The top reasons functional foods fail in the marketplace

Friday, 20 June, 2014

Functional foods and beverages fail when they rely too much on health claims to differentiate them from the competition, a new report from New Nutrition Business shows.

“Surprisingly often, companies make the health benefit the sole point of difference for the product, undervaluing key factors such as convenience. When a product is essentially a me-too with a health benefit attached, it’s inviting failure,” said Julian Mellentin, director of New Nutrition Business.

Three key reasons for failure include:

  1. Overestimating the potential market.
  2. Targeting the mass market too early, instead of starting in a niche and growing from there.
  3. A perceived mismatch between the product and the benefit (eg, fish oil in yoghurt).

“The smartest people know that studying the failures of others teaches us how to succeed,” said Mellentin. “Examining the most common mistakes that companies make enables others to avoid them - and increases their chances of success.”

The report also includes ‘10 Golden Rules for Success’, such as initially targeting a brand at a clearly defined group of consumers and the importance of a focused benefit message that is easy for people to understand.

The report is available here.

Top reasons for failures of functional food and beverage products.

Related News

Two more Italian tomato exporters investigated for dumping

Vegetable producers and processors have welcomed an announcement that the Anti-Dumping Commission...

Global Food Safety Conference to feature LRQA, Cargill, Metro Group and World Bank

Representatives from LRQA, Cargill, Metro Group and the World Bank are among some of the keynote...

Labelling review recommends 'per serving' information be scrapped

The independent review of labelling has issued a recommendation that proposes the declaration in...


  • All content Copyright © 2024 Westwick-Farrow Pty Ltd