They say what you don’t know won’t hurt you. Innova Market Insights finds that many new food and beverage products simply state that they contain antioxidants—without any specific health claims associated with them. Even so, it appears that consumers now accept that antioxidants, and products containing antioxidants are, indeed, better for you.
New global product launches positioned on an antioxidant platform are still in abundance worldwide according to Innova Market Insights, with growth continuing, albeit small, with a 3% increase in 2015 from 2014 in product launches tracked.
Global product launch activity for 2015 with antioxidant claims was dominated by the beverage market with the leading categories being Juice & Juice Drinks (11%), Tea (10%) and Sports Powders (6%). The most popular food categories with antioxidant claims were Cereal & Energy Bars (6%) and Snack Nuts & Seeds (5%), with emerging sub-categories of note including Chocolate Blocks (3%), Oils (3%) and Baking Ingredients & Mixes (2%).
From an ingredients perspective, the most popular fruits associated with an antioxidant claim in 2015 were pomegranate, açai and goji berry. An emerging trend for food and beverages however, is the incorporation and claim of proanthocyanidins, or PAC’s, which are very powerful antioxidants, usually reserved for use in supplement products.
2017 Ingredients for Health Guide Categories:
Antioxidants for Health
Diabetes & Blood Glucose Control
Originally appeared in the December, 2016 issue of Prepared Foods as When "Anti" is a Good Thing.
