Coronary heart disease is the single-largest killer of American males and females. About every 29 seconds, an American will suffer a coronary event and about every minute, someone will die as a result. A number of key risk factors of heart disease are prevalent in the U.S., including obesity, diabetes, lack of activity, and stress. Awareness of heart health has grown significantly, with both the media and health advocacy groups publicizing the risks, and encouraging consumers to take action to decrease the threat of heart attack and stroke.

While the FDA has approved the use of heart health claims for several food categories including oatmeal (1996), soy (1999) and olive oil (2004), food manufacturers want their brands, not their entire categories, to own heart health. Adding beneficial ingredients such as whole grains, and subtracting detrimental ingredients like transfats, are common tactics. Many players have incorporated some deviations of the phrase “heart health” into the name of their products. Kashi Heart to Heart and Quaker’s new Take Heart Instant Oatmeal are examples of this approach.

Over time, consumers’ expectations for heart healthy solutions will increase. Heart health manufacturers will need to cut through the clutter and make heart healthy solutions more simple. Furthermore, they will need to find ways to quantify the positive results of consuming heart healthy products.

This report focuses on product categories that were created to address heart health, such as low/no cholesterol margarine and egg substitutes, as well as those categories that are recommended by medical professionals and nutrition experts for heart health, such as olive oil, low/no fat milk and aspirin.

The following products/categories are included:

Orange juice (frozen, refrigerated and shelf stable)

Low/no cholesterol margarine/buttery spreads

Low-fat/fat-free milk

Whole grain cereals, as defined by The Whole Grain Council (both hot and ready-to-eat)

Olive oil

Soymilk (shelf stable and refrigerated)

Egg substitutes (frozen, refrigerated and shelf stable)

Aspirin