Consumers are becoming more sceptical about the health claims made around functional food, a study has warned today (27 February).
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Sales of functional foods, including probiotic yoghurts and drinks, are growing in the US, Asia-Pacific and, to a lesser extent, in Western Europe but shoppers are becoming more questioning over whether such products will improve their health, analysts Datamonitor said.
The combined US, Western European and Asia-Pacific functional food and drink market is worth US$72.3bn, Datamonitor said.
The analysts forecast that sales will grow at an average of 5.7% a year between now and 2012.
However, consumers are becoming less trustworthy of health claims made by food and drink manufacturers, often believing functional package claims to be either false or an excuse to command a premium price, Datamonitor warned.
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By GlobalData“It is essential that manufacturers promote functional foods in a credible and honest manner and continue to educate consumers about the credence of emerging ingredients such as lycopene, prebiotic fiber and plant sterols,” said Datamonitor consumer market analyst Michael Hughes.
