Can functional ingredients fit in a clean label world?
Consumers tend to see foods with added ingredients as ‘processed.’ Yet they also consider fortified foods ‘worthwhile.’ One survey finds that consumers trust ‘functional foods.’ So what’s a dairy processor to do?
Since 1998, the International Food Information Council has taken Americans’ temperature on the topic of functional foods and beverages. The IFIC assesses their attitudes and awareness and gives the industry an idea of precisely what consumers look for when they shop for products that promise benefits beyond basic nutrition.
Maybe not precisely. If the cumulative insights of the biannual IFIC “Functional Foods Consumer Survey” prove anything, it’s that the more things change, the more they change. Just consider the latest iteration. In a first, the 2013 report examined what consumers think about “processed” foods, as well as their receptivity to fortification and what motivates some, but not others, to lean on functional foods to top up their nutrient intakes.