Formulating Foods for Teens

Unless you've been under a rock the past few years, you'd know that functional foods are the hottest craze in the food industry today. These products feature naturally occurring or added ingredients that create a performance enhancement or benefit. According to Linda Eatherton, executive vice president and director of global food and nutrition practice at public relations agency Ketchum, Chicago, it is the largest growing category in nutrition and ingredient marketing today, as well as the fastest-growing segment in the food industry, with $57 billion in global sales and an annual growth rate of 10% per year.

Now, unless you've been under an even bigger rock, you'd know that the fastest-growing market for any goods, especially food, is the teen market. Teens are spending money like never before. According to an April 2002 report on U.S.-adolescent eating habits by information provider Mintel International Group Ltd., Chicago, U.S. teens spend roughly $15 billion per year on fast food alone (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000). In addition, across all food and beverage categories, Mintel estimates that these adolescents exert $43 billion to $50 billion worth of influence on family spending.

All of this information leads to the obvious conclusion that a marriage between functional foods and the teen market could be a blissful one. And, judging by the success of certain functional-food products already popular with teens -- like energy drinks or meal-replacement products -- it looks to be a prosperous one as well. A survey of how and where adolescents get their attitudes toward functional foods will help determine what functional-food products teens may be looking for in the future.

The 2001 International Food Information Council study on U.S. adults regarding food and health contains some obvious reasons for the potential growth of the teen functional-food market. The study indicates that 71% of U.S. adults believe that nutrition is a primary indicator of health, as compared to exercise at 63% and family genetics at 41%. In addition, more than half of those surveyed claimed to religiously eat at least three products with "health benefits" per day.

While the reasons for this health revival are related to very adult concerns like heart disease or cancer, these attitudes have percolated down to teens under adult care. Baby boomers have passed their health interests along to the younger set and with that, the adolescent market has begun to flourish.

"There is a growing health and performance consciousness among kids and teens," says Susan Pitman, MA, R.D., vice president at the Washington D.C. office of public-relations firm Porter Novelli. "But, also, there are the parents of these teens who will also look for products that are cool for kids, but healthful for parents to buy for kids. Knowing that their teens are on the go, and that they are likely not to eat many of the so-called 'healthy foods,' parents look for products that are fortified with nutrients that will appeal to both the health of their teenager, and to the needs -- or perceived needs -- of the teens themselves."

Dave Taylor, owner of Nature's Harvest Market and Deli in Tampa, FL, and chairman of the National Nutritional Foods Association Retail Council, has witnessed a growing change in adolescents' attitudes -- without parental influence -- toward health and functional foods. "I see a little bit of a trend toward kids eating vegetarian, eating whole foods," he says. "They're actually helping their parents understand what they are to be eating on a vegetarian diet, or forcing them to come in to pick up foods to learn more about vegetarian lifestyle."

Part of this interest, as suggested by Taylor, could be a new interpretation of what is cool and/or an imitation of role models who promote vegetarianism and health. Regardless, this shift from the norm helps demonstrate the vicissitudes of adolescent consumer habits and outlines the reality that, with teens, anything is possible, including the desire for functional foods.

"In the U.S., teens and young adults who claim to be vegans are growing exponentially," says Eatherton. "Early adopters and influential peers have built a momentum behind this trend that establishes a 'righteous' eating habit that few adults abide by. Thus, the age-old yin-yang between youth and adults is preserved." She predicts that, in the future, other diets, like vegan, will be born out of the sports-nutrition and weight-loss areas. "'All-natural,' however, is key to the success of these products. This age group is very negative on chemical or synthetic answers to their diet and health needs. They are likely to jump on the 'food first' bandwagon before using pills or supplements, but will insist on the naturalness of the product," she says.

Eatherton also notes more youthful drivers for functional foods in the sports-nutrition marketplace in the United States, China, Japan and the United Kingdom (all leading markets for sports-nutrition marketing). This younger, more-active group is looking for "enablers," she says -- foods that make lifestyle goals possible. These include meal-replacement products; wellness beverages like teas and isotonics; performance products to help increase output and results; probiotics to promote positive bacterial balance in the body; and protein supplements, such as soy products.

"I have three teenagers and I see kids come into my store, so I know first hand: Teens gravitate toward protein shakes or functional shakes where they can get nutrients," says Taylor. "A lot of kids don't get a good start in the morning. A lot of them, when they come in with their parents, are just going through the nutrition bars, grabbing five, 10 bars at a time because they know that their parents aren't going to have the time to make them breakfast."

The flip side of this teen meal-replacement fad is weight management, a serious concern not only for adolescents, but also for their parents or guardians. According to Pitman, with nearly a quarter of America's kids now overweight, and the doubling of obesity numbers over the last decade, weight management will be key for these teens.

"I think that products that reduce glycine load or that provide more satiety will be looked to among teens in the future," says Pitman. "Teens will continue to pick up the 'mantra of the day' from their elders: being overweight and obesity, weight management, watching carbohydrates, eating foods that make you feel full on fewer calories, and still provide a great nutritional punch. These will all be crucial to the teen market in years to come."

According to Pitman, type-2 diabetes is on the rise among America's youth. In addition, those under 19 years old have increasingly high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Almost 90% of kids don't eat the recommended servings of fruits or vegetables per day, nor do they get the recommended exercise.

Pitman also suggests beverages with few calories or little added sugar that are fortified with calcium and other nutrients necessary for optimal growth. Great taste, of course, is also necessary. Anton Anglich, vice president of the sweet business unit, Symrise, Teterboro, NJ, notes that, like other segments of the population, teenagers demand that something must taste good. "If the taste fails," he says, "they will not stay long with the product."

Performance is undeniably an essential aspect of any adolescent's life, whether it is in academics or sports. This reality paves a generous path toward multiple opportunities for the teen functional-food market, including shakes or juices enhanced with ingredients like Ginkgo biloba, ginseng, agave or creatine. It may also include products rich in protein, especially soy. Companies like Blue Sky in Santa Fe, NM, or Fuze Beverages in Englewood, NJ, manufacture and market healthy infusions in cool, eye-catching bottles.

"Optimal-performance-, mental-performance- and energy-enhancing products is an area that is definitely on the rise," says Pitman. "Again, I think this is something driven by adults down to the teen market. Parents are dealing with more and more issues around attention-deficit disorders -- whether real or perceived. In addition, adults themselves are more and more concerned with their children's lack of 'mental focus.' Studies show that moms of preteen children believe that vitamins can enhance physical performance and cognitive ability, promote healthy skin, improve mental state or relieve depression, and reduce hyperactivity and increase attention span."

Pitman states that many parents are also buying fortified foods that contain nutrients proven to provide some sort of performance benefit, whether short- or long-term. As they purchase these products for their children, or as the teens themselves demand or purchase them, the self-care movement is moving from parents to kids.

Apart from functional products that directly affect health in terms of weight management or physical and mental activity, an enormously untapped functional-food niche is those products that may improve physical appearance, e.g., healthier hair or clearer skin.

"The more consumers learn about nutrition and health, the more they want to know how that applies to their appearance," says Pitman. "One would assume that, among teens, they are less concerned about longer-term disease prevention and likely more interested in what a product can do for appearance. These products could fall into traditional health, topical beauty aides or supplement/food form."

According to Eatherton, products that relieve stress will also be highly desirable. "Stress is one of the hottest topics of discussion among teens today," she says. "Adolescents, like so many, are attributing low self-esteem, poor dating, poor grades, or inability to make a team or get into a good school as functional outputs of stress. Right or wrong, this will be another place the youth market will be looking for functional-food solutions."

More so than with any other age demographic, clever packaging is essential for the teen marketplace. This is as much the case, or even more so, with functional foods, since the notion is more obscure than foods that merely taste good. Showing an instantaneous or quick benefit attributed to the product is important.

"As witnessed by the rise in meal replacements," says Eatherton, in reference to such products as the ready lunch, "food products must be handheld, portable, functionally and innovatively packaged to attract attention. This is the generation, remember, that loves to 'play with their foods,' as seen with squeeze yogurts and green ketchup."

Convenience for both parents and teens is critical because teens are often on the go and parents are always striving to get them to eat healthy snacks. This is witnessed in the beverage market, where the teen products are strong, convenient and come in interesting packaging. Additionally, parents are very busy and want assurance that the products are good for their kids. Both benefit from snacks and mini meals that provide health benefits.

The quicker the benefit, the better. "This is not an age group that is willing to invest long periods of time and money to patiently see the benefit," says Eatherton. "The result must be clear, sudden and valuable. Proof will not be in the science for them, but in the pudding -- among their peers. When word gets out that the most popular football player on campus ate a certain product for breakfast for six days and his acne cleared up, you can bet there will be a rush to market."

The teen market is very volatile. What may be popular today most assuredly will not be popular tomorrow. Yet within this platitude there exists some wisdom, especially regarding functional foods: If you change with kids, the market will remain bountiful.

"While each of these markets (meal replacement, energy, probiotics, etc.) are in a very different place relative to the types of most-desired products, the themes are consistent across the globe," says Eatherton. In an era when obesity is not just a social curse but an epidemic, "teens that are driven by personal image, style and peers will repackage the health and nutrition information swirling in media and among family and friends to create a set of personalized drivers in the nutrition arena."

These drivers will change, but a crafty pulse on teen mores can tap a boundless pool of time-proven truths: Kids want to feel good, look good and excel. If functional products can offer believable and true health benefits and be presented in convenient and appealing ways, the market is promising. And the more this category is explored, the closer it will become to being institutionalized.

"What's critical to the consumer at any age is convenience and where they shop for the products," says Pitman. He notes that distribution channels will be interesting to watch, considering the current success of retail channels that emphasize health and organic wholesomeness, such as Whole Foods Market. "It will be interesting to see how the parent/teen interplay takes the functional-foods trend in retail outlets," he says. "Will a teen-health section be next?"

Steven Luff is a Los Angeles-based food and restaurant writer specializing in organic and natural foods. He has worked for a number of years as a bread baker and appreciates the complexities of the food industry from company management to end product. He has written numerous articles regarding the medicinal qualities of food and the importance of wholesome ingredients.

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