New Study Examines Functional Foods from a Consumer Perspective.

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c88498) has announced the addition of Functional Foods from a Consumer Perspective to their offering.

This report explores the gap that exists between the production-driven approach of today's functional food and beverage manufacturers and American consumers who are just beginning to comprehend what functional products are. While the market for functional foods and beverages continues to expand, the report examines how American consumers are in the early stages of recognizing links between ingredients that exist primarily in dietary supplement forms and the foods and beverages they are familiar with.

Despite the introduction of thousands of functional foods and beverages into the U.S. market, American consumers still associate more strongly with dietary supplements in pill form for treating chronic health conditions and to boost overall wellness than they do with foods and beverages.

Functional Foods from a Consumer Perspective finds that consumer acceptance of new functional products depends on the ability of manufacturers to develop products that are more closely allied with where consumers are now in the adoption of nutritionally enhanced products, rather than products developed for a perceived consumer of the future.

Report Overview

The report begins with a 15-year review of news headlines, citing 16 popular functional and dietary supplement ingredients, and provides a timeline of government approvals of ingredient-specific health claims. Both the media and regulation analysis shows that for American consumers, the world of functional foods and beverages is a very recent one.

In Part Two, we explore consumer perceptions of dietary supplements as compared to functional products, and the overall preference for pills. Concepts explored in this section include 'food is not medicine', the loss of folk remedy consciousness, the role of anatomy in the plausibility of functional products, and the role of symbolic logic. This section also explores cultural familiarity and the importance of developing products with relevant ingredient narratives and easy lifestyle integration.

In Part Three, we explore purchase and use of functional foods and beverages, ingredient beliefs, functional product preferences by food and beverage category, nutrition needs, gender appropriateness, and occasions for use.

The report includes 16 charts and tables summarizing the quantitative portion of the study.

Methodology: The quantitative findings in this report are based on the results of a survey fielded in November 2004, with a sample size of 1,424.

The qualitative findings in this report are based on online focus groups. Consumers who participate in online focus groups are carefully screened and all groups are moderated and analyzed by one of our experienced interdisciplinary team members.

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c88498