NPD in action: Functional beverages

Personalized nutrition is ever-expanding as consumers look for food and beverages that fit their unique lifestyles. This also applies to athletes and gym-lovers seeking to tailor their diets to individual goals beyond high performance and recovery. Sports nutrition now also promotes weight management, skin, cognitive, digestive and immune support.

Women’s health is gaining ground within the dietary supplements market, with claims in this space witnessing an average annual growth of +17 percent (Global, CAGR 2016-2020). Beyond supplements targeting various women’s related health issues – like supporting breastfeeding and pregnancy, regulating the menstrual cycle and enhancing sexual health – products that support active women, featuring energy or immunity claims, are on trend.

While performance nutraceuticals continue to address the professional needs of athletes, the sports nutrition space has expanded to a broader demographics, targeting everyone who needs active nutrition, including in the rising e-sports market. Hot topics include mental focus, digestive support, skin health and plant-based nutrition.

Consumers are increasingly looking to make dietary changes to improve their health and match specific lifestyles. Food fortification and reformulation are both strategies used by companies across F&B categories to answer this consumer demand. Sports Nutrition is the fastest growing category of products fortified with vitamins or minerals (Global, 2016-2020).

Weight management claims are increasingly made on foods, beverages and supplements around the world and are mainly seen in the Sports Nutrition and Supplement categories. Keto products are gaining momentum in the weight management segment, with keto claims witnessing an average annual growth of 67 percent (Global, CAGR 2015-2019) in food, beverage and supplement launches.

With “Transparency Triumphs” as Innova Market Insights’ leading trend for 2021, a growing number of sustainability claims are seen among supplements and nutraceuticals launches. Other trends such as “Tailored to Fit,” “In Tune with Immune” and “Mood: The Next Occasion” are fueling the growing overlap between supplements and food & beverage.