Probiotic products that deliver not only digestive wellness but also help with stress and sleep quality have been an ambition for many companies for the past 10 years. Now they are becoming a reality. The success of Yakult 1000, which has achieved sales of over $850 million within two years of launch, shows what can be achieved when consumers can “feel the benefit”.  

The repeat purchase rates of Yakult 1000, and what consumers say on social media, show that the product delivers on this critical success factor. Probiotic suppliers are bringing to market more strains, backed by evidence that show they support mood and mind.

This exciting and fast-changing development is an example of the many emergent opportunities that we’ll be highlighting in our forthcoming 10 Key Trends 2024 report, and which make writing the report each year so interesting. Among the many things that have caught our attention this year are:

- Dairy protein is continuing its 12-year run, as we forecast back in 2011, and is set to go further by connecting to benefits that are new to the consumer.

- The ‘mega trend’ of weight wellness is evolving, with an increasingly strong overlap with metabolic health.

- Metabolic health is also showing up in the Mood & Mind area, with many emerging opportunities.

- Women’s health is taking new directions and there are overlaps between this and metabolic health, mood & mind, and some brands are already working out how to work with these connections.

- How companies are navigating the evolving plant-based dairy and meat substitute spheres.

As regular readers know, to illustrate the report with real-world examples and bring the trends to life, we dive into the activities of over 200 companies in many categories, from dairy to bakery to snacking to plant-based. It’s a fascinating process that always renews our admiration for the creativity and imagination of the industry, from Ancient Greek and sprouted grains to blood sugar-friendly formulations, curry-flavoured real food bars and mushroom granola.

Our best-selling report 10 Key Trends in Food, Nutrition & Health 2024 is now available! Get it here: https://www.new-nutrition.com/keytrend?id=304 

For more information, contact Allene Bruce at enquiries@new-nutrition.com.