Ingredients for mood and cognition to headline the next wave of functional food and drink launches.
Ingredients for mood and cognition to headline the next wave of functional food and drink launches
Focus and productivity are poised to become the next benefits that consumers will seek from food and drink products, according to Mintel’s Global Food and Drink Trend ‘Staying Sharp’. The company’s global consumer research shows that 55 per cent of consumers would like their diet to help strengthen the immune system, 40 per cent would like their diet to help maintain healthy brain function, and 26 per cent to improve their mood.
“Cognition has become one of the most important categories for consumers,” affirms Stacey Daigle, NutriScience Innovations, VP of Marketing, Sales Ops. & Int’l. “The pandemic, changes in working and childcare situations, economic and employment uncertainty, and busier-than-ever schedules have left many consumers looking for support to reduce stress, stay sharp and focused, and get a good night’s sleep so they can perform at their best.”
While speaking at the IFT 2023 (Institute of Food Technologies), Stephanie Mattucci, Director of Mintel Food and Drink Research suggested noted that this trend gives brands have an opportunity to help consumers optimise their mental performance. To meet this demand, Mattucci further suggested that ingredients that provide focus and clarity and support brain health, could be part of the next wave of functional food and drink launches to watch.
Caffeine, a leading contender
In this category, Caffeine is a leading contender with 14 per cent of global F&B products launched in the last five years claimed to have brain/nervous system benefits, according to Mintel. However, consumer worry about the adverse effects of too much caffeine is creating new opportunities for new sources of caffeine are emerging, such as guarana, yerba mate and guayusa, and are often positioned as ‘natural caffeine.’
“Brands that educate consumers about these less familiar sources of caffeine stand to benefit,” continued Mattucci. “Quantifying the amount of caffeine per serving or explaining that blends help reduce side effects and introduce new benefits builds trust and engagement between consumers and the brand.”
B vitamins, more than just energy
B vitamins are widely used in products with an energy claim. According to Mintel, two in five (37 per cent) global food and drink launches with an energy functional claim contained a B vitamin. B vitamins do more than just boost energy. They support metabolism and contribute to the body’s ability to produce energy as well as support neurotransmitters, which play a key role in mood and mental health.
Food and drink manufacturers are already tapping into this to affiliate B vitamin containing new products with brain benefits. According to Mintel nearly half (45%) of global food and drink launches with a brain/nervous system claim contained a B vitamin in the past five years. One example of a recently launched drink fortified with B Vitamins is Uganda’s Lato Gluco PowerB. The orange grape flavored soft drink is said to help consumers stay energized and focused.
Ashwagandha, a rising star
Ashwagandha, an Ayurvedic herb and adaptogen, has become popular in recent past mainly for its cognitive health benefits such as managing everyday stress and promoting better sleep. Between 2020 and 2021, sales grew by 226% according to HerbalGram’s 2021 Herb Market Report, with mood support supplements accounting for 96% of all mainstream ashwagandha sales.
With sales in the dietary supplement category cooling off, opportunity is emerging in the food and drinks category. “Some of the early trends we’re keeping an eye on is ashwagandha appearing in more mainstream products like gummies, on-the-go-drinks, and functional foods,” says Rachel Kreider, senior director of technical product and content design at GNC.
Kerry notes that ashwagandha-derived ingredients can be incorporated into coffee, coffee alternatives and functional creamers, functional beverages, and chocolate products, among other applications.
Hoping onto the trend, US functional beverage company So Good So You introduced “Happy” a new juice blend that contains ashwagandha as one of its main active ingredients. “Happy harnesses the power of high-quality adaptogens, ashwagandha, the inflammation-busting antioxidants of golden saffron, along with Vitamin D, to pack a mood-boosting punch whenever you need it,” said Rita Katona, So Good So You co-founder.
Pre and Probiotics
Scientific research connects probiotic foods and their nutrient sources (prebiotics) to improved mental health outcomes including reduced feelings of anxiety and depression. They do so by positively impacting neurotransmitters present in the gut that are central to mental health including serotonin, dopamine, and GABA.
Many people are already familiar with the potential benefits of probiotics. Over two-thirds (64%) of Gen X believe in the link between nutrition and the mind while nearly half (46%) of Gen Xs believe that a healthy gut leads to a good mood, according to Mintel. The International Food Information Council (IFIC) noted that mental health will be one of the most popular benefits that consumers will seek from their foods in 2023.
Yogurt is the most popular food choice when it comes to probiotics. Most processors have seized up this opportunity to create new yogurts with probiotic claims. A good example is Kenya’s brookside dairy which recently launched Brookside plus probiotic yogurt.
Bio Foods, another leading Kenyan processor, also has Bio Active Probiotic Yoghurt that has been in the market since 2019. IFIC, however, notes that probiotics are expanding beyond the yogurt section, showing up in chocolate, ice cream, juices, sauces and nutrition bars. Beverages are another delivery system for probiotics and prebiotics. GoodBelly Probiotic JuiceDrinks, Chobani Probiotic Drinks, and Kenya’s very own Booch Kombucha are some of the drinks that tap into this rising demand for probiotic drinks.
Omega 3 finds usefulness in foods
Omega 3 is one of the world’s most clinically studied supplements and has been shown to positively impact learning and behavior, mood, brain development, and memory. More recently, there has been prominent focus on incorporating omega-3 oils as ingredients in functional food and beverage products rather than traditional dietary supplement pills and capsules.
According to Mintel’s Global New Products Database in 2020, more than 1800 commercial food products available in the market were fortified with omega-3 oils.
Previous attempts to fortify juices with omega 3 had failed due to consumer complaints of bad after taste, most probably from the fish oil. But with the advancement of flavor and off-notes masking technology, the industry is making progress. Today, there are many foods that are fortified with Omega 3 including juice, meat, bakery snacks, milk, and yogurt products.
America’s Tropicana Healthy Heart with Omega-3 Orange Juice and Norway’s EO3 multi-nutritional Omega-3 Fruit Smoothie are among example of products in this category. More such launches are expected in the future as food manufacturers innovate to meet demand for foods that improve cognitive function.
Familiar ingredients a good place to start
Food and drink brands looking to optimize mental performance ingredients and benefits must first tap into familiar foods and nutrients which consumers know and feel safe consuming. As consumers become familiar with this concept, experimentation with novel brain-boosting ingredients such as guarana, yerba mate and guayusa may follow.
As the concept of seeking foods that support mental health grows in popularity, food and beverage manufacturers will have another opportunity to pair ingredients that can help consumers cope with stress with those that support mental clarity. This leads to a third area of opportunity in this space: harnessing the synergistic power of blends with the goal of reducing undesirable side effects and optimizing cognitive benefits.
Overall, interest in mood and cognitive benefits is modest but growing. “Brands have an opportunity to help consumers optimise their mental performance, but there is work to be done,” says Stephanie Mattucci, Director of Mintel Food and Drink Research. “Consumers need encouragement to try these products, creating an opportunity for brands to get consumers excited about brain and mood health benefits.”
This feature appeared in the September 2023 issue of FOOD BUSINESS AFRICA. You can read this and the entire magazine HERE
