How Health and Wellness Trends Are Altering the Product Development Game

How Health and Wellness Trends Are Altering the Product Development Game

by Mike Wahl

TheAmerican way of life is changing. The nostalgic days of moms home-cookedmeals are becoming a way of the past. In todays society, meals are becoming amatter of convenience, rather than an opportunity for the entire family to sitdown together. And when meals are made to be fast and easy, the healthfulness ofthese foods is often compromised.

This new trend presents a significant challengeandopportunityfor food manufacturers. American consumers have shown that theyare willing to pay premium prices for recognizable health benefits. The boomingnatural and organic markets, along with the barrage of upscale grocers poppingup all over the country, are perfect examples. There is a substantial market forhealth-conscious consumers willing to pay premium margins for great-tastinghealthy foods.

To fully appreciate the scope of the market, Kerry Ingredientspartnered with the A.C. Nielsen Center for Marketing Research at the Universityof Wisconsin-Madison School of Business to launch the National Health andWellness Survey. This online questionnaire reached 2,123 American households andserved as an important tool to investigate the current consumer behaviors,lifestyles, concerns, perceptions and beliefs that are shaping the food industrytoday.

One of the most significant findings of the survey was 42percent of respondents were either very or extremely concerned about theirstress levels, making it the number one health concern among U.S. adults. Despite this high level of concern, only 14 percent ofrespondents said they treated this health condition through diet on a regularbasis.This was by far the largest disconnect and may point to an untappedopportunity to develop and market stress-reducing foods. The research suggeststhe demand greatly exceeds the supply for these types of products.

Also high on the list of consumers concerns were severalheartrelated health conditions such as heart disease (31.5 percent), high bloodpressure (27.3 percent) and high cholesterol (27 percent). In this case,however, these conditions proved to have a much larger influence on howconsumers eat and will continue to do so, as more consumers recognize theseconditions can be managed in part by maintaining a healthy diet.

Arthritis is another condition having a substantial effect onAmericans. Roughly 10 percent of respondents reported that joint painlimits their activities. Arthritis is only one of a host of age-relatedconditions that continues to slow down an aging American population (othersinclude lung/breathing problems, high blood pressure, poor eyesight, etc.). Asthe baby boomer generation moves towards retirement, they will continue to seekout remedies for these conditions. And as recent studies have shown a linkbetween certain nutritional ingredients and improvement of related healthconditions, consumers are increasingly using food as medicine. It is likely wewill continue to see foods fortified with glucosamine and chondroitin forarthritis, or lutein and zeaxanthin for eyesight.

The research also reinforced the theory that America doesindeed have a weight problem. Three-quarters of respondents classifiedthemselves as overweight, with one-third at least 30 pounds overweight. These numbers were in line with the national averagespublished in other recent studies. However, 52 percent of respondents reportedtheir health as being more important to them now than a year ago, suggesting ashift in consumer behavior. This shift in behavior will continue to presentopportunities for food manufacturers to develop innovative healthy alternativesto meet the demand of a more health-conscious consumer base.

Before discontinuing every unhealthy product, manufacturersmust remember one important thinghealthy products must be tasty, affordableand convenient, or they will ultimately fail.The demise of the poor-tasting lowcarb fad is the perfect example. When asked how important certain benefits orattributes were to consumers when purchasing food, the highest scores went totaste, affordability and convenience. An overwhelming 95 percent of respondentssaid taste was very or extremely important, while none of the health-relatedbenefits tested scored above 60 percent. This presents a significant, ongoingchallenge for R&D labs across the world seeking healthy product solutionsthat still possess these important attributes.

A final highlight from the survey results is that four out of10 respondents expressed an interest in packaging that addresses portion controlthrough smaller package sizes. This may be a growing opportunity for foodmanufacturers looking for alternative routes to tap into the health and wellnesstrend.

These survey results have been key to Kerrys efforts todevelop a better understanding of the health and wellness issues affectingconsumers today, and work with food manufacturers to develop appropriate productsolutions based on primary market research and expressed consumer demand.

Mike Wahl is a market research analyst with Beloit, Wis.-basedKerry Ingredients, and can be contacted at [email protected]. Kerry suppliesover 10,000 foods, food ingredients and flavor products to customers in morethan 140 countries worldwide. Kerry develops, produces and markets more than10,000 lifestyle and nutritional foods, flavors and ingredients to customers inmore than 140 countries.