The Top 10 Functional Food Trends

Whether to prevent disease, pump up performance, or to promote overall wellness, consumers are increasingly seeking out products that deliver highly specific health benefits.

Food Technology Magazine | Article

A. Elizabeth Sloan

Functional foods are fast becoming a part of everyday life. Two-thirds of adults made an effort to buy more fortified foods last year—up 17% over 2005 (MSI, 2007a). One-third of young adults age 18–24 regularly drink energy beverages (Experian, 2007). And more than half (57%) of mothers of preteens bought organic foods last year (MSI, 2007b).Younger consumers are a key target audience for functional foods and beverages; those age 18–24 are most likely to purchase such a product. The ability to improve mental performance is a sought-after benefit among users of functional products.

With the majority (69%) of Americans pursuing a preventive lifestyle and 27% taking a treatment approach, not surprisingly, products that offer specific hea…







Figure 1. Benefits offered by top 10 new food and beverage brands, “Pacesetters,” introduced February 2006 – January 2007.




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In This Article

  1. Food Business Trends
  2. Consumer and Marketplace Trends
  3. Food, Health and Nutrition
  4. Food, Health and Nutrition
  5. Functional Foods
  6. Food, Health and Nutrition
  7. Obesity and Weight Management

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