ENTERPRISES in the food sector are encouraged to focus on foods that promote health and wellness, as these will become increasingly in demand among consumers across the world in the new decade, according to market research specialist Kantar.
Marie-Anne Lezoraine, general manager of Kantar Philippines, said in a recent business presentation that while health and wellness as a buzzword has been around for a while, there is growing emphasis among consumers to look at it from a more holistic point of view, covering not just physical but mental health as well.
“Over the next decade, we believe that it will become more holistic,” Lezoraine emphasized. This as more and more people believe that by striving for wellness, they can have improved physical and mental health, achieve better focus, and get ahead in life.
This trend, she added, has diet implications in 2020 and over the next decade. Kantar surveys conducted in 2019 found that consumers wanted certain foods and ingredients to be included in their diets most of the time.
The list includes natural foods (60%) and dairy products (60%), foods high in fiber (56%) foods high in protein (45%), organic foods (35%), foods/ingredients that are detoxifying (32%), foods/ingredients containing energy-boosting ingredients (31%), plant-based proteins (27%), and foods/ingredients that are good for gut health (25%).
People are also in search of sugar alternatives (25%), foods that are free of GMOs (24%), cruelty-free foods (22%), dairy alternatives (19%), and gluten-free foods (11%).
Lezoraine also said that healthy foods are among the fastest moving consumer goods, with calcium milk, cereal/oatmeal, yoghurt, yoghurt drink, and ready-to-drink milk leading the fastest movers in the health category with double-digit growth rates.
“People are constantly adjusting their behavior in line with their aspirations toward a healthier lifestyle,” said Lezoraine. “So what’s in it for you? We believe that you should anticipate that people will expect you to meet their needs in terms of health and wellness.”
According to Kantar’s Wellness Trends report published earlier, the wellness trend presents “great opportunities for brands to explore wellness in new contexts beyond their core categories, and to meet new consumer needs in new unexpected places.” To do this, companies can either develop completely new brands outside their core category, or create brand extensions with a wellness message.|-BALIKAS News Network / PhilExport News & Features
