Awareness of obesity-related issues and the aging, health-obesessed population means that more consumers are choosing to fill their shopping carts with better-for-you alternatives to mainstream products. But although the trend is still in its infancy, the indications are that the trend is set to grow into a Goliath.
Market researcher Euromonitor only began measuring market size for packaged health foods in the US in 2002-3, when retail value reached $94.81 billion. By 2009, it expects it to have grown almost 30 percent to be worth $123.02 billion.
"Companies working in the food industry must capitalize on this growth opportunity by offering healthier products," said partner CôtéLarouche Jean Côté.
His conviction was echoed last month by management consultancy Bain & Company, which warned that food companies are too slow to innovate. Food blockbusters are a thing of the past, it said, but the industry as a whole is skimping on its R&D spend meaning it is slow to cash in on consumer trends.
CôtéLarouche's new service, called CôtéLaroucheTONIC, involves a multidisciplinary team of nutrition and health specialists led by François Couture, who will dish out advice on product development and defining business and marketing strategies, positioning and consumer awareness.
"Promoting the nutrition and health aspects of a product or a brand is a totally different way of doing things for most companies," said Couture. "Very few have the expertise to do it on their own."
In fact, some of the major players have not dithered over adapting to consumers' changing priorities: General Mills pledged to reformulate all of its "Big G" cereal brands with whole grains by this year, while competitor Kellogg is reported to be developing a line of foods fortified with omega-3 fatty acids.
In January this year Kraft Foods announced the introduction of its Sensible Solution labeling program in the US, flagging up products which qualify either as providing beneficial nutrients (protein, calcium or fiber for instance), or meet the requirements for products with reduced calorie, fat, saturated fat, sugar, or sodium content.
Likewise Pepsi Co has been identifying better-for-you products with a Smart Spot on the label since July 2004. Amongst the pioneering Pepsi Co subsidiaries is Frito-Lay, which has removed trans fat from all of its brands.
But CôtéLarouche partner Jean François Larouche told NutraIngredients-USA.com that the large multinationals are not the company's primary focus at this stage, since they already have internal resources at their disposal.
Rather, CôtéLaroucheTONIC can benefit small and medium-sized companies. While the more innovative players may be more receptive to its message, traditional food companies who are not be able to see the wood for the trees on health trends are also prospective clients.
"They are too focused on looking at what is happening now to think about the market in one, two or five years time," said Larouche.
Given the state of public health and obesity in the US, he said: "The future is bright for a company like us - unfortunately! "
The company's first clients are located in the Quebec area, and the results of the collaborations may be seen as early as the fall.
Larouche does not rule out signing some larger players in the North American market in the future.