Personalised nutrition packs could dominate consumer market

Brian Balmer, industry principal chemicals and materials, Frost & Sullivan, told FoodProductionDaily.com food companies may consider packaging nutrients alongside meals to meet individual needs.

“Over the next 10 years, nutrition will become much more personalised,”​ he said. “We as consumers will rely less on mass-produced food, and more on tailored products that we will be able to access thanks to more universal monitoring of traits like blood glucose, hydration and vitamin and mineral levels.​

“The way food is packaged will need to react to this trend​.”

Mass customisation​

Balmer adds consumers will have the chance to adjust the nutritional content to their own needs. He compares this ‘mass customisation’ to the automotive industry, where a mass produced car might be customised to an individual buyer.

“Products might still be mass-produced, but they still have the capability to be will be tailored to the individual,​” he said.

“Maybe it will be as simple as having a series of nutrients in separate packaging alongside meals, or perhaps having drinks bottles that can add slow-release nutrients into a base drink​,” he added.

“The best example of how [personalised nutrition] is done today is in the world of professional sports - a lot of nutritional packages are tailored to the individual, whether it is Tour de France cyclists, marathon runners or Andy Murray.​

“In this way, nutrition could follow the same path as many other professional sports technologies that have gradually made their way into the mainstream.”​

Balmer envisions people will monitor their own levels of blood glucose and nutrients, and in the long term may turn to intelligent computer ‘assistants.’

“This would be a real game-changer because, in reality, not many people have enough time or technical knowledge to do this for themselves,”​ he added.