Functional snack development becomes a new track

The "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Hubei Province's Great Health Industry" shows that accelerating the development of functional foods will be included in the upgrading of
health foods.
Functional snacks refer to leisure snacks with health-promoting functional ingredients, which have the characteristics of nutritional supplement and convenient consumption in leisure time, and are positioned between
leisure foods and health foods.
At present, functional snacks on the market mainly include dietary supplements, weight management products, nutritional tonic products and other types, and the products developed for different groups are increasingly segmented
.

In many supermarkets and stores in Wuhan, Hubei Province, functional snacks continue to develop in the direction of trendiness, convenience, instant food, good taste, etc.
, its product forms include gummies, sparkling water, jelly, dairy products, small pastries, freeze-dried powder, brewed drinks, etc.
, the packaging is bright, the style is lively, and more independent small packaging is used, which is convenient to carry and eat
at any time.

According to the "Generation Z Nutrition Consumption Trend Report", young consumers aged 18-35 account for 83.
7% of health care consumers, and health care groups have become the main force
of functional snack consumption.

Many old food brands have entered the functional food track
.
Qiaqia, Laiyifen, Hundred Herb Flavor, etc.
have successively launched probiotic nuts, Laojin Mill has developed black sesame pills, DHA algae oil black sesame cakes, and Tongrentang, a time-honored Chinese medicine brand, has launched goji berry puree.
.
.
Capital runs to enter.

Industry insiders believe that after the gradual improvement of national living standards and health concepts, functional snacks as a subdivision of leisure snacks have become a rigid demand market, with great
development potential.

Many Hubei enterprises have begun to lay out this new track
.
In 2020, Goodshop established a nutrition and health research institute to develop products
that meet the health needs of different groups of people.
Some enterprises focus on the extraction technology of plant polysaccharides such as shiitake mushroom, yellow essence, olive, papaya, etc.
, and develop food and drug homologous plant resources in the whole industry chain, and have developed a series of functional foods
such as shiitake coffee, shiitake functional drinks, and shiitake oral liquid.

Ye Xueping, director of the Institute of Economics of the Hubei Academy of Social Sciences, said that Hubei, which is rich in resources, strong in scientific research and has a good industrial foundation, will usher in new development opportunities
on this track.

Industry insiders frankly said that at present, the domestic functional snack industry is still in its infancy, there are still deficiencies in supervision, because functional snacks are currently regulated in accordance with ordinary foods, products do not need to be registered or filed before they are listed, and the industry entry threshold is low, resulting in uneven quality; In terms of efficacy, due to the lack of unified standards, it is difficult to measure
whether a product is effective due to multiple factors such as raw materials, component ratio, production process and active ingredient content.

How can the new track be benign and expanded? Ye Xueping suggested that from the perspective of enterprises, it is necessary to polish product quality and establish a good reputation and brand; Focus on superior resources, clarify product positioning according to their efficacy, and correctly deliver product value
.
From the perspective of regulatory authorities, it is necessary to formulate industry standards in a timely manner and strengthen the effective supervision
of functional snacks.
From the consumer's point of view, it is necessary to establish appropriate psychological expectations and rational consumption
according to their own needs.

(Asaka)

China Food News(November 08, 2022 Edition 07)

(Editor: Zhu Meiqiao)