Productivity and focus are expected to be the next benefits that consumers want from food and beverage products, according to Mintel’s Global Food and Drink Trend ‘Staying Sharp’.
The company’s global consumer research shows that 55 per cent of consumers would like their diet to help strengthen the immune system, 40 per cent would like their diet to help maintain healthy brain function, and 26 per cent to improve their mood.
Stephanie Mattucci, director of Mintel Food and Drink Research, said that interest in mood and cognitive benefits is modest but growing.
“Brands have an opportunity to help consumers optimise their mental performance, but there is work to be done,’ said Mattucci.
“Consumers need encouragement to try these products, creating an opportunity for brands to get consumers excited about brain and mood health benefits.”
At IFT 2023 (Institute of Food Technologies), Mattucci suggested that natural caffeine and B vitamins, as ingredients that provide focus and clarity and support brain health, could be part of the next wave of functional food and drink launches to watch.
While coffee dominates as an ingredient for brain support – with 14 per cent of global F&B products launched in the last five years claimed to have brain/nervous system benefits – new sources of caffeine are emerging, such as guarana and yerba mate, positioned as ‘natural caffeine’.
Mattucci continued that while consumers value caffeine’s mental energy boost, they still have concerns about its overall health impact, creating opportunities for new caffeine sources that offer sustained energy with fewer side effects.
“Brands that educate consumers about these less familiar sources of caffeine stand to benefit,” she added.
Meanwhile, Mintel’s research indicates that B vitamins can be safer for consumers looking for additional energy and overall health benefits. B vitamins support metabolism and the body’s ability to produce energy, as well as support neurotransmitters, which play a key role in mood and mental health.
In the past five years, nearly half (45 per cent) of global food and drink launches with a brain/nervous system claim contained a B vitamin. Two in five (37 per cent) global food and drink launches with an energy functional claim contained a B vitamin.
Mattucci remarked that food and beverage brands looking to boost mental performance ingredients and benefits must “tap into the familiar” and need to reassure consumers about eating for their brain.
“Experimentation with novel brain-boosting ingredients will take time and trust,” she concluded.
“As consumers become familiar with this concept, they will turn to food and drink that can support cognition, manage stress levels, and optimise brain function. Brands have the opportunity to pair ingredients that can help consumers cope with stress with those that support mental clarity.”
Mintel is a market intelligence company providing detailed insights into consumer and business market sectors.
