The Future for Functional Foods in Europe

The first data from the HealthFocus Trend Survey, collected from more than 2000 'primary grocery shoppers' (mostly women) in Western Europe - the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands - shows that the European consumer is lagging far behind the US, Australia and Chinese consumer in terms of health shopping.

According to Linda Gilbert, president of HealthFocus International, despite being less proactive consumers than the Americans, Europeans remain a key target for functional food manufacturers. 'Europe is probably a more challenging marketplace to deliver new technology and science because of the concerns about the way food is prepared. But there are also considerable opportunities. Europeans are more committed to the idea that food has functional components. This means that as they already recognise the benefits, you just have to give them little reason to disbelieve, and confirm their views.'

'The challenge clearly is to understand what their current behaviour is. How can manufacturers perhaps either develop products to fit in to current behaviour or address some of the barriers, such as taste and convenience,' continued Gilbert.

However, if functional foods continue to gain in popularity, Gilbert believes that healthcare authorities could reimburse costs noting that there are some test programmes already in place. 'It is obvious that prescribing a cholesterol-lowering product is cheaper and has fewer side effects for the patient than conventional drugs, so there is an expectation that healthcare may start to look in this direction.'

According to the European survey, German shoppers were most likely to see some foods and beverages as a way to reduce the use of certain medical treatments. The European research also revealed a strong 'nutritional individualisation trend' in the region. According to Gilbert, 'Everyone has different needs, from a child, to its mother to the teenage brother. We need to move from one-size-fits-all nutritional advice. Not just in Europe, but in all our research, about three out of four people recognise this. And this gives manufacturers a chance to create a sense of 'us-ness' with their consumer. They can be less distant and more personal. And they can customise a product to a certain extent.' Europeans are also more concerned by the 'natural' aspect of foods than their American counterparts.

All articles 2006-22 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.

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