Summary of emerging functional food ingredients
- Functional foods increasingly target health benefits beyond taste and texture
- L-theanine supports calmer cognition and sleep without sedation effects
- Peptides gain attention through precision nutrition and healthy ageing applications
- Colostrum and psyllium show rising consumer interest and adoption
- Creatine is shifting from sports nutrition to mainstream wellness use
These days, functional health is driving much of the food and beverage industry, as consumers clamour for products that can give them more than just taste and texture.
Manufacturers are adding protein for strength, fibre for digestion and collagen for beauty. All of these ingredients have been associated with other benefits as well.
But the functional food market does not end there. There could be more major ingredients on the horizon. What is the next big functional ingredient? This article explores several contenders, and why consumers are attracted to them.
L-theanine
L-theanine is an amino acid mostly found in tea, particularly green tea. It has been linked to improved sleep.
While it has long been present in supplements, L-theanine is now making its way into food, particularly in bars, chocolate and baked snacks.
It is considered an alternative to caffeine stimulation, providing ‘calm energy’, explains Stephanie Mattucci, food and drink principal strategist at consumer analytics company Mintel. The ingredient satisfies consumer needs for “stress management and calmer cognitive support without sedation”.
The ingredient is already gaining popularity: around a third of consumers in the US have tried a functional food or drink containing L-theanine, explains Mattucci.
The ingredient represents wider trends in the functional foods space, she suggests.
“Brain health claims will evolve beyond energy and focus into calmer, more human forms of performance: creativity, cognitive flexibility, emotional steadiness and the ability to concentrate without overstimulation.
“As AI handles more routine productivity, products that support creativity and mental clarity could become more compelling than products that simply promise simple energy or stimulation.”
Peptides
Interest in the use of peptides in food is increasing. Peptides are short chains of amino acids that often boast functional benefits.
Peptides are “well positioned to be ‘the next big thing,‘” says Michele Scott, director of insights at analytics company Innova Market Insights. While they have traditionally been used in sports nutrition, they are now getting significant attention beyond this.
One of the big reasons that peptides have so much potential is that they can enable brands to talk about “precision-driven outcomes”, suggests Mintel’s Matucci, particularly in areas such as healthy ageing, mobility, muscle preservation and recovery.
Consumers respond to clear benefits such as these, Matucci explains. With collagen peptides and peptide-based medicines becoming more mainstream, consumers are beginning to understand peptides more than they once did.
Colostrum
Colostrum is the first milk that a mammal’s body makes following giving birth. It has been linked to functional benefits such as immune support.
It is fast emerging as a functional ingredient, according to Miriam Aniel Oved, senior consumer trends analyst at AI analytics platform Tastewise.
It is on nearly two-thirds more menus than a year ago, according to Tastewise data. Consumer reach is growing, a sign that the ingredient is “moving from hype to real product”, says Oved. Consumers also have a clear idea of what they want from it: around one in three consumers connect it to gut health.
The base for colostrum is still small, and it is not yet a major success. Nevertheless, it is “on the way up”.
Psyllium
Psyllium is a functional fibre, which has been linked to the reduction of cholesterol, the lowering of cardiovascular disease risk, and the decreasing of constipation problems.
It is reaching 55% more consumers than a year ago, according to Tastewise’s Oved, and this is predicted to grow next year rather than taper off.
Around one in two people choose it for digestive and gut health, she says, and one in four for blood sugar. Cholesterol is the fastest-growing need attached to it.
It is also popular with GLP-1 users, given fibre’s satiety-boosting effects.
Much like colostrum, it is not yet mainstream, Oved stresses, but it is a fast-growing ingredient.
Creatine
Creatine is already seeing immense popularity, and as research builds linking it to mental health benefits, this will likely only increase.
The percentage of US functional food and drink launches containing creatine, according to Mintel’s Global New Products Database (GNPD), has gone from 1.7% to 3.1% in the past five years. Around 43% of US consumers have tried it in food and drink products, and only 16% have not heard of it.
Yet creatine’s popularity is not only growing, but changing in nature as well. It is shifting from a “bodybuilder staple” to a mainstream wellness ingredient, says Matucci.
Whichever functional ingredient next takes food and beverage by storm, those here have already began to attract strong consumer interest.
