New health and wellness research shows increase in going natural

©Natalia Klenova via 123RF

There is a move towards a more natural offering through free from, organic and naturally healthy foods and beverages, previously analysed, plus the increasing awareness of good nutrition as a key part of leading a healthy lifestyle.

The desire for more natural products is already apparent in the performance of the naturally healthy (NH) offering, valued at $249 billion globally in 2016, but it is also predicted to be the fastest-growing category in the coming years, with an expected absolute growth of $42 billion by 2021.

Maria Mascaraque, health and wellness analyst at Euromonitor International comments, “Going natural is a trend happening globally as shown in the outperformance of the NH and organic offering versus the BFY and FF arenas in both developed and emerging markets. This shows the movement towards artificially fortified foods and beverages and those reduced in salt, sugar and fat to a more naturally functional offering. Free from is also perceived as a healthy natural option and stands out mainly in developed countries.

“While India is still far behind in terms of product development and led growth of the better for you category, with pretty basic products such as reduced fat dairy accounting for most of it, Brazil closely follows the trends seen in mature countries. The naturally healthy trend has already trickled down in the country, with bottled water, for instance, being a big thing there.

“China also follows these trends, with key categories, like NH carbonated natural mineral water and organic milk formula, showing the most dynamic growth.

However, fortified/functional still grows the fastest in this country, being important in China and throughout Asia Pacific in general. Fortified/functional was valued at $97 billion in 2016, accounting for 45% of total HW retail value sales in the region, with FF milk formula, and probiotic yoghurt leading the trend. Consumers in Asia Pacific are increasingly accepting products with functional ingredients such as probiotics, omegas, vitamins and minerals, as a means of minimising any nutritional gaps in their daily diets or simply to boost their wellbeing.”

Overall, 2015 and 2016 proved to be disappointing years for the HW industry, facing the lowest levels of growth in over a decade, with developing markets, such as China and Argentina, underperforming, and key developed countries such as the US not doing that well.

The HW industry, valued at $707 billion in 2016, will continue to expand, expecting it to deliver 15% growth by 2021. Emerging countries will be the main contributors, with Morocco and Turkey leading the list.