According to a survey conducted by Kerry, the COVID-19 pandemic has served as a significant booster for functional foods and beverages as ideal delivery formats that appeal to today’s consumers. Forty-two percent of 13,000 adults across 16 countries reported that they’ve purchased more functional products since the onset of the pandemic, nearly the same as the number of consumers (44%) who’ve purchased more dietary supplements in general during the same time period. 
 
In the survey, respondents were presented with a list of health areas and asked which were reasons for buying health and lifestyle products. The leading health concerns were immune support (58%), healthy bones and joints (46%), digestive health (43%), heart health (40%), and improved energy (39%). 
 
Kerry reports that a total potential future immune health market could make up as much as 69% of consumers, based on reports that 39% of consumers had used an immune health product within six months prior to the survey, and a further 30% would consider doing so in the future. 
 
“Interest in health and wellness has never been higher and we wanted to give the industry new insights into changing purchasing habits,” John Quilter, Kerry’s vice president of global portfolio, said. “One of our key findings was the scale of the impact of the pandemic on demand – not just for immune health products, but for functional foods, beverages, and supplements overall. Consumers were adopting increasingly proactive, holistic attitudes to health, wellness, and nutrition long before 29020 but the pandemic has massively accelerated this trend.” 
 
The survey also found that immune health ingredients are a particularly powerful purchase driver as functional food ingredients in certain products. 33% of consumers said they would be interested in purchasing fruit and vegetable juices if they contained ingredients that promoted immune support. Many other categories were also seen as a good fit for immune health ingredients and benefits, such as spoonable yogurt (321%), dairy-based drinks (28%), and hot beverages (24%). 
 
Kerry also asked consumers about their immune health ingredient, Wellmune, a baker’s years beta 1,3/1,6 glucan, which has been evidenced in clinical studies to beneficially modulate the immune system. 80% of consumers said that they found the description of the product believable, and 56% thought it was unique. 70% of consumers said they would definitely or probably purchase a product containing Wellmune, and half (50%) said its inclusion would influence them to switch brands. 
 
“Manufacturers should see the surge in demand for immune health products not as an opportunity, but as a reason for increased responsibility,” Quilter said. “Everyone in the immune health sector needs to earn the trust of consumers by communicating transparently about product benefits and using proven ingredients supported by high-quality research. The reason Wellmune connects so well with consumers is that its benefits are substantiated by science.”