Sandra Howe10.01.09
Parents' priorities are changing when it comes to children's functional foods and nutritional supplements, according to recent research. What are the broader trends emerging as a result of this population's shifting priorities-and thus choices? How are retailers and manufacturers capitalizing on those trends? Can they innovate and reformulate functional foods and dietary supplements into products that both parents and kids will gladly embrace?
Children's functional foods and supplements account for a sizable chunk of the total functional foods and supplement markets, according to Carlotta Mast, editor of Nutrition Business Journal (NBJ), Boulder, CO.
In 2008, for instance, the market for "healthy kids' products" in the U.S. market was worth more than $10 billion. Of that, children's functional food sales neared $8 billion, while children's supplements sales were just more than $1 billion-this compares to total functional foods sales of almost $37 billion and total supplement sales of $25 billion. These estimates were based on recent research compiled for NBJ's 2009 "Healthy Kids' Market Report."
First, the why: In the past 30 years, obesity has more than doubled in children, according to National Center for Health Statistics, and one in four American children is overweight. Similar statistics have been observed in much of Europe as well.
Obesity, most experts believe, leads to a wide variety of problems, including type 2 diabetes, asthma, sleep apnea and heart disease. And all of these health issues are on the rise in American children, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
CDC also reports that food allergies have increased 18% during the past 10 years, although it's unclear whether this is due to a greater number of food allergies occurring, or to greater success in recognizing food allergies in children.
Parents are naturally concerned for their children. They know, thanks to constant popular media exposure, that children may be the first generation to die sooner than the previous generation.
Just Kid Inc., Norwalk, CT, which researches children's products and how they perform in the marketplace, conducted its first nationwide survey on mothers' attitudes toward their children's foods 10 years ago. Then, it found that mothers prioritized convenience and "kid fun" when it came to food.
But a second recently conducted nationwide survey reveals a significant change in attitude, says Amy Henry, managing director of research and strategy at Just Kid Inc.
For this new survey, "The Mom study," 3600 mothers of children (ages 2-14) were taken through a 30-minute interview. It turns out that today's mothers are now more aware that the decisions they make today shape their children's eating habits and thus their overall health for the long term.
As a result, "moms are often looking for reassurance that the simple nutritional rules they learned from their grandmas can be fulfilled by the products that their kids are asking for today," Ms. Henry said. "We now know that moms look first to 'whole foods' and fresh foods to meet their needs."
Ms. Henry observed that while "functional food marketing has relied upon convincing moms that a specialized ingredient matters most…we now know that moms aren't necessarily looking for the latest or the most trendy ingredient."
However, functional ingredients still play an important role. "This doesn't mean that parents don't value functional ingredients," Ms. Henry said. In fact, she said they'd be attracted to natural, wholesome foods that contain functional ingredients compared to other products that don't.
"So while moms might not buy an artificial beverage with vitamin C over authentic orange juice, they might gravitate toward a brand of orange juice that has added nutrients that are harder for them to find, or to get enough of in other foods their kids like," Ms. Henry added. "In other words, these added ingredients can be a great tie-breaker at shelf."
Ms. Mast says NBJ's 2009 "Healthy Kids' Market Report," in which more than 100 companies were interviewed in great detail, is in line with the Mom Study.
"The real growth is likely to be in natural and organic offerings that are truly healthy and free from long ingredient lists, artificial colors and preservatives, high-fructose corn syrup, and even common allergens, such as gluten and nuts," she said. "Parents are proving increasingly willing to pay for such products for their kids-even if it means scrimping on something for themselves in the current economy."
Moreover, she said, "The economy is also driving parents to expect more 'value' from the products they purchase, which could present a competitive advantage for those companies selling foods and beverages that pack a healthy punch. So, companies that can provide wholesome foods providing much-needed functional ingredients will likely thrive in this environment."
Any food, including functional foods, must fit into mothers' hectic lives, according to Ms. Henry's Mom Study. Breakfast, for example, is often a rushed affair, with mothers torn between wanting to ensure that their children eat healthy food, and getting them to school on time. Thus, "things like breakfast bars that go beyond a cookie to a truly healthy solution are likely to gain momentum," she commented.
Mothers also want to provide healthy lunches, but don't want to supervise to make sure their children eat it. Thus, functional foods that fit into mothers' busy lives and that children love to eat is a recipe for success.
Trix yogurt and Go-gurt are two examples that fit the bill. These inherently healthy products have been reformulated to be more appealing to kids, so that they request it and will eat it.
Ms. Henry's research shows that mothers also want their children's food to be fun. For example, "Go-gurt, and more recently Danimals Crush Cups have made the eating experience so convenient and engaging that kids focus more on the fun and less on the food," she said.
The Mom study also shows that mothers are so busy that only a small sub-set will actually research the "latest and greatest ingredients." Thus, messaging about any new ingredient must be simple. "It must be easy for moms to connect a nutrient with a true benefit that matters for her kids," Ms. Henry offered. So, clear stories that link nutrients to moms' real health concerns for her kids will most likely succeed.
The Mom Study indicates a strong preference toward "positive nutrition," as opposed to "negative nutrition."
In other words, parents prefer the preventive approach, through wholesome foods, functional foods and supplements. This approach is still more enticing than a product that promises to fix a problem or to void a negative.
Other studies confirm this preference for positive nutrition. For example, Shannon Brown, a research analyst at Packaged Facts, finds that "whereas in the past consumers were primarily reactive, trying to treat health problems as they developed, today they are more proactive, increasingly opting for functional, more nutritious foods now to avert health problems later." Packaged Facts' recent research (May 2009) is in line with the Mom Study's discovery that parents are searching for "pure food" that contains no hidden ingredients or fillers. Ms. Brown also found that even the children themselves are increasingly choosing natural flavors.
Incidentally, many companies are already incorporating functional ingredients into products that kids already eat and drink, like whole grains, real fruit, extra vitamins and even soy, Ms. Brown noted.
And when it comes to dietary supplements, a Natural Institutes of Health (NIH) survey shows that children more often use dietary supplements for "wellness purposes" rather than to treat a specific health condition-a trend which mirrors that of "positive nutrition." In this survey, 9417 children were interviewed, out of a total of 75,764 people in 29,915 families. It revealed that children were most likely to take echinacea, fish oils, flaxseed oil and probiotics as supplements.
"Healthy brain development is one of the biggest trends in children's functional products going on right now, in the form of DHA and omega fats," said Packaged Facts' Ms. Brown.
Foods and beverages that contain ingredients like probiotics and prebiotics-which promote gut health and immunity-are also high on the list. "A variety of ingredients that treat hyperactivity and allergies are also appealing; vitamins are another important draw," Ms. Brown added.
According to Innova Market Insights' comprehensive database, vitamin and mineral fortification for food products has become very common, and will continue to remain a strong trend for the future. Its database also agrees with Ms. Brown in that ingredients such as probiotics and prebiotics will be in great demand for the future.
Another emerging trend that parents are starting to embrace is "exotic" foods, and more specifically, Asian food, according to both Packaged Facts and the Center for Culinary Development.
The traditional "firewall" between more sophisticated adult food and more basic kids' foods has come crashing down, leading to this "kid-adult fusion" food approach. This suggests that children's tastes are broadening, thus leading to greater opportunities in new products. Even some mainstream baby food makers in the U.S. are starting to include "exotic" ingredients such as Indian lentils, coconut, adzuki beans and cardamom-ingredients and seasonings never included in baby food before.
A main reason why some parents are attracted to Asian foods is that they view them as healthier. For example, the century-old Japanese "bento box" traditionally emphasizes portion size-the opposite of today's super-sized fast foods. It's also fresh food, featuring packaging that avoids or reduces disposables.
This is a new market that is likely to expand, according to Packaged Facts and the Center for Culinary Development, given both the more multicultural environment of North America and parents' concerns for healthy food, and thus warrants attention from manufacturers and retailers.
The future for functional foods looks good, providing companies can design their products to meet parents' strong desire for portable, fun, "kid-friendly" food that's still wholesome and healthy, with functional ingredients that address parents' own concerns for their children.
But what about children's nutritional supplements? After all, supplement sales declined in 2008, according to Packaged Facts, possibly in response to a new challenge-functional foods that are now competing with supplements by providing the same ingredients such as omega 3s, making it cheaper for parents to buy functional foods rather than regular foods plus supplements.
While this decline did occur, a closer look reveals that condition-specific supplements-supplements that treat a specific population or health condition-have been experiencing tremendous growth, and will continue to do well, according to Ms. Brown.
From 2003 to 2007, sales of condition-specific supplements increased by 37%, from $515 million to $703 million. This is considered explosive growth compared to overall mass market sales.
One example of new children's condition-specific supplements include Bach Flower Essences' new line of homeopathic products for kids, which treat specific problems such as social anxiety.
For young teenagers, "We're also starting to see new supplement products geared toward specific nutrition needs, as they are affected by changing hormone levels, increased activity and stress," NBJ's Ms. Mast pointed out, citing Rainbow Light's Active Healthy Teen formula as an example. This multivitamin supplement includes higher potencies of nutrients that promote skin health, as well as a proprietary skin-clearing, hormone-balancing herbal blend called DermaComplex.
Packaged Facts predicts that supplement sales in general will increase to $8.5 billion in 2011 and 2012, with greater growth in condition-specific supplements.
The most popular children's supplements, however, remain multivitamins and minerals, which accounted for 70% of total children's supplement sales in 2008, according to Ms. Mast, who added that many manufacturers are now making supplements specifically for children. In fact, about one-third of American children aged 2 to 17 currently take such a supplement.
Omega 3 supplements are also in great demand, Ms. Mast said, as "many pediatricians and other health practitioners prefer supplementation to adding fish to the diet, due to their concerns of toxins in fish, and also because of the reality that many children simply don't eat fish unless it's battered and deep fried."
Innova Market Insights, whose researchers report on new food and drinks launches from around the world, reveals that while omega 3 supplements for children made up only 6% of all supplements products launched for children in 2007, this rapidly increased to 21% in 2008, and high growth is likely to continue.
A caveat, however, for manufacturers and retailers who currently have either functional foods or supplements that include omega-3-6-9: they may want to keep an eye on research concerning the dangers of consuming too much omega 6.
Omega 6 fatty acids are inflammatory in nature, and thus can lead to chronic inflammation if too much of it is consumed, said Dr. Barry Sears, president of Zone Labs, Inc., a dietary supplement company. Dr. Sears is also a scientist who specializes in lipids, and who holds patents in hormonal control technology.
Omega 3s, however, are anti-inflammatory. Thus, when paired with healthier food choices, Dr. Sears says, omega 3s can help to reverse certain health problems in children, such as obesity, asthma, heart disease, and diabetes-all of which have inflammation as one major contributing cause.
Dr. Sears claims North American society has far more omega 6s in its diet than it did 50 years ago, due to more modern dietary habits, including fast food and vegetable oils-which both contain high amounts of omega 6s.
Correspondingly, the North American diet has reduced to almost zero the amount of DHA and EPA omega 3s that used to be obtained through fatty fish, such as salmon-hence the need for omega 3 supplements.
So, are manufacturers and retailers responding to parents' changing priorities en masse?
The answer is a qualified yes. Robert Earl, vice president for science policy, nutrition and health at Grocery Manufacturers Association, said that its 2007 GMA Health and Wellness Survey revealed that more than 10,000 new and reformulated products have been introduced into the American marketplace, with specific attention to calories, portions, fat, trans fat, sugars and salt-designed to meet children's health and wellness goals.
Additionally, nutrients such as calcium, fiber, potassium and vitamin E need to be included in children's foods-and this is a possible role for functional foods.
"Food manufacturers are encouraged to develop, renovate and market foods that help meet the diverse nutritional needs of children," said Mr. Earl-and this can be achieved through foods, fortification and supplements.
Ms. Mast of NBJ believes that while large food companies are reformulating their products to be healthier for kids, there still appears to be a gap between what manufacturers are producing and what parents want for their children. "There's a lot of room for companies to take some product risks and develop new offerings that offer healthy eating and balanced nutrition in new, convenient ways," she said.
Children's functional foods and supplements account for a sizable chunk of the total functional foods and supplement markets, according to Carlotta Mast, editor of Nutrition Business Journal (NBJ), Boulder, CO.
In 2008, for instance, the market for "healthy kids' products" in the U.S. market was worth more than $10 billion. Of that, children's functional food sales neared $8 billion, while children's supplements sales were just more than $1 billion-this compares to total functional foods sales of almost $37 billion and total supplement sales of $25 billion. These estimates were based on recent research compiled for NBJ's 2009 "Healthy Kids' Market Report."
Why Parents' Food Priorities Are Changing
First, the why: In the past 30 years, obesity has more than doubled in children, according to National Center for Health Statistics, and one in four American children is overweight. Similar statistics have been observed in much of Europe as well.
Obesity, most experts believe, leads to a wide variety of problems, including type 2 diabetes, asthma, sleep apnea and heart disease. And all of these health issues are on the rise in American children, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
CDC also reports that food allergies have increased 18% during the past 10 years, although it's unclear whether this is due to a greater number of food allergies occurring, or to greater success in recognizing food allergies in children.
Parents are naturally concerned for their children. They know, thanks to constant popular media exposure, that children may be the first generation to die sooner than the previous generation.
Mothers Looking For Wholesome Kid-Friendly Nutrition
Just Kid Inc., Norwalk, CT, which researches children's products and how they perform in the marketplace, conducted its first nationwide survey on mothers' attitudes toward their children's foods 10 years ago. Then, it found that mothers prioritized convenience and "kid fun" when it came to food.
But a second recently conducted nationwide survey reveals a significant change in attitude, says Amy Henry, managing director of research and strategy at Just Kid Inc.
For this new survey, "The Mom study," 3600 mothers of children (ages 2-14) were taken through a 30-minute interview. It turns out that today's mothers are now more aware that the decisions they make today shape their children's eating habits and thus their overall health for the long term.
As a result, "moms are often looking for reassurance that the simple nutritional rules they learned from their grandmas can be fulfilled by the products that their kids are asking for today," Ms. Henry said. "We now know that moms look first to 'whole foods' and fresh foods to meet their needs."
Ms. Henry observed that while "functional food marketing has relied upon convincing moms that a specialized ingredient matters most…we now know that moms aren't necessarily looking for the latest or the most trendy ingredient."
However, functional ingredients still play an important role. "This doesn't mean that parents don't value functional ingredients," Ms. Henry said. In fact, she said they'd be attracted to natural, wholesome foods that contain functional ingredients compared to other products that don't.
"So while moms might not buy an artificial beverage with vitamin C over authentic orange juice, they might gravitate toward a brand of orange juice that has added nutrients that are harder for them to find, or to get enough of in other foods their kids like," Ms. Henry added. "In other words, these added ingredients can be a great tie-breaker at shelf."
Ms. Mast says NBJ's 2009 "Healthy Kids' Market Report," in which more than 100 companies were interviewed in great detail, is in line with the Mom Study.
"The real growth is likely to be in natural and organic offerings that are truly healthy and free from long ingredient lists, artificial colors and preservatives, high-fructose corn syrup, and even common allergens, such as gluten and nuts," she said. "Parents are proving increasingly willing to pay for such products for their kids-even if it means scrimping on something for themselves in the current economy."
Moreover, she said, "The economy is also driving parents to expect more 'value' from the products they purchase, which could present a competitive advantage for those companies selling foods and beverages that pack a healthy punch. So, companies that can provide wholesome foods providing much-needed functional ingredients will likely thrive in this environment."
Convenient Functional Foods
Any food, including functional foods, must fit into mothers' hectic lives, according to Ms. Henry's Mom Study. Breakfast, for example, is often a rushed affair, with mothers torn between wanting to ensure that their children eat healthy food, and getting them to school on time. Thus, "things like breakfast bars that go beyond a cookie to a truly healthy solution are likely to gain momentum," she commented.
Mothers also want to provide healthy lunches, but don't want to supervise to make sure their children eat it. Thus, functional foods that fit into mothers' busy lives and that children love to eat is a recipe for success.
Trix yogurt and Go-gurt are two examples that fit the bill. These inherently healthy products have been reformulated to be more appealing to kids, so that they request it and will eat it.
Ms. Henry's research shows that mothers also want their children's food to be fun. For example, "Go-gurt, and more recently Danimals Crush Cups have made the eating experience so convenient and engaging that kids focus more on the fun and less on the food," she said.
The Mom study also shows that mothers are so busy that only a small sub-set will actually research the "latest and greatest ingredients." Thus, messaging about any new ingredient must be simple. "It must be easy for moms to connect a nutrient with a true benefit that matters for her kids," Ms. Henry offered. So, clear stories that link nutrients to moms' real health concerns for her kids will most likely succeed.
Positive vs. Negative Nutrition
The Mom Study indicates a strong preference toward "positive nutrition," as opposed to "negative nutrition."
In other words, parents prefer the preventive approach, through wholesome foods, functional foods and supplements. This approach is still more enticing than a product that promises to fix a problem or to void a negative.
Other studies confirm this preference for positive nutrition. For example, Shannon Brown, a research analyst at Packaged Facts, finds that "whereas in the past consumers were primarily reactive, trying to treat health problems as they developed, today they are more proactive, increasingly opting for functional, more nutritious foods now to avert health problems later." Packaged Facts' recent research (May 2009) is in line with the Mom Study's discovery that parents are searching for "pure food" that contains no hidden ingredients or fillers. Ms. Brown also found that even the children themselves are increasingly choosing natural flavors.
Incidentally, many companies are already incorporating functional ingredients into products that kids already eat and drink, like whole grains, real fruit, extra vitamins and even soy, Ms. Brown noted.
And when it comes to dietary supplements, a Natural Institutes of Health (NIH) survey shows that children more often use dietary supplements for "wellness purposes" rather than to treat a specific health condition-a trend which mirrors that of "positive nutrition." In this survey, 9417 children were interviewed, out of a total of 75,764 people in 29,915 families. It revealed that children were most likely to take echinacea, fish oils, flaxseed oil and probiotics as supplements.
Seeking Healthy Ingredients
"Healthy brain development is one of the biggest trends in children's functional products going on right now, in the form of DHA and omega fats," said Packaged Facts' Ms. Brown.
Foods and beverages that contain ingredients like probiotics and prebiotics-which promote gut health and immunity-are also high on the list. "A variety of ingredients that treat hyperactivity and allergies are also appealing; vitamins are another important draw," Ms. Brown added.
According to Innova Market Insights' comprehensive database, vitamin and mineral fortification for food products has become very common, and will continue to remain a strong trend for the future. Its database also agrees with Ms. Brown in that ingredients such as probiotics and prebiotics will be in great demand for the future.
Healthier, Exotic Children's Foods
Another emerging trend that parents are starting to embrace is "exotic" foods, and more specifically, Asian food, according to both Packaged Facts and the Center for Culinary Development.
The traditional "firewall" between more sophisticated adult food and more basic kids' foods has come crashing down, leading to this "kid-adult fusion" food approach. This suggests that children's tastes are broadening, thus leading to greater opportunities in new products. Even some mainstream baby food makers in the U.S. are starting to include "exotic" ingredients such as Indian lentils, coconut, adzuki beans and cardamom-ingredients and seasonings never included in baby food before.
A main reason why some parents are attracted to Asian foods is that they view them as healthier. For example, the century-old Japanese "bento box" traditionally emphasizes portion size-the opposite of today's super-sized fast foods. It's also fresh food, featuring packaging that avoids or reduces disposables.
This is a new market that is likely to expand, according to Packaged Facts and the Center for Culinary Development, given both the more multicultural environment of North America and parents' concerns for healthy food, and thus warrants attention from manufacturers and retailers.
Explosive Growth in Condition-Specific Supplements
The future for functional foods looks good, providing companies can design their products to meet parents' strong desire for portable, fun, "kid-friendly" food that's still wholesome and healthy, with functional ingredients that address parents' own concerns for their children.
But what about children's nutritional supplements? After all, supplement sales declined in 2008, according to Packaged Facts, possibly in response to a new challenge-functional foods that are now competing with supplements by providing the same ingredients such as omega 3s, making it cheaper for parents to buy functional foods rather than regular foods plus supplements.
While this decline did occur, a closer look reveals that condition-specific supplements-supplements that treat a specific population or health condition-have been experiencing tremendous growth, and will continue to do well, according to Ms. Brown.
From 2003 to 2007, sales of condition-specific supplements increased by 37%, from $515 million to $703 million. This is considered explosive growth compared to overall mass market sales.
One example of new children's condition-specific supplements include Bach Flower Essences' new line of homeopathic products for kids, which treat specific problems such as social anxiety.
For young teenagers, "We're also starting to see new supplement products geared toward specific nutrition needs, as they are affected by changing hormone levels, increased activity and stress," NBJ's Ms. Mast pointed out, citing Rainbow Light's Active Healthy Teen formula as an example. This multivitamin supplement includes higher potencies of nutrients that promote skin health, as well as a proprietary skin-clearing, hormone-balancing herbal blend called DermaComplex.
Packaged Facts predicts that supplement sales in general will increase to $8.5 billion in 2011 and 2012, with greater growth in condition-specific supplements.
The most popular children's supplements, however, remain multivitamins and minerals, which accounted for 70% of total children's supplement sales in 2008, according to Ms. Mast, who added that many manufacturers are now making supplements specifically for children. In fact, about one-third of American children aged 2 to 17 currently take such a supplement.
Omega 3 supplements are also in great demand, Ms. Mast said, as "many pediatricians and other health practitioners prefer supplementation to adding fish to the diet, due to their concerns of toxins in fish, and also because of the reality that many children simply don't eat fish unless it's battered and deep fried."
Innova Market Insights, whose researchers report on new food and drinks launches from around the world, reveals that while omega 3 supplements for children made up only 6% of all supplements products launched for children in 2007, this rapidly increased to 21% in 2008, and high growth is likely to continue.
A caveat, however, for manufacturers and retailers who currently have either functional foods or supplements that include omega-3-6-9: they may want to keep an eye on research concerning the dangers of consuming too much omega 6.
Omega 6 fatty acids are inflammatory in nature, and thus can lead to chronic inflammation if too much of it is consumed, said Dr. Barry Sears, president of Zone Labs, Inc., a dietary supplement company. Dr. Sears is also a scientist who specializes in lipids, and who holds patents in hormonal control technology.
Omega 3s, however, are anti-inflammatory. Thus, when paired with healthier food choices, Dr. Sears says, omega 3s can help to reverse certain health problems in children, such as obesity, asthma, heart disease, and diabetes-all of which have inflammation as one major contributing cause.
Dr. Sears claims North American society has far more omega 6s in its diet than it did 50 years ago, due to more modern dietary habits, including fast food and vegetable oils-which both contain high amounts of omega 6s.
Correspondingly, the North American diet has reduced to almost zero the amount of DHA and EPA omega 3s that used to be obtained through fatty fish, such as salmon-hence the need for omega 3 supplements.
Responding to Parents' Shifting Priorities
So, are manufacturers and retailers responding to parents' changing priorities en masse?
The answer is a qualified yes. Robert Earl, vice president for science policy, nutrition and health at Grocery Manufacturers Association, said that its 2007 GMA Health and Wellness Survey revealed that more than 10,000 new and reformulated products have been introduced into the American marketplace, with specific attention to calories, portions, fat, trans fat, sugars and salt-designed to meet children's health and wellness goals.
Additionally, nutrients such as calcium, fiber, potassium and vitamin E need to be included in children's foods-and this is a possible role for functional foods.
"Food manufacturers are encouraged to develop, renovate and market foods that help meet the diverse nutritional needs of children," said Mr. Earl-and this can be achieved through foods, fortification and supplements.
Ms. Mast of NBJ believes that while large food companies are reformulating their products to be healthier for kids, there still appears to be a gap between what manufacturers are producing and what parents want for their children. "There's a lot of room for companies to take some product risks and develop new offerings that offer healthy eating and balanced nutrition in new, convenient ways," she said.
