Dive Brief:
- The following functional food ingredients are predicted to capture more market share in the next year: ashwagandha, coconut vinegar, maca, MCT oils, and purple corn, Imbibe marketing coordinator Ilana Orlofsky told Food Bev.
- Functional foods provide health benefits for ailments such as stress and elevated cholesterol and blood pressure levels.
- Orlofsky developed this list with attention to clean labels, homeopathic treatments, versatile applications and tastes and supply chain feasibility.
Dive Insight:
The expanded use of adaptogenic herbs, such as ashwagandha, is an area to watch.
"In food products, I’m primarily seeing these adaptogenic herbs pop up in functional beverages," New Hope Network senior food editor Jenna Blumenfeld told Food Dive in an email. "Rebbl Super Herbs, for example, blends reishi, ashwagandha, maca and more with USDA organic coconut milk, coconut sugar and sometimes chocolate or chai spices."
According to a report by MarketsandMarkets, the global functional food ingredients market is expected to hit about $2.5 billion by 2020, growing about 6% per year between 2015 and 2020. And Mintel included functional foods and beverages, particularly in sports nutrition, in its list of trends.
Products with ingredients that help conditions like stress and elevated cholesterol and blood pressure levels could also do well by offering a compelling origin story about those items.
"Consumers are becoming more health conscious and more aware of what they’re eating," David Keller, vice president of scientific operations for Ganeden, wrote in an email to Food Dive earlier this year. "They have an interest in looking for additional health benefits in everyday foods and beverages, which continues to drive demand for functional foods."