Survey: Nutrition Industry Optimistic Despite Political Uncertainty

10 Mar 2017 --- Political and economic uncertainties have failed to dent optimism in the nutrition industry, research carried out exclusively for Vitafoods Europe 2017, the global nutraceutical event, has shown. There has been speculation about the impact that political shocks such as Brexit will have on the industry. But research by the organizers of Vitafoods Europe (taking place between 9 and 11 May in Palexpo, Geneva) paints an overwhelmingly positive picture, with excitement about consumer awareness and developing markets on the rise.

Visitors to the event* were asked how they felt about the future of their businesses in terms of sales performance and profitability. Nearly nine in ten (88%) said they felt either very positive or quite positive. When the same question was asked last year, 87% said they were either very or quite positive, suggesting that industry optimism has not diminished over the past twelve months.

Chris Lee, Managing Director, Global Health and Nutrition Network, Europe, Informa Exhibitions said: “It’s a sign of the resilience and resourcefulness of our industry that even in a period of political uncertainty, companies are focusing on opportunities rather than problems. With consumers increasingly interested in nutrition, markets opening up across the world, and innovative new ingredients emerging, there’s a lot to be excited about. Vitafoods Europe helps visitors understand those opportunities and make the most of them. But there will always be challenges too, and part of our role is to support the industry in meeting them.” 

When asked to name the three biggest opportunities for their companies, over half the survey respondents (53%) identified increased consumer awareness of nutrition, up from 50% last year, and a third (33%) chose growth in developing markets – up from 24%. Four in ten (41%) cited innovation through new ingredients. 

Vitafoods Europe is the place to discover and explore these opportunities. Year on year, businesses use the event as a platform for launches, and hundreds of new ingredients will be exhibited and demonstrated at this year’s event, 90 of them in the New Ingredients Zone alone. 

There will also be plenty of innovation on show in the New Products Zone, and the Springboard Pavilion will provide a space to engage with entrepreneurs at the cutting edge of the nutrition sector. For visitors who like their information bite-sized, the unique Vitafoods Launchpad will offer concise, highly focused exhibitor presentations about the latest products and ingredients. 

As well as allowing companies to explore and understand opportunities, Vitafoods Europe helps them deal with the challenges they face. Foremost among these, the survey suggests, is stricter regulation, which was identified as a challenge by 44% of survey respondents. 

Part of the role of Vitafoods Europe is to help the industry prepare for opportunities approaching on the horizon, and the survey suggests that personalized nutrition is the next big trend to look out for.

Visitors were asked what they saw as the three most important trends for the industry. For the short term (over the next 12 months) personalized nutrition was picked by one in five respondents (19%). However, when they were asked to think about the long term (the next three years) over a third (35%) identified it as an important trend. The figures reflect the emergence of new possibilities such as individualized dietary guidelines, wearable technology, and personalized nutrition based on genetic testing.

*Survey of 143 people who have visited Vitafoods Europe in the past, and / or will visit the 2017 event. Conducted between 6 December 2016 and 3 February 2017.