Is Spain the new Japan of functional foods?

Marisa Vidal-Guevara, a research scientist at the Spanish arm of Swiss food group, Hero, wrote that the Spanish functional foods market was worth €3.5bn in 2006 and growing at about 15 per cent annually.

In her paper, ‘Functional Foods in Spain: an industry Perspective’, she said functional foods accounted for a 26 per cent share of the Spanish food market in 2007.

Although definitions vary as to what is a functional food (depending on the overall health profile of the food and the manner in which it may or may not have been fortified), this figure is very high and may make Spain the highest uptakers of functional foods in Europe, possibly the world.

Vanguard​

“Experts agree these foods are not a fashion and they have arrived to stay in the market place for the long term,”​ Vidal-Guevara wrote. “Spain is in the vanguard of the functional foods industry and, therefore, can be used as a reference point for developments in functional foods.”​

Japan has long been held in such regard, as many functional food innovations have sprung from there and it is widely regarded as the birthplace of the functional foods movement, as the probiotic one-shot drink, Yakult, was launched there in the 1950s.

Spain’s functional food market, like those in many other countries, began to boom in the 1990s.

Vidal-Guevara located several reasons for this:

1) greater public concern about health

2) favorable regulation changes

3) government initiatives

4) technological advances

5) scientific backing

The Spanish paradox​

In a complex development, she said the embrace of western lifestyles that had seen home-cooking decline and fast food consumption increase, had driven an interest in functional foods as consumers sought to counter unhealthy dietary habits.

“Decrease in cholesterol, weight loss and improved gastrointestinal health are three of the major benefits offered by functional foods to the Spanish consumer,”​ she said.

The Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fish and Food noted in 2001 that there had been a decrease in consumption of complex carbohydrates, vegetables, fruits, red wine and sugar, and an increase in fish, dairy products and meat consumption.

As a result obesity and overweight rates have risen significantly along with associated diseases such as diabetes which had spurred growth in specialty foods.

In addition, the public was coming to accept the health benefits of functional foods, especially those backed by clinical data.

“The Spanish food industry is making a greater use, day by day, of academic resources to evaluate and validate the beneficial effects of their products, looking for efficient biomarkers which demonstrate the effect on organic functions, including their role in health keeping and disease prevention, and also cause-and-effect relationship studies to evaluate safety and dose level. The second effort is clear and transparent communication to consumers,”​ she wrote.

The big five​

Mintel stats show Spain had the fifth most functional food launches (94) in Europe in 2007. France had the most with 154, followed by the UK (153), Germany (142) and Italy (118).

Between the years of 2000 and 2004 Spain had the most functional foods launches in the EU but has subsequently been pegged back other members of ‘the big five’.

This year (until July), Spain saw 41 products debuted on its market compared to 111 in the UK, 100 in Germany, 67 in Italy and 59 in France.

The Functional Foods Net brought together about 180 companies to discuss industry matters, build relationships and develop new products.