Blood sugar-friendly functional foods, and nutraceuticals promising to level out glycemic spikes, are an emerging trend as consumers become more conscious of blood sugar management, reports New Nutrition Business (NNB), a consultancy firm specializing in the nutrition and health markets.
 
Healthy blood sugar was one of the leading trends in the company’s “10 Key Trends 2024” report.
 
The company pointed to some key players capitalizing early on the growing preference for products marketed for blood sugar management, such as NotCo’s new NotSnack protein bar, which contains plant proteins and a sugar substitute called Palatinose which helps to regulate blood sugar levels.
 
Meanwhile, Oatly launched Good Idea, a sparkling water which promises “balanced blood sugar, backed by science,” and is formulated with an amino acid blend and chromium picolinate to cut post-meal blood sugar spikes.
 
“Managing blood glucose levels has long been an area of interest for health active consumers,” says Julian Mellentin, director of New Nutrition Business. “While people have tended to think of managing blood glucose for diabetes, that is beginning to change, driven by the consumer, by the power of social media and by emerging science.
 
“Health-forward consumers are now beginning to look at blood glucose in relation to multiple health benefits, including weight wellness, better metabolic health, hormonal health, and even better mood and mind,” said Mellentin.
 
In a survey of five countries by New Nutrition Business, 21% of consumers said they were trying to eat to manage their blood sugar.
 
Other trends highlighted in NNB’s annual report include more protein, more fiber, acceptance of dietary fats, a desire for “real food,” better and fewer carbohydrates, mood and mind, and weight wellness.
 
The benefits downstream of maintaining healthy blood sugar levels are being popularized on social media, by influencers mostly with credible scientific backgrounds. One notable example is Jessie Inchauspé, known online as the Glucose Goddess, a biochemist and author specializing in blood sugar management who has 2.9 million followers on Instagram.
 
“In a reverse of the situation 15 years ago, social media influencers today create the focus on an aspect of health and the mainstream media falls in behind them,” said Mellentin. “Social media is where younger consumers go first to get information about food, nutrition, and health. For 75% of consumers under the age of 40 it is their first and usually only destination. For them, social media has already replaced mainstream media.”
 
The confluence of emerging science and social media influencers will fuel growing interest in blood sugar management for the next few years, Mellentin predicted. Big white spaces for new products and solutions to lower the glycemic impact include the categories of dairy, proteins of all kinds, snacks and bars, and grain categories.