than expecting to get it from your pack or your advertising.”

See the NPD supplement in the September issue of Food Manufacture for the full set of survey results.