Putting health and wellness first
In part three of our Market Watch series, we discuss how consumers are prioritising their wellbeing when choosing food and beverage products, and how perceptions around what entails a healthy diet differ across regions.
A renewed focus on health and wellness we are seeing today goes beyond being a trend propelled by COVID-19. The focus has been steadily growing with consumers prioritising functionality and health when it comes to consumption, wanting only the best for themselves and their families.
Regarding food and beverage products, however, perceptions around what is considered healthy differ across regions and demographics. From functional beverages created for specific age groups to value-added beverages offering healthy hydration – the range of products on offer is vast with a wide array of fortifications and added benefits. And consumers, prioritising their health, are willing to pay a premium for what they think is good for them.
For our Market Watch series, SIG representatives from around the world offer a sneak peek at the nutritional and health segments of their respective markets.
In many regions, dairy is considered an essential part of any diet. When combined with increasing demand for more functional beverages, protein-enriched dairy and fortified milk products continue to grow in popularity. This growth also includes the yoghurt segment, both in terms of beverage and food products.
“Value-add dairy is very popular in India where milk and milk products are a must-have. Major players offer a varied range of fortified and probiotic dairy products across different categories in a variety of flavours to suit the Indian palate.”
Benita Paul Nangia
SIG Combibloc, India
China is one of the largest markets for healthy food and beverage consumption, however, product preferences vary between big cities and smaller ones. In the top-tier cities, consumption of plant-based and sugar-free beverages are on the rise, with 87% of Chinese consumers now preferring plant-based protein drinks. In the smaller cities, people still opt for traditional beverages like juices and dairy, but even they are looking for added benefits and premium products in these categories.
“Apart from plant-based drinks, ambient yoghurt drinks with particulates are especially popular in the fitness and weight-loss segments as Gen Z and millennials like the feel of chewing when drinking these beverages.”
Ivy Yang
SIG Combibloc, China
It cannot be denied that COVID-19 has noticeably impacted the global nutritional segment, leading to greater awareness about the impact of our food and drink choices on our health and wellbeing. In the US alone, 54% of all consumers and 63% of those above the age of 50, say they paid more attention to their food and beverage choices in 2020 than they did in 2010.
“Protein remains a top-selling category in the nutritional segment. We also saw an increase in popularity of plant-based products during the pandemic owing to its perception of healthfulness, and this category is poised to grow further.
Yasmin Siddiqi
SIG Combibloc, United States
Even though functionality is one of the primary reasons for choosing a product in this segment, consumers still value taste highly. And thus, manufacturers are often marrying the functionality and flavours of naturally healthy ingredients to create innovative products with added benefits.
“Plant-based drinks have been on the rise, but people are also buying more fortified products, like those with zinc and vitamins. And they want familiar flavours like date, traditionally associated with a healthy diet. 100% natural juices are also popular, especially with the addition of ingredients like ginger and turmeric that further increase their wellness quotient.”
Gulay May
SIG Combibloc, Turkey
Fortified positioning with SIG
Traditional beverages like dairy and 100% fruit juice continue to retain their popularity despite the marked upswing in newer categories like plant-based and protein drinks. In fact, consumer demand has led in many cases to a crossover – from combining dairy and plant-based offerings to fortified water products. In many regions, including Europe, functional water is a popular product with specific targeting and positioning focusing on our energy levels, immunity, and even beauty.
Functional beverages are often positioned as premium products. Therefore, it is vital they stand out when placed on supermarket shelves. This is where SIG’s range of packaging solutions can help differentiate a product – be it our bottle-shaped combidome packs or on-the-go and stylish combsmile and combiblocXSlim solutions. At SIG, we can help manufacturers reach their niche segment as we did with a leading Korean health food producer, Daesang, looking for an innovative way to bring warm nutritional beverages that could double up as liquid food to the market.
In the next part of the series, we will discuss the unique challenges of food and beverage manufacturers in different regions and how SIG is helping them meet these challenges. Get this story in your inbox by subscribing to SIGnals update, our exclusive newsletter.
- September 08, 2021