Organic Infant Formula– Trends and Forecast till 2023

Published On: February 2018

The global nutraceutical market looks lucrative

Nutraceuticals have attracted the attention of consumers based on the nutritive and therapeutic effects it imparts. Increasing awareness about the demerits of consuming heavy dosage of drugs has led to consumers experimenting with the healthier alternatives including functional foods and beverages. Based on the research conducted by Market Research Future on “Nutraceuticals Market”, the market for nutraceuticals is anticipated to propel at a high growth rate during the forecast period. Nutraceuticals have several health benefits including maintenance of body’s healthy metabolism, regulating good gut health, prevention of heart related disorders and some other major deficiencies and disorders. However, in some developing countries, some of the consumers are still unaware of the term nutraceuticals. They still have no potential information about the health benefits obtained from the consumption of nutraceuticals. In order to spread awareness about nutraceuticals, established players involved in the manufacturing of functional foods, beverages and dietary supplements as nutraceuticals have begun to promote their product on a global level. This has resulted in the rising sale of dietary supplements and functional foods across the regions.

Advantages of Nutraceuticals

There are several vital health advantages associated with the consumption of nutraceuticals. For instance, probiotics is one of the popular nutraceutical products that is consumed worldwide. The product comes in various forms and helps in aiding medical conditions such as acute diarrhea, lactose intolerance and antibiotic-associated GI side effects. Digestive health has become one of the most crucial health concerns in today’s scenario. A healthy digestive health promotes the body’s proper metabolism keeping sound other body functions and hence, owning to this, the consumption of nutraceuticals is getting fueled up. Consumers are now considering nutraceuticals as alternatives of pharmaceuticals to cure their deficiencies.

Functional food and beverages which constitute a significant share in the nutraceuticals have various definitions in various countries. For instance, in the U.K, functional food is defined as “a food that has a component incorporated into it to give it a specific medical or physiological benefit, other than purely nutritional benefit” whereas, in Canada, it is defined as “food being similar in appearance to conventional foods & consumed as part of a usual diet”. However, mass consumers collectively address nutraceuticals as a product which is produced from foods and are sold in the form of pills, powders, (potions) and other medicinal forms and is not generally associated with food. Considering today’s scenario, therapeutic effects imparted by nutraceuticals against major concerning problems such as bowel disease, common cold and hypertension is making the product popular across the globe.

Restraints

High cost is one of the major restraints to the nutraceuticals market. Additionally, with the implementation of GST in India, the prices of nutraceuticals is anticipated to experience surge. It is believed that the prices of energy drinks, vitamin supplements and whey protein could be up by 18-22%. The prices of nutraceuticals is observed to be high in several countries owing to the complex production and extraction process. The presence of few established players and increasing demand across the globe tends to increase the suppliers control over the prices.

Government regulations is the second hindrance to the nutraceuticals market. As discussed, each country has its own regulations for nutraceuticals which differs from each other. For instance, in the Europe, products claiming to be nutraceuticals has to be certified by the European Food Safety Authority which checks if the products meet the set standards. On the contrast, in the U.S. and Japan, nutraceuticals do not need to pass any such stringent government tests. The labelling of nutraceuticals products in these countries also need approval from the government to the claims they set. In the U.S., a company can make a claim about a structure or function of the product– for instance; pomegranate juice, helps proper functioning of the heart and blood vessels. But to claim through labelling that it “prevents cardiovascular disease” requires the FDA’s approval. Manufacturers face difficulty in getting adapted to the marketing strategies made for each regulations set by the government.

Future prospects of nutraceuticals

Japan was the very first country that recognized functional food officially in the year 1984. The country has the second largest nutraceutical market after the U.S. Nutraceuticals are identified to have huge potential as a pharmaceutical alternative in the developing countries where the disposable income is also escalating. Consumers are willing to experiment with supplements and foods that have been extracted from natural sources which is considered to be the major driver influencing the positive growth of this market. Availability of wide range of products as ailment for major diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases has increased the market share of nutraceuticals on a global platform. Consumer’s priority to take preventive measures before the cause of these harmful diseases has also attracted a major consumer base for the global nutraceuticals market.

Technological advancements and high investments by the manufacturers in R&D sector has led to several innovations in the nutraceutical product-line. Rising incidences of vitamins and minerals deficiency has globally increased the demand for supplements among the consumers. Furthermore, with the increasing trend of consumers adopting healthy life-style, the sale of functional foods and beverages among the athletes and health conscious have increased. However, the market has potential to expand even more if measures are taken to decrease the costs of the functional foods, beverages and supplements. Efficient and low cost methods should be identified by finding new techniques to isolate, characterize and purify the end products. Improved characterization will help in providing the consumers quality product which would further not trigger any side effects in the body.

In conclusion, development of nutraceuticals for health benefits and spreading awareness about the mechanisms of action of these products can help in the eliminating various potential health issues. Additionally, incorporating healthy eating habits into consumers daily diet using the existing knowledge will help is preventing such hazardous diseases.