Wheatgrass is rapidly emerging as a health ingredient in the mainstream food and drinks market, with global launches of food and drink products containing wheatgrass recording a double digit increase in the 12 months to the end of February 2015, new data released by Innova Market Insights has revealed.
Wheatgrass has long been available in health food stores and specialist outlets, but is now increasingly being used in supplements and food and drink products. This is often occurring in combination with other components with a healthy image or perceived health benefits.
According to Innova Market Insights data, Europe and North America had the highest launch number of product launches containing wheatgrass over the past year, with Europe accounting for 55 per cent of the total and North America more than 33 per cent.
The leading markets were the UK and the US, but perhaps more significant, however, is the move away from supplement type products and into mainstream food and drink, which accounted for 40 per cent of launches featuring wheatgrass recorded over the past year.
Soft drink products, primarily juice drinks and smoothies, accounted for half of this total, with some activity also evident in snacks, ready meals, and dairy beverages.
In terms of soft drink launches, there has been a range of activity from both specialisthealth companies and more mainstream operators.
In the US, Bolthouse Farms, launched a wheatgrass drink in early 2014 with its Daily Greens juice featuring green vegetables such as kale, spinach, cucumbers, and romaine lettuce, as well as wheatgrass.
Following on from this, specialist company Daily Greens extended its range with Replenish organic and cold-pressed Chocolate Organic Hemp Milk infused with wheatgrass and cocoa.
In the UK, smoothies market leader, Innocent, successfully launched a range of three functional style Super Smoothies, including one featuring wheatgrass, along with kiwi, lime, flax seeds, vitamins, and selenium.
While launch numbers for wheatgrass products were relatively low in Australia and New Zealand overall, there were some innovative applications in dairy beverages, led by The Collective Dairy’s Green Machine Yoghurt Smoothie with kiwi, feijoa and spirulina, as well as wheatgrass. It has now also been launched in the UK.
Supplements featuring wheatgrass have been launched in a range of formats for a wide range of applications, including children’s and men’s supplements, meal replacements and sports and performance lines.
Trends in product activity in this sector of themarket may also indicate the next developments in this area, with some interest insupplements featuring combinations with other grasses, perhaps most notably barley and oat grasses, as well as a whole host of other green ingredients such as chlorella, spirulina, alfalfa and hemp, as well as more standard green vegetable extracts.
