May 14, 2007
Functional Foods Get Real Personal
By Bernice Hurst, Managing Director, Fine Food Network
From the fortified white bread on the market way back in the 50s to practically everything in the supermarket today, selling food on the basis of what supplements it contains has never been more of a driver of innovation.
It isn’t just a matter of probiotics, whole grains, Omega 3 and vitamins added wherever possible, even to colas. More and more consumers are asking questions and wondering how relevant the so-called benefits are to their individual circumstances. Which is where speakers at the recent European Commission conference, Perspectives for Food, have come up with a novel answer. According to a report on just-food.com, speakers declared that “functional and healthy foods catering for clearly defined consumer groups, or even personalized individual diets, will be the staple fare of food companies in 2030.” Other experts from industry, academia and government suggested that new technology “would allow food processors and suppliers to address the individual needs of all consumers.”
Charles Daly, professor at University College, Cork, Ireland, went so far as to say that “personal healthy diets based on an individual’s genetic make-up will create the food of tomorrow.” Professor Daly further added that food, “instead of or in conjunction with traditional pharmaceutical products, will be able to prevent diseases such as obesity, diabetes and osteoporosis in adults and improve nutrition in unborn babies.”
At the same time, a search appears to be on to find ingredients to fortify foods even more. Another group from the UK, as part of a government-sponsored trade mission, has been investigating whether the more than 8,000 kinds of herbal medicines China has cultivated could be adapted for commercial benefit. Home to one of the world’s largest elderly populations, China’s proportion of people 60 and older is growing faster than any other major country.
The Food Processing Knowledge Transfer Network, which links researchers and the food industry, published a report speculating that China’s wealth of functional food opportunities could inspire Western manufacturers. The mission’s objective was “to examine ingredients in traditional Chinese medicines that could become potential functional additions to processed foods.”
In both cases, the assumption seems to be that food today by itself isn’t enough. It needs added value, added functionality, to encourage purchase. And how better to encourage that purchase than to tailor the functionality to each individual’s requirements?
Discussion Questions: What do you think of the potential market for personalized diets around functional foods? Since it pre-supposes some research/testing to individualize diets, are supermarkets in a position to capitalize on this opportunity? Also, with all this attention to functional foods, how do you see mainstream food manufacturers adapting?
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As a trends forecaster for the food industry (toxicologist, dietitian and chef), I would only caution not to overlook studies such as the one done by Tufts and Providence Research Center in Seattle that revealed that diets are not necessarily linked to genetic make-up. Both studies found that the Mediterranean Diet in particular benefited people with various genetic backgrounds and was not tied to that specific genetic make-up to be beneficial. So drink the Kool-Aid slowly.
Personalized diets will be the next marketing communication tool used by retailers. As we begin to see communication tools to identify organic, Low Salt, Fat Free and so forth, there will continue to be the refinement towards Gluten Free, B+ Blood Type, Type 2 diabetes, bikers, runners and so forth. It really becomes an untapped opportunity to communicate to the customers. The management of it will be to prevent eye pollution at the shelf level when the abundance of messages, color codes and numbers make the experience a negative and overwhelming one.
Personalized diets based on functional foods: what a great way to raise margins and improve customer loyalty! The most effective way to compete against customization: price. But everyone in the food business wants to get away from destructive price competition. And given the way diet fads work, the personalized functional food diet strategy is evergreen, because every diet fad is “different” and there’s an endless supply of new fads all the time.
It all depends on whether we are talking about “personalized diets” or “more personalized” diets. We don’t know enough about genomics today to make the former possible and consumers regularly ignore most of what we do know about the later. And, before we jump on the next marketing wave, let’s remember that truly personalized diets (i.e. those matched to unique DNA patterns) might not be robust fodder for mass market brands.
I won’t go so far as to endorse the prediction of my good friend, Charlie Daly, from University College Cork. However, with technology, there exists the opportunity for food retailers to address broad dietary needs. In addition, a very real opportunity exists for food retailers to partner with food manufacturers in an effort to better address the desire of health and wellness.
Baby boomers and concerned moms have wellness “top of mind.” This represents a terrific opportunity for food retailers to become the “community wellness champion.”
There is a difference between what we know we should do and what we do. Remember that most of our meals are eaten outside the home and closing that gap is most important for retailers/grocers. Applying DNA information to personalize diets does not guarantee that customers will follow it when they can cheat at the drive through. Retailers should focus on parents who want more options for their children so they can develop good habits. Start with personalized meals for kids and make them affordable as a life style choice. For the rest of us, we need pizza, burgers and beer to become healthier.
More segment marketing of consumers – great way to further loyalty of the shopper.
The issue is the grocery industry has a difficult time satisfying the general consumers’ needs, let alone establishing any appearance of loyalty! Hmmmmmmm
This is certainly an appealing allure to a certain demographic that is focused on health and wellness. And the CPGs are clearly all over it, as more and more of these functional foods are popping up. However, as I drove by a billboard this weekend here in Atlanta featuring “Coke with Vitamins and Minerals,” I had to shake my head and wonder what the heck is going on! My point: these types of foods make sense if they are truly serving their purpose, not if they are a mere marketing gimmick!
I’m not sure I completely understand the proposition, but let me guess at what it might be.
I just saw Whoopi Goldberg on some Yankee Centerstage (hosted by Michael Kay), where she was talking about having just lost 40 pounds. she said she did it with LA Weightloss where they personalized a meal plan for her based on the foods she likes to eat (limited, mostly hot dogs, she said). This sounds a little like zone but with more personalization.
Now, if the idea is that, instead of supermarkets having generic blueplate special types of meals for takeout, there would be franchised authorization for meal preparation or distribution that is personalized…I LOVE THAT CONCEPT!
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As a trends forecaster for the food industry (toxicologist, dietitian and chef), I would only caution not to overlook studies such as the one done by Tufts and Providence Research Center in Seattle that revealed that diets are not necessarily linked to genetic make-up. Both studies found that the Mediterranean Diet in particular benefited people with various genetic backgrounds and was not tied to that specific genetic make-up to be beneficial. So drink the Kool-Aid slowly.
Personalized diets will be the next marketing communication tool used by retailers. As we begin to see communication tools to identify organic, Low Salt, Fat Free and so forth, there will continue to be the refinement towards Gluten Free, B+ Blood Type, Type 2 diabetes, bikers, runners and so forth. It really becomes an untapped opportunity to communicate to the customers. The management of it will be to prevent eye pollution at the shelf level when the abundance of messages, color codes and numbers make the experience a negative and overwhelming one.
Personalized diets based on functional foods: what a great way to raise margins and improve customer loyalty! The most effective way to compete against customization: price. But everyone in the food business wants to get away from destructive price competition. And given the way diet fads work, the personalized functional food diet strategy is evergreen, because every diet fad is “different” and there’s an endless supply of new fads all the time.
It all depends on whether we are talking about “personalized diets” or “more personalized” diets. We don’t know enough about genomics today to make the former possible and consumers regularly ignore most of what we do know about the later. And, before we jump on the next marketing wave, let’s remember that truly personalized diets (i.e. those matched to unique DNA patterns) might not be robust fodder for mass market brands.
I won’t go so far as to endorse the prediction of my good friend, Charlie Daly, from University College Cork. However, with technology, there exists the opportunity for food retailers to address broad dietary needs. In addition, a very real opportunity exists for food retailers to partner with food manufacturers in an effort to better address the desire of health and wellness.
Baby boomers and concerned moms have wellness “top of mind.” This represents a terrific opportunity for food retailers to become the “community wellness champion.”
There is a difference between what we know we should do and what we do. Remember that most of our meals are eaten outside the home and closing that gap is most important for retailers/grocers. Applying DNA information to personalize diets does not guarantee that customers will follow it when they can cheat at the drive through. Retailers should focus on parents who want more options for their children so they can develop good habits. Start with personalized meals for kids and make them affordable as a life style choice. For the rest of us, we need pizza, burgers and beer to become healthier.
More segment marketing of consumers – great way to further loyalty of the shopper.
The issue is the grocery industry has a difficult time satisfying the general consumers’ needs, let alone establishing any appearance of loyalty! Hmmmmmmm
This is certainly an appealing allure to a certain demographic that is focused on health and wellness. And the CPGs are clearly all over it, as more and more of these functional foods are popping up. However, as I drove by a billboard this weekend here in Atlanta featuring “Coke with Vitamins and Minerals,” I had to shake my head and wonder what the heck is going on! My point: these types of foods make sense if they are truly serving their purpose, not if they are a mere marketing gimmick!
I’m not sure I completely understand the proposition, but let me guess at what it might be.
I just saw Whoopi Goldberg on some Yankee Centerstage (hosted by Michael Kay), where she was talking about having just lost 40 pounds. she said she did it with LA Weightloss where they personalized a meal plan for her based on the foods she likes to eat (limited, mostly hot dogs, she said). This sounds a little like zone but with more personalization.
Now, if the idea is that, instead of supermarkets having generic blueplate special types of meals for takeout, there would be franchised authorization for meal preparation or distribution that is personalized…I LOVE THAT CONCEPT!