FMCG Gurus, a market research company specializing in the natural products space, recently announced its projections for the top ten trends of 2021 among consumers of dietary supplements, functional foods, and functional beverages, following one of the most uncertain and turbulent years in recent history, in terms of both day-to-day life and the ongoing, evolving needs and attitudes of consumers.
 
The trends are largely informed by the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic, and how consumers’ attitudes and behavioral patterns might change as a period of recovery from the pandemic begins.
 
Proactive Living
The first trend highlighted by the company was proactive living – summarized as a belief held among consumers that the best approach to physical and cognitive health problems is to prevent them from occurring. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, an overwhelming majority of consumers around the globe report that they are planning to eat and drink more healthily as a result of COVID-19 (79% globally).
 
There appears to be a concern about worsening sleep health over the past two years among consumers. 36% of those surveyed said that their sleep health worsened in 2019, and that claim rose to 44% in 2020. The company found that consumers spend an average of 40 hours per week on smartphones, and often use devices when they should be trying to go to sleep at night. “The reality is that consumers are being exposed to blue light, which can effect eye health and cognitive health as consumers continue struggling to get to sleep,” Mike Hughes, head of FMCG Gurus’ research and insights division, said.
 
Further, consumers told FMCG Gurus that they will largely be focusing on the avoidance and moderation of unhealthy products and ingredients, motivated by a number of dietary habits which “slipped” in 2020, as people turned to food and drink for moments of escapism from daily pressures, the company said. “However, consumers are recognizing now that they need to make fundamental changes.”
 
“Consumers are recognizing that they’re suffering from a number of physical and cognitive health problems, and are taking a prevention over cure approach to health. Consumers are looking to stay healthy for as late in life as possible. They recognize that good mental and cognitive health are just as important as physical. Consumers are also taking a proactive approach in researching the ingredients they use to achieve wellness,” Hughes said.
 
“Nearly one quarter of consumers told FMCG Gurus that they believe their health has deteriorated in the last two years,” Hughes said. “There are a variety of reasons for this, but at a time when consumers are more concerned about their health than ever before, expect consumers to conduct more research on nutrition than ever before.”
 
Safe and Secure
Risk avoidance will continue to be a trend in 2021, the company said. Beyond people’s concerns about overall health and safety, this translates to concerns over the amount of money gone to waste, meaning that they demand to be convinced that they are getting the greatest amount of value for their money.
 
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, concerns were very high regarding everyday living costs. In the midst of a global recession, these concerns have amplified, and over half of consumers have looked to reduce spending on foods and drinks, and have become less brand-conscious when buying food (53% and 52% respectively). Because of tighter budgets, global consumers are looking to save money on certain products in order to justify spending more elsewhere, the company said.
 
Another component of this trend is ethnocentric purchasing habits – 50% of consumers on a global level are seeking more information on the origin of products than ever before. This means that locally-produced goods with attributes of healthiness and sustainability are a big win-win for an individual and brand. Home-grown products are associated with having a superior quality, the company said.
 
“Consumers are concerned about the safety of the economy, and only one in four households believe they could deal with an economic downturn,” Hughes said. “Consumers are more conscious of countries of origin and shortened supply chains. They want to make their money go further. Consumers are also re-evaluating their attitudes toward packaging.”
 
Packaging, now linked with food safety, is seeing a more positive reception, in the wake of recent years in which packaging was looked upon less fondly due to environmental implications.
 
Rediscovering Health
“Consumers are becoming more concerned about hteir basic health, such as their vulnerability to disease and ability to recover from illness,” the company said. This translates to a trend in which people are taking a closer look at their fitness regimens and nutrition at a broad level.
 
Globally, only 54% of consumers reported that they were satisfied with their immune health in 2019, and in 2020, only 49% of consumers agreed with that statement. A majority of consumers tie having a poor immune system to both long-term health problems as well as susceptibility to everyday health problems.
 
The top five ingredients most likely to be sought out for immune health purposes globally are omega-3s, vitamin C, calcium, protein, and probiotics, FMCG Gurus said. Another observation was that 90% of global consumers prefer functional food to nutritional supplements as of this year. 44% of consumers at the tail end of 2020 reported that they are looking to reduce their sugar intake, which went up due to poor eating habits associated with the first half of 2020.
 
Introducing products made to boost immune and physical health comes with a caveat though. “It is crucial that products are not positioned as magic bullet health solutions and that product claims are deemed to be credible,” the company said.
 
The Power of Plants
Plant-based foods have had staying power throughout the course of 2020, and will continue to be a prominent part of behavioral trends next year, FMCG Gurus projects. Linked to both health and sustainability benefits, the improving tastes and textures of meat and dairy alternatives will be a key driving factor in the continued success of plant-based products, as consumers expect to be able to mimic the experience of eating meat and other animal-based foods. 41% of global consumers admit they would struggle to give up dairy in the long term, and 35% of global consumers remain concerned that plant-based food tastes bland and boring, the company said.
 
Globally, 26% of consumers surveyed identified themselves as “flexitarian,” which means that their diet is centered on plant foods with the occasional inclusion of meat. Plant-based dairy has been increasing dramatically, with over 41% of global consumers reporting that they turn to dairy alternatives. A heavy emphasis (67%) on the importance of plant-based alternatives tasting the same as dairy products continues to be an edict in this category. The flexitarian movement is driving products that would otherwise be niche into the mainstream, Hughes said.
 
Mental and sleep health support is a major driving factor for the use of botanical products this year, and this health application will continue to be key for the product category as a whole next year, FMCG Gurus said.
 
Better for You, Not Best For You
There are a plethora of attributes that consumers are looking for when it comes to foods, drinks, and supplements. However, it can’t be overlooked that, occasionally, indulgence is a must for most.
 
“Consumers often adopt a debit and credit approach to eating healthy,” Hughes said. “People will adopt healthy products to allow themselves to indulge at a later time.”
 
Where they do indulge, though, consumers still value some healthy aspects when it comes to snacking, and being able to indulge in a convenient and guilt-free matter is still a major desire. Within the snacking category, the leading claims that consumers considered heatlhy were low sugar, sugar free, natural ingredients, and high in probiotics.
 
However, how seriously consumers take their avoidance and moderation of unhealthy foods will vary on an occasion-to-occasion basis. 56% of global consumers have sought out more comfort foods, such as confectionary, more than normal this year, and an even greater proportion (62%) reported this year that they like to enjoy moments of indulgence where they pay little to no attention to nutritional intake in moments of “pure hedonism.” Of all the challenges related to leading a healthy lifestyle, 48% of consumers said that the biggest barrier was relative cost.
 
“It is important to remember that moments of reward and escapism are needed,” Hughes said, “but they can’t conflict with wider health goals.”
 
Natural Blueprint
Natural ingredients speak both to transparency and to a variety of health benefits, and have been highly preferred over the past several years - they will continue to be a leading differentiator in the coming year, FMCG Gurus said. Preference for natural sweeteners appears to be positive on a global level, with a majority of consumers globally (55%) reporting that they view natural sweeteners as a healthier alternative to sugar.
 
Additionally, 61% of consumers reported this year that they view fewer ingredients in a grocery product as better, and 63% of consumers said they are willing to search product labels for ingredients they don’t recognize.
 
Because these preferences come from a place of distrust toward claims made by food brands (25% of global consumers), “transparency and authenticity around natural formulation claims is crucial,” the company said.
 
Taste First, Think Second
Taste continues to be the number one determining factor of consumer appeal in foods and beverages, and won’t be going anywhere any time soon. Taste has a bifurcating appeal among consuemrs, associated with both experimentation and being adventurous, and, in times of uncertainty, indulgence is associated with nostalgic qualities.
 
54% of consumers said in the survey that they like new and unusual flavors, with the same amount of people considering themselves adventurous when trying foods and drinks. 61% of consumers said that they have become more experimental with food and drink in the past five years. Experimentation within foods is also tied to sophistication, the company said, with the leading types of explorations having to do with exotic foods and drinks from around the world, as well as novel serving suggestions. Textures can make or break new and alternative food types, with 53% of consumers finding new and novel textures appealing, but 30% of consumers turning away from meat analogs due to the texture of those products, for example. 22% of global consumers are also concerned about the texture of plant based snacks as a whole.
 
On the other end, in times of uncertainty, consumer tend to indulge in foods and drinks that remind them of simpler times, the company said. 41% of survey participants told the company that they eat and drink less healthily when stressed, and 63% of global consumers said they want more nostalgic offerings in the food products available to them.
 
The Earth is Clear
Consumers are demanding that social and environmental responsibility is at the forefront of any company’s strategy, the company found. Many consumers believe that the environment as a whole is on a tipping point, with 74% of global consumers claiming they are concerned about the state of the environment, and 53% of consumers believing the damage done to the environment is irreversible.
 
Transparency in times of uncertainty is a crucial component of appealing to potential consumers, as 25% of those around the globe say that they level of trust they have toward food brands has deteriorated in the last two years, and even more (35%) saying htat brands are not transparent when it comes to communicating practices and policies.
 
In the food, beverage, and supplement space, the top issues pertaining to social and environmental responsibility are carbon emission (73%), global warming (71%), plastic pollution (68%), food waste (67%), and deforestation (62%). 65% of consumers believe brands should be doing more on the whole to protect the environment, and 43% of consumers want brands doing more to protect vulnerable members of society.
 
Menu for Me
Especially with the advent of apps and other assistive technologies, consumers want their nutrition advice and opportunities to be presented to them in a more personalized manner.
 
For example, when asked about a hypothetical chip-enabled skin patch that would monitor nutrition levels and provide real-time information on when one needs to increase their intake of certain nutrients, 62% of global consumers thought such a product would be appealing. On a more present level, 29% of consumers believe there is a lack of products currently on the market that meet their nutritional requirements.
 
With 11% of consumers reporting that they’ve conducted research into their own personal genetics, it appears likely that there will be opportunities related to DNA-based nutrition in the near future, especially for areas such as immune health, healthy aging, and other proactive approaches to health. Clearly, there will be ethical questions that warrant answers in this area, especially in regard to information security, and how companies involved in nutrition-based genetic testing communicate.
 
Eating Out, Dining In
Due to the widespread closures and restrictions on dining out, many consumers have been introduced to the idea of having more premium food experiences in the home. For these reasons, technology has become a central part of the ordering process and offers new opportunities.
 
84% of consumers said that they used mobile apps to make orders from foodservice channels, and 63% of consumers find appeal in terminals that would allow them to order food before getting to a counter, showing a skew away from more conventional dining experiences.
 
Even when COVID-19 ends, 44% of consumers anticipate fewer trips to restaurants and other foodservice channels, and will have more premium at-home food experiences in lieu of this change. 40% of global consumers are making greater efforts to sit down and eat as a family, and nearly as many (37%) are replicating big nights at home, which would normally be held elsewhere.
 
While consumers find the use of e-commerce for food shopping increasingly appealing, one main barrier exists: 70% of consumers reported that the need to physically evaluate products before purchasing them is the main reason for not shopping online.