It’s a new year, and like 2022, VMS (vitamins, minerals, and supplements) and functional food trends are resolving to GET FAT! Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids will be vital in meeting consumer demand in these high growth categories:
- Plant-based seafood
- Cognitive health
- Proactive wellness
Nutriterra® Total Omega-3 will be a game-changing ingredient in the next wave of plant-based foods and dietary supplements, exceeding consumer expectations for responsibly sourced ingredients to proactively support good health in 2023.
Consumers are seeking new plant-based seafood to reduce their personal impact on our ocean health but are unwilling to sacrifice taste or nutrition in this category. Cognitive health and proactive wellness trends are centered on maintaining wellness rather than the social concerns driving interest in plant-based seafood. Cognitive health and proactive wellness are large trend categories that maintain growth across all age groups and address topics such as mental acuity, mental health, sleep, immune health, inflammation, and the omega-6:omega-3 dietary ratio imbalance in the modern diet. Nutriterra Plant-Based Total Omega-3 is a unique and innovative ingredient that addresses these market trends and can bring new consumers to emerging categories, allowing people to meet their health needs without compromising values.
Plant-based seafood
Interest in plant-based food has grown 3.5X between January 2016 and April 2022. Previous growth in this category concentrated on dairy and meat alternatives; formerly fringe products for niche audiences and now flagship brands across the industry. Spoonshot predicts plant-based seafood is the next frontier due to rising consumer awareness of overfishing and desire to reduce the environmental impact of dietary choices.
Curiously, most plant-based consumers are omnivores. Leaders in the plant-based segment win by developing products that exceed consumer expectations for taste and nutrition. Nutriterra can help deliver the omega-3 nutrition of traditional seafood without the fish.
Our independent consumer research found that two-thirds of respondents ranked no harm to oceans as the top attribute that omega-3s should possess. Furthermore, 64% of respondents preferred plant-based over marine-based omega-3s, and those that prefer plant-based are most interested in Omega-3 Canola, the source behind Nutriterra.
Nutriterra Plant-Based Total Omega-3 is an ingredient to help you demonstrate your commitment to innovation and sustainable sourcing. Check out our blog discussing Nutriterra’s Friend of the Sea certification.
Cognitive health
According to Mintel, concerns over cognitive health is a condition specific category that is maintaining growth across all age groups, with Millennials the most likely segment to purchase supplements for mental health and sleep. Consumers are more informed and involved in their own nutrition; they want to be proactive when it comes to health and are discovering that their cognitive health is influenced by their nutrition decisions, and that their diets need omega-3 DHA. Moreover, Mintel states that the Millennial and Generation-Z market segments show high favorability toward plant-based sources of omega-3.
While the optimal DHA intake for brain health is unknown, we do know that at least eighty percent of the population needs to consume more. Millennial and Gen-Z market segments are aware that aging is inevitable, but increasingly understand that cognitive decline as a result of inflammation and nutritional deficiencies is not. This is why consumers are turning to products specifically formulated to support cognitive health and are preferring brands with clear sustainability messaging and plant-based ingredients.
Proactive wellness
Like cognitive health, proactive wellness is a large category that maintains growth across all age groups. Mintel states immune health remains a priority, and consumers are increasingly aware that Western diets have become extremely heavy in foods containing omega-6 fatty acids, while omega-3 consumption has declined. The overriding concern in this space revolves around inflammation and inflammatory responses. The ubiquity of omega-6 heavy vegetable oils in our food supply makes rebalancing the omega-6:omega-3 ratio through diet alone difficult. By helping to rebalance this ratio, Nutriterra supports healthy inflammatory response and increases omega-3 intake. While conventional canola has an omega-6:omega-3 ratio of 2:1, Nutriterra helps rebalance the diet with a ratio of 1:4.
Nutriterra Plant-Based Total Omega-3 is an innovative and unique tool for brands in these emergent spaces. Nutriterra’s partners are empowered by groundbreaking and creative technology and equipped to project the values that matter to consumers. With inbuilt environmental, social, and plant-based messaging, Nutriterra expands your brand’s ability to capitalize on emergent market trends and increase profitability. Mintel shows consumers react favorably to companies that communicate explicit and implicit value, and a winning strategy for will be the twin drivers of brand value and purpose when addressing target markets. Nutriterra helps to sustain a healthy and sustainable life.