HealthFocus International

Can Ultra-Processed Foods Be Healthy? Our on-staff dietitian thinks so. Earlier this year, Time magazine joined the numerous press outlets who have offered perspective on ultra-processed foods (UPF).1 In it, another registered dietitian explains that stigmatizing UPFs as bad and unhealthy confuses consumers, since there is no set definition of what “ultra processed” means. One nutrition researcher they quote asserts, “’You end up with a system where gummy bears and canned kidney beans’ aren’t treated so differently.” This mirrors perspective from our interview with Ingredients Network last spring,2 where we explain that consumers are coming up with their own, personal definitions for “ultra processed.” “What we’re seeing with the term ‘UPF’ is a shift,” HealthFocus President Julie Johnson says. “Consumers are becoming savvier about differentiating variations in—or the extent of—what ‘processed’ means….They recognize that while a three-ingredient cracker and can of precooked beans are ‘processed’ they may still fit into a healthy lifestyle. “Now, the term ‘UPF’ relays a more nuanced, divergent category that doesn’t include these healthier but still processed products.” Indeed, data from our 2024 Global Trend Report supports the idea that consumers are receptive to healthy processed foods and consider them necessary for their convenience. For more information, contact us at [email protected] 1. Ducharme, J. “Why One Dietitian is Speaking up for ‘Ultra-Processed’ Foods.” Time. August 28, 2024. 2. Ingredients Network staff. “Ultra-processed foods are the top concern among US consumers, study reveals.” Ingredients Network. Published April 15, 2024. #UltraProcessedFoods #UPF #FoodandBeverage #HealthyProcessed #Processed

In the News: Dairy-Based Snacks on the Rise As eating habits have changed dramatically over the past decade, snacks emerge as a replacement for the traditional three meals a day at the dinner table, offering a more flexible framework easily tailored to each person’s needs and schedule. As snacks become more significant sources of their overall nutrition needs, consumers are more mindful and more selective. They now approach snacks with the same scrutiny as their meal choices, and expect healthier options, even in indulgent categories. It’s not surprising, then, that snacks increasingly take up a higher share of shelf space in the perimeter aisles of grocery stores. For example, cheese snacks are helping to drive the massive growth in dairy sales, with new product offerings growing nearly six-fold since 2018.* This massive growth is not only due to the evolution of snacks to major components of their nutrition intake, but also because cheese fulfills several other consumer interests, including high protein, low sugar, gluten free, low carb, and convenience. *Casey, C. New snack launches propel dairy aisle sales to $76B: CoBank. Food Dive. July 22, 2024.

Gut Health Goes (More) Portable Parents have long been able to pack gut-friendly yogurt snacks for their children, including in tubes, squeeze pouches, and smaller RTD smoothies. Some brands are taking advantage of the massive interest in gut health to expand portable options geared toward adults, including probiotic- and/or prebiotic-containing fruit pouches, Greek yogurt pouches, and snack bars. Surely, parents will appreciate the expansion of portable gut-friendly products for their kids as well, since most are highly concerned about their children’s digestion. Younger parents are especially concerned, and younger consumers in general are more interested in functional benefits in general, making this age group a good target for these portable products. Want to know more? Contact us at [email protected] about our new HealthFocus global report Gut Health: The Consumer Perspective.

Social Media Brings Attention to Gut-Health Benefits Social media is one of many factors in the increasing familiarity, acceptance, and desire for gut-healthy products. For example, #GutTok has more than a billion views on TikTok, just one of the numerous social media avenues used by consumers. 1 Another trending tag mirrors the Body Positivity movement: #HotGirlStomachIssues 2 debunks the perfectionist picture of attractiveness by highlighting gastrointestinal health issues common to millions. Social media’s ability to spread information rapidly has contributed to the steady rise in gut-health products and awareness of the affect of gut health on whole-body health. Young consumers, who are more likely to use many social media platforms, might be engaged with these conversations at a higher rate than older groups; this could partly explain the higher interest in functional benefits among younger shoppers around the globe. 1. Eastlake, D. Gut health business is booming: What’s next for this unstoppable health trend? Food Navigator. March 20, 2024. 2. Moniusko, S. “Hot girls have stomach problems”: How social media has made gut health less taboo. CBS News online. June 22, 2023. #GutTok #HotGirlStomachIssues #guthealth #functionalfoods #digestivehealth

Sugar Consistently Outperforms Artificial Sweeteners Time and time again, consumers indicate a more negative perception of artificial sweeteners than for sugar. Only 35% consider sugar “bad” compared to 63% who say the same about artificial sweeteners. For most, sugar is considered is considered natural, and thus is preferable to any artificial sweetener. In fact, phrases like “made with real sugar” are viewed positively by consumers despite a feeling that they should limit their sugar intake. While low-sugar and reduced-sugar are important label statements to consumers, “sugar free” is a bit less important, likely due to consumer perception that a sweet sugar-free product will often contain artificial sweeteners. Meanwhile, “no artificial sweeteners” remains notably more important to them than any label claims indicating less sugar. Similarly, they are significantly more likely (>10+ percentage points) to avoid artificial sweeteners than sugar when buying beverages and snacks, two categories that commonly contain sweeteners. For more information or to get in contact, please email us at [email protected] #sugar #sweetener #foodandbeverage #foodnews #artificialsweetener

Natural Sweeteners More Accepted, But Only If… …they sound familiar. Consumers feel comfortable with words they know and understand, which make products seem more natural. For example, though monk fruit is lesser known than stevia, and more recent on the market in most regions, the awareness-to-acceptance ratio shows far more favorable reception. One explanation: this sweetener source is known by familiar words. When more consumers feel good about an ingredient than actually know of a ingredient, that’s significant. Though it’s has been more available to consumers over the past decades, “stevia” still isn’t a word used elsewhere in consumers’ vocabulary. To further illustrate this point, in the chart below, see how positive perception declines moving from “stevia” (the actual plant the sweetener comes from) to a more general category of stevia-derived sweeteners—steviol glycosides, and then to a single steviol glycoside, Reb A. This highlights the importance of using common words as much as possible. For more information, contact us at [email protected]. #sugar #sweetener #foodandbeverage #foodnews #naturalsweetener

In the News: Transparency Initiatives for Cultivated Meat Arizona is joining Texas and Florida in regulating how lab-grown meats can promote themselves on labels. These bills aim to ensure that consumers are fully aware of how the product was produced. In this case, making it very apparent on labeling that a meat product was grown from cells in a lab rather than harvested from a whole animal raised for food. The lawmaker proposing the bill in Arizona says it’s “more about transparency and disclosure within the industry and less about blocking the offering and purchasing of such products.”* Consumers would likely support this bill, since, even as innovations in the food industry are required to ensure a consistent food supply for the future, lab-grown products (otherwise known as cellular agriculture) still hold little interest for North American consumers - as evidenced by the data in the chart shown below. For more information, please contact us at [email protected] *FoodDive. “Arizona could join states in stand against cultivated meat,” published online Jan 11, 2024.

Aging Decreases Microbiome Health, Microbiome Health Slows Aging Research has proven that as we age, the health of our microbiome – the composition of bacteria strains in our digestive system that profoundly impact our health – deteriorates.* And, conversely, a healthy microbiome contributes to healthy aging by preserving or improving many of our bodies’ functions, from immunity to mental agility and beyond. Most consumers agree that gut health is highly important to healthy aging. However, there’s an opportunity to educate consumers more directly about this relationship, especially older shoppers: Our research indicates that those aged 50 and over are less concerned about digestive issues and less interested in the gut microbiome. Let us know if you want to know more about this demographic or consumers’ perspective of gut health around the world by emailing us at [email protected] *Nature. “The gut microbiome as a modulator of healthy ageing.” Accessed on February 8, 2024.

Flavor Innovations Keep Brands in the Spotlight We’ve come a long way from the days when caramel corn mixed with cheese popcorn was considered novel and innovative. Experimental flavors, cross-category combinations, brand collaborations, and variations on timeless offerings can all bring shopper focus back to your product line. Some brands speak directly to consumer suggestions with their innovations: DiGiorno held a TikTok sweepstakes for its one-time “DiGiornuts” – with lucky fans getting boxes of pizza donuts. Manufacturers are consistently looking for ways to re-engage consumers, and these innovations can bring fresh attention to a brand – not just for the innovative new product or flavor – but to enduring offerings as well. Both large and small brands offer exciting new products, and consumers feel just somewhat more strongly that niche brands are more innovative. For more information, please contact us at [email protected]

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