GHQ: The hot foods
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GHQ: The hot foods
By Suzanne Vita Palazzo
RetailWire - Cranford, NJ
August 17, 2007
Through a special arrangement, what follows is an excerpt of a
current article from Grocery Headquarters magazine, presented here
for discussion.
Consumers have been examining ingredient lists for years, but the
growth of the wellness industry has brought this behavior to the
forefront. It is no longer sufficient for a granola just to be dubbed
a granola; consumers want one that delivers more than just good taste.
“If you think of wellness as a hobby, like wine tasting or music
collecting, consumers always want to find the next new thing,” said
Jarrett Paschel, director of Tinderbox, a division of the Bellevue,
Wash.-based Hartman Group. “It’s just much more fun to find something
that draws your interest, and it’s also fun to have something new to
talk about to their friends that are also into wellness.”
Currently, soy, flax and hemp are among the ingredients most sought
after by wellness consumers.
Rich Martin, senior marketing manager at Tulsa, Okla.-based Genisoy
notes that shoppers in this category are often well-versed on the
nutritional components of particular healthful ingredients and armed
with a wealth of information to be used when making a decision at the
shelf.
“[Previously] you literally had to teach yourself all about it. It
wasn’t as easy as it is now when you open up the paper and there’s
some article about what you should eat or shouldn’t eat,” he said.
“Most consumers that are eating these products are used to having to
do some of their own research, and they’re looking to make wise
decisions to begin with.”
Observers note that this constant fluctuation of trends and so-called
hot ingredients creates an interesting dynamic for the wellness
industry, indicating that while items may come and go within the
segment, the industry itself is built on a healthy base. And since
consumers’ desire for health and wellness is a lifelong pursuit,
manufacturers of healthful products are encouraged to be innovative
to keep up with ever-growing demand.
Silk Soymilk, for example, recently launched a line of products
called Silk Plus, indicating that the success of its products in
mainstream markets has them on track to become commodities. Priced at
a premium to its current offerings, Silk Plus with Omega 3 and Silk
Plus with Fiber have been developed “to respond to consumers’ need
and demand for fortified foods,” said Scott Stevens, general manager.
Overall, many link the demand for fortified foods and functional
ingredients to the baby boomers. While this population segment
contains many of the pioneers who believed that food changes could
positively impact an individual’s health, the tangible proof they’re
receiving from their lifestyle changes only encourages their cause.
“As long as people age, there are always going to be issues cropping
up inside of their body that they’re going to want to solve or be
proactive with, and that’s where ingredients come in,” said Melissa
Abbott, research associate for the Hartman Group. “It’s like they’re
trying to find that Holy Grail, which we all know is pretty much
impossible to find. So they’re always searching.”
Discussion Questions: How much is the wellness trend like fashion,
where “hot” ingredients - e.g. soy, flax and hemp, currently - can
drive trends across categories? Is it farfetched to compared wellness
shoppers to hobbyists always looking for the new thing? What does
this say about marketing to wellness shoppers?
* The hot foods - Grocery Headquarters
Copyright (c) 2007 RetailWire LLC.
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