Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- Market factors
- No progress in reducing overweight and obesity levels
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- Figure 1: Trends in Body Mass Index (BMI), England, 1993-2013
- The sugar smart app is the latest push to reduce sugar intake
- Concerns over micronutrient deficiencies within consumers’ diets
- Companies and brands
- Minus claims have a strong lead over plus and functional claims
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- Figure 2: Share of launches with minus, functional and plus nutritional of all new products in the UK food market, 2011-15
- Superfoods continue to attract attention and shape NPD
- Growth in high-fibre and -protein claims
- A polarisation in advertising messages between feelgood and calorie counting
- The consumer
- Most consumers try to eat healthily most or all of the time
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- Figure 3: How often consumers try to eat healthily, by gender, November 2015
- Almost four in 10 women try to lose weight all or most of the time
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- Figure 4: Weight management behaviours, November 2015
- Lack of awareness about daily calorie consumption
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- Figure 5: Number of calories consumers think they consume on a typical day, by gender, November 2015
- Cooking from scratch helps to enable healthy eating intentions
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- Figure 6: Behaviours relating to healthy eating, November 2015
- Sugar is a bigger concern than fat
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- Figure 7: Factors deemed important when looking for healthy food, November 2015
- The concepts of balance and moderation are key
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- Figure 8: Attitudes towards healthy eating, November 2015
- Most people are in favour of a wide range of approaches
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- Figure 9: Attitudes towards healthy eating initiatives, November 2015
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Retailers can provide more guidance on healthy eating, helping to promote store loyalty
- The facts
- The implications
- A focus on positive nutrition should resonate
- The facts
- The implications
- Stevia offers huge – and still largely untapped – potential
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- No progress in reducing overweight and obesity levels
- The obesity crisis is eating into NHS budgets
- The high-profile conversation on sugar continues
- The sugar smart app is the latest push to reduce sugar intake
- Concerns over micronutrient deficiencies within consumers’ diets
Market Drivers
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- No progress in reducing overweight and obesity levels
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- Figure 10: Trends in Body Mass Index (BMI), England, 1993-2013
- The obesity crisis is eating into NHS budgets
- Obesity increases in midlife as the emphasis on keeping healthy drops
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- Figure 11: Body Mass Index (BMI), by gender and age, England, 2013
- The high-profile conversation on sugar continues
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- Figure 12: Daily sugar intake, by age, UK, and share of daily food energy from added sugars, rolling programme 2008-12
- The sugar smart app is the latest push to reduce sugar intake
- The Responsibility Deal is criticised as ineffective
- The debate about taxing unhealthy food cranks up a notch
- Concerns over deficiencies within consumers’ diets
- The debate on “healthy” fats rumbles on
Companies and Brands – What You Need to Know
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- Minus claims have a strong lead over plus and functional claims
- Increase in L/N/R sugar claims
- Superfoods continue to attract attention and shape NPD
- Growth in high-fibre and -protein claims
- Polarisation in advertising messages between feelgood and calorie counting
Launch Activity and Innovation
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- Methodology
- Minus claims have a strong lead over plus and functional claims
- Minus claims reach a five-year high
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- Figure 13: Share of launches with minus, functional and plus nutritional of all new products in the UK food market, 2011-15
- Increase in L/N/R sugar claims
- Rising use of natural sweeteners, but still embryonic
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- Figure 14: Share of new product launches with minus claims in the overall UK food market, by claim, 2011-15
- Heinz gives the use of stevia some high-profile recognition
- Growth in high-fibre and -protein claims
- Fibre
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- Figure 15: Share of new product launches with plus claims in the overall UK food market, by claim, 2011-15
- Protein
- An uptick in claims centred on energy provision
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- Figure 16: Share of new product launches with functional claims in the overall UK food market, 2011-15
- L/N/R allergen and gluten-free NPD rockets
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- Figure 17: Share of new product launches with claims relating to suitability for certain diets in the overall UK food market, 2011-15
- Superfoods continue to attract attention and shape NPD
- Use of ancient grains and seeds in NPD explodes in 2015
Brand Communication and Promotion
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- A shift towards feelgood advertising messages
- Kellogg’s turns its back on diet-focused advertising for Special K
- Weight Watchers encourages women to be kinder to themselves
- Weetabix focuses on nutrition
- Taste and calories remain central to Müllerlight advertising
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Most consumers try to eat healthily most or all of the time
- Almost half of adults have tried to slim down in the last year
- Lack of awareness about daily calorie consumption
- Cooking from scratch helps to enable healthy eating intentions
- Sugar is as big a concern as fat
- The concepts of balance and moderation are key
- Most people are in favour of a wide range of approaches
Healthy Eating Intentions
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- Most consumers try to eat healthily most or all of the time
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- Figure 18: How often consumers try to eat healthily, by gender, November 2015
- Over-55s and ABs have the healthiest approach to diet
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- Figure 19: How often consumers try to eat healthily, by socio-economic group, November 2015
Personal Weight Management
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- Almost half of adults have tried to slim down in the last year
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- Figure 20: Weight management behaviours, November 2015
- Almost four in 10 women try to lose weight all or most of the time
- Lack of awareness about daily calorie consumption
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- Figure 21: Number of calories consumers think they consume on a typical day, by gender, November 2015
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- Figure 22: Number of calories consumers think they consume on a typical day, by whether consumers have tried to lose weight in the last year, November 2015
Behaviours Relating to Healthy Eating
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- Cooking from scratch helps to enable healthy eating intentions
- Most people include plenty of vegetables in meals
- The trend to swap carbs for cunningly shaped vegetables
- Superfoods are kept in the public eye
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- Figure 23: Behaviours relating to healthy eating, November 2015
- Figure 24: Selected behaviours relating to healthy eating, by age, November 2015
- Scope to encourage more fish consumption
- One in five under-25s track their diet/exercise
Factors Deemed Important when Looking for Healthy Food
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- Sugar is a bigger concern than fat
- Innovation in low-sugar products lags far behind demand
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- Figure 25: Factors deemed important when looking for healthy food, November 2015
- Low sugar, low salt and high fibre are of most interest to over-55s
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- Figure 26: Selected factors deemed important when looking for healthy food, by age, November 2015
- Interest in vitamins/minerals and high protein skews towards under-35s
- Vitamin and mineral fortification: a shortcut to health for young consumers
- Interest in high protein peaks among male under-25s
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- Figure 27: Further selected factors deemed important when looking for healthy food, by age, November 2015
Attitudes towards Healthy Eating
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- The concepts of balance and moderation are key…
- …casting doubts over the need for “light” or “diet” products
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- Figure 28: Attitudes towards healthy eating, November 2015
- A “positive eating mentality” resides with consumers
- Awareness of the health risks linked to processed red meat
Attitudes towards Healthy Eating Initiatives
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- Most people are in favour of a wide range of approaches
- Easily comparable nutritional information is deemed to be important
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- Figure 29: Attitudes towards healthy eating initiatives, November 2015
- Healthier recipe reformulations should be well received
- More guidance is wanted, as are rewards
- In-store recipes and rewards appeal
- Swap suggestions in high demand
- Brands that encourage exercise and fitness should be seen in a positive light
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
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