Drinks with stanols and sterols suffer

Following the instant success of drinks containing plant stanols and sterols, sales of these products have now plummeted, according to Leatherhead Food Research.

It found that the sales of these cholesterol-lowering drinks fell to less than £50M in 2008 and it predicted sales would likely fall again to about £45M by the end the year. Sales of drinks containing plant stanols or sterols peaked in 2006 when the sector was worth £64M.

"The market now appears to be in a pattern of decline, despite ongoing efforts by Benecol and Flora pro.activ, which continue to dominate the market, although both have seen sales fall over the last few years," claimed Leatherhead Food Research's recently published market report called The market for heart benefit foods, 3rd edition.

It attributed this fall to the migration of consumers to other heart health categories that are often less expensive, such as oats or soya based products, as well as reduced fat dairy products.