Probiotics: A Viable Market?

Living systems require beneficial bacteria to break down nutrients for digestion and to decompose waste. Probiotics are living microflora, or beneficial bacteria, which are critical in maintaining good health by supporting intestinal balance. Probiotics help to inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria. When harmful bacteria increase and outnumber the good microflora or bacteria within the digestive system, the digestive system becomes unbalanced, which can impede nutritional absorption, accelerate aging, promote cancer (particularly in the colon), reduce immune response, and lead to other ailments such as infection, diarrhea, constipation, colitis and lactose intolerance.

Furthermore, good bacteria is depleted in any number of ways including antibiotic use and infections, as well as lifestyle factors such as stress or following a “modern” diet filled with highly processed and low fiber foods. Combined with the high levels of pesticides, preservatives and toxins in our food and environment, our digestive balance is compromised, debilitating our digestive capacity, slowing decomposition and further weakening our immune systems. These facts are increasingly being recognized by consumers who are searching for natural solutions.

Probiotics’ healthy benefits include:

Recent consumer studies conducted by the Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) provide insight into consumers’ attitudes, understanding and usage of probiotics to determine whether it is a viable market. Is low awareness of probiotics, the topic of intestinal health itself, or unwillingness to embrace “bacteria” as a potential health benefit creating insurmountable barriers for this beneficial ingredient?

Through its research, NMI determined that only one out of five (18 percent) consumers are aware of the term “probiotics”. While this percentage may seem low, only four years ago, awareness was half of that number, with only 9 percent of consumers having heard of the term. (Figure 1)

When awareness of probiotics is examined by age groups and compared with users of other vitamins, minerals and herbal supplements (VMHS), some interesting patterns emerge that highlight opportunity gaps and potential demographic targets. (Figure 2) Usage of VMHS is highest during the age period of 46 to 75, but consumers in this age range show the lowest awareness of probiotics. While probiotics are beneficial to consumers of all ages, they would be especially beneficial to an older age group who may be suffering from many of the conditions probiotics alleviate, such as lactose intolerance, constipation, toxin build-up and colon cancer.

While lack of awareness may be one significant barrier to probiotic use, lack of perceived need may also limit consumer use. Recent NMI findings show consumers’ top five perceived nutrient deficiencies are fiber (27 percent), calcium (26 percent), omega-3s (26 percent), whole grains (25 percent) and water (24 percent). Only 13 percent of the general population state they are deficient in probiotics (partially a function of awareness levels). Women, however, are more likely than men to feel deficient in probiotics.

Perhaps the biggest barrier to probiotic use is simply the lack of understanding of the health benefits associated with probiotics. When asked which health benefits consumers associate with probiotics, almost three-quarters (71 percent) stated they did not know.

Understanding the Users

Despite barriers, approximately 2 million U.S. adults are using probiotics. Users are more likely to be female (68 percent) compared to male (32 percent) and, on average, approximately 47 years old.They also tend to be more affluent and higher educated. About half of users (53 percent) use probiotic supplements every day, and another one in 10 (13 percent) use probiotics only when they need them. The probiotic user is a highly-integrated supplement user, ingesting an average of eight different types of supplements on a typical day, compared to the general population average of less than three supplements per day. Probiotic users also show high usage across a number of diverse supplement categories. (Figure 3).

The primary driver of probiotic use among users is to maintain health, with three-quarters of consumers (75 percent) citing this reason. Secondary drivers of use are to “feel better” (49 percent), to promote health (46 percent) and to reduce risk of disease or disorders (42 percent). Approximately onequarter of users are also using probiotics to treat, manage or prevent a specific medical condition; specifically cited conditions included acid reflux/heartburn, irritable bowel and constipation.

NMI research also uncovered a group of probiotic users who could be defined as “lapsed” users since they had used probiotics in the past, but not in the last 30 days.These lapsed users appear to be condition-specific supplement users who only use probiotics on a temporary basis to alleviate symptoms of a condition, or only when they feel they need it. Highlighting indications for daily use and educating consumers on probiotic immune support functions, detoxifying attributes and vitamin absorption benefits would help bolster usage and fuel higher daily compliance.

The Probiotic Market

Introductions of products containing probiotics are on the rise, with many new product introductions occurring in yogurt, smoothies, spreads, cream cheeses, cereals and shelf stable dressings. Figure 4 illustrates global marketplace activity for new probiotic food and beverage products launched over the past 10 years.

The increased marketplace activity is, in part, being spurred by consumer interest, revealed by various metrics, including a measure that calculates consumer “counts” on the topic. (Figure 5) A similar metric tracks how many medical database mentions about the topic. Looking at both of these measures, it appears that medical “counts” are growing at a much faster rate than consumer counts, possibly indicative of the barriers that consumers may be experiencing with this new concept. However, consumer counts have gradually reached the “Popularization Stage”, indicating that probiotics possibly are becoming a viable market for mass commercialization.

While probiotics are reaching mass market appeal, the timing is excellent to embrace the concept of beneficial bacteria and to help educate consumers about the innumerable benefits of colon and digestive health as they relates not only to specific medical conditions of the digestive tract, but to overall health and well-being.

Steve French is managing partner at The Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), a leading consultancy and research firm specializing in health and wellness. With 25 years of experience across many disciplines, French has pioneered a range of consumer databases, is a frequent speaker at many industry events, and is a published author and contributor to many U.S. and international media sources.

The data sources in this article are from NMI’s Health & Wellness Trends Database™ (HWTD), an annual research study of 2,000+ U.S. general population consumers with seven years of trends, and NMI’s Dietary Supplement Consumer Insight Database (DSCID). Both studies are nationally projectable and have a margin of error of ±2 percent.