Consumer Perceptions of Functional Foods

Another reason why functional foods often miss the mark with consumers is that conceptualizing functional foods as “magic bullets,” with a corresponding consumer looking to fix specific health issues, is a mistake. Unfortunately, nothing has emerged to fill the vacuum left by the departure of that conceptualization. Some have suggested marketing functional foods more toward consumers pursuing general wellness, rather than targeting specific health problems, is the way to go. This makes sense, as the trend toward wellness is well established and continues to grow. The trick, then, is to understand the wellness consumer, and what kinds of functional products would resonate with them.

The average American consumer is not on the same functional food wavelength as the industry that coined the term. In fact, despite the many functional products that continue to pour into the marketplace—some finding greater success than others—most consumers have a quite literal understanding of the term “functional food”: foods that have a function.

The Function of Food

While consumers are interested in the health benefits of their food, rarely does this interest translate into the understanding and acceptance of “functional foods” created in factories or laboratories. Consumers are likely to view foods as functional because of ingredients with naturally occurring health benefits. Thus, products like olive oil are viewed as a source of “good fats,” or oatmeal “helps with cholesterol,” while most products marketed as cleverly contrived innovations with long ingredient lists are viewed with confusion and skepticism.

In addition to a strong desire for naturally occurring health benefits in their food, when faced with a product boasting specific health benefits consumers make their best quick guess at how this functional food “came to be.” For example, consumers examining a pink translucent soft drink enhanced with calcium become confused because they can’t logically connect the product with its functional ingredient.

If the ingredients make sense to consumers, the product is more readily accepted than one that raises questions or suggests a product is a chemical, pharmaceutical or enhanced in an unnatural way. In order to succeed in today’s consumer driven marketplace, new functional foods and beverages should be based on culture and not the test laboratory.

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