By Sarah Hyland, AIFST General Manager of Industry
Services
Messages around nutrition can
be overwhelming, so overwhelming in fact that many consumers are left confused
about which product they should choose. By the same token, it’s confusing for
food manufacturers when choosing what nutritional messaging to include on their
product.
For food manufacturers, a
product that is naturally functional – that provides benefits that are
intrinsic to that food or beverage – is the Holy Grail for consumer nutritional
messaging. With regular and positive attention given to naturally functional
foods by the media, very little in the way of overt health claims is required
for these products.
So potent is the idea of
‘naturally healthy’ that many consumers will even overlook the energy value of
a food! Dark chocolate, olive oils, red wine and nuts are good examples.
So what can we expect to be
some of the top emerging naturally functioning foods throughout 2016?
1. Beans: more than ‘good for your heart’
Beans are a significant part
of traditional diets in a number of countries, shifting from an overnight
soaker to a convenient and tasty snack food.
Beans are high in soluble
fibre and protein, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals such as copper, folate
and iron, as well as being low in fat, low GI, gluten free and containing no
cholesterol.
Beans are enjoying some
serious time in the spotlight this year with 2016 being the UN-declared
International Year of Pulses.
2. Sweetness: that sugar ingredient
Thanks to its suspected role
in obesity, inflammation and disease in general, sugar has become the smoking
gun of the food industry and consumers are rejecting sugar almost as much as
high kilojoule foods.
Artificial sweeteners have
been the main response to these barriers, although alternatives such as
aspartame and phenylalanine are now undesirable for consumers as well. Stevia,
the natural alternative to sugar, has not been as popular as early backers had
hoped.
While consumers say they do
want less sugar in food and beverages, many prefer it to be from a natural
ingredient that’s easy to understand, such as honey.
There is even some evidence
that globally consumers are shifting away from sweetness and perhaps even
lowering their sweetness threshold, evidenced by the growth in savoury
snacking.
3. Free from: is there anything left to avoid?
Gluten free has been a
significant growth trend in recent years, although the key growth opportunity
for the trend over the next 3 – 5 years is likely to be in dairy-free and
lactose-free products. The strong growth of nut milks is evidence of a
fast-growing dairy-free message.
Many naturopaths and personal
trainers default to a dairy-free diet as a prescription for dealing with weight
or digestive problems. Interestingly, when many people reduce, dairy or
lactose, they report feeling the benefit – and feeling the benefit is one of
the biggest motivators for anyone to buy a healthier product.
As with gluten free, the
lactose-free concept is that it delivers a benefit that the consumer can
quickly see or feel.
