'Consumers want to eat more healthfully, but they can’t do it alone': Nielsen expert

Titled the Global Health and Ingredient Sentiment Survey​, global information and data company Nielsen polled more than 30,000 consumers from 63 countries online in March 2016, hence, the survey results were based on behavior of respondents with online access.

Among the four macroenvironmental trends found from the survey that are contributing to an increased focus on health and wellness, the rise of chronic-disease rates was second only to an aging global population.

“Consumers want to eat more healthfully, but they can’t do it alone,”​ said Andrew Mandzy, director of strategic health and wellness insights, at Nielsen.

“They need help from food manufacturers to offer products that are formulated with good-for-you ingredients,” ​he added. “They need help from retailers to stock shelves with right-priced healthful assortment. And they need help from the medical community to provide proper guidance on what and how much to eat in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle.”​

Consumer behavior in maintaining blood sugar levels​

Among the chronic-diseases that continues to rise, type 2 diabetes ranks high in prevalence. According to Nielsen’s Ailment Survey, conducted online with total respondents of 44,400 in the US, the diabetic shopper makes up 20% of US households, 65% of which manage the ailment with diet (as opposed to just medicine).

Furthermore, $60.4bn is spent annually at various food retail channels (which includes food and supplements) to manage their ailments. “Ailment management impacts the entire [grocery] store,” ​Mandzy told NutraIngredients-USA. “It’s not just about supplements, or over-the-counter medicine or the pharmacy, there’s total store management there, it includes the center of the store,” ​he added.

Looking at demographics, Nielsen’s data revealed that shoppers who intentionally manage their blood sugar levels because of an ailment tend to be over the age of 55, no children living at home, retired, an income of below $30,000 annually, and living in the US South in either rural areas or modest working towns.

Andrew Mandzy will be on the panel of our upcoming Blood Sugar Management Forum​

Nielsen’s data provides more information on demographics across different stages of blood sugar ailments, from pre-diabetes to types 1 and 2, as well as the different purchase influencers driving this consumer group.

With Nielsen’s partnesrhip with Label Insight, granular data on the category’s popular ingredients provide glimpses of trends in the blood sugar management category.

Mandzy will be joined by attorneys Ivan Wasserman and Justin Prochnow, who will touch on FDA and FTC regulatory frameworks for claims in the category, as well as Atrium Innovation’s Barry Ritz, VP of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs, who will talk about ingredient trends and study designs to substantiate claims. Register for FREE for our forum, which airs Thursday, Feb. 23. You can register by clicking HERE​​.