• by Les Luchter , October 29, 2024

Weight management is the top health benefit consumers seek from foods, beverages, and VHMS (vitamins, minerals, herbs and supplements), according to “Health Benefits 2024,” a study from Hartman Group.

Some 60% of consumers are actively taking steps to improve their weight or prevent future problems, Hartman found, with 66% of that group concurrently managing sleep, 65% energy and 59% emotional health.

This is an example of what Melissa Abbott. Hartman’s vice president of syndicated studies, called “multiple priorities” during a recent webinar on the study .

Overall, the study found 90% of consumers saying that mental and emotional balance is now equally as important as physical health, with 66% of total respondents being actively proactive about their health.

Following weight management as priorities in the health benefits consumers are seeking from CPG products were sleep (55%), energy (51%) and emotional health (49%). The latter until recently was an emerging health need, as was cognition (38%), Abbott said, with new emerging needs now being hormonal balance (23%) and sexual performance (23%).Citing perimenopause, menopause and men’s health, she noted, “we’re seeing a lot more interest in these trend topics."

What do consumers turn to in order to fulfill their needs?

The first choice, per Abbott, are “foods and beverages that are known to be naturally nutritious or naturally helpful, like apples and blueberries.” Supplements and natural whole foods, she said, are sought to support all health needs, but functional foods and beverages are less popular for needs like sleep or emotional health.

Abbott provided a specific example about this: “If you’re thinking, ‘I want to market a drink towards better sleep,’ unless it’s something like a very concentrated shot, it’s not really fun to drink something before bed and then have to get up and use the bathroom. It makes sense maybe to take a supplement.”

Categories where consumers hope to find new functional food brands include emotional health, cognition and sleep, Abbott said. For marketers, this might involve adding adaptogens, such as lemon balm for stress, lion’s mane for cognition and magnesium for sleep, she added.

The top retail channel where consumers seek  products to meet targeted health needs are mass merchandise stores, followed in order by grocery stores, club stores, online and drugstores, the study found.

Marketers can also consider what Abbott termed a “cultural dichotomy”: while 64% of consumers agreed or strongly agreed that “discipline and consistency, rather than pleasure and variety, are essential to staying healthy, “ 47% strongly agreed that “indulgent” foods and beverages are “an important part of a healthy balanced diet.”

Katrina, a 52-year-old quoted in the study, explained that the goal here is “balance”: “Sometimes I have a double chocolate muffin, but it’s usually made with beets and zucchini, so there’s extra vitamins.”

“Health Benefits 2024”is based on an online survey of 3,400 18- 780year-olds conducted midsummer, along with qualitative research.