2001 was an eventful year in the health and wellness marketplace, a recent trends report from US Natural Marketing Institute claims this week. According to the report, (NMI's) 2001 Health & Wellness Trends Report (HWTR) the increased interest in functional food products, the acceleration of alternative healthcare, the stagnation of dietary supplements, and the sustained double-digit growth of prescription drugs all helped in the development of the health marketplace. Not for the first time, food safety came out as one of the top driving factors behind the increased popularity of "health foods." Other factors included consumer environmental and health concerns. The report is a compilation of three years of annually trended consumer data on the health and wellness marketplace in the United States. It divides the consumer into five different categories from the 'Food Actives,' those dedicated to health through food, to the other end of the spectrum and the 'Eat, drink & merrys,' those totally unconcerned about health or the food they eat.
