Persistent economic pressures in South Africa forced many consumers to prioritise their purchases and focus on essential groceries or more affordable options offered by private label in 2023. Therefore, demand for some fortified/functional staple foods suffered at the end of the review period, resulting in marginal retail volume decline for high fibre staple foods. Nevertheless, high fibre, which is considered a type of fortified/functional claim, remained the largest health and wellness claim i

Sales of health and wellness staple foods continue to be bolstered by consumers’ desire to maintain their health through eating the “right” foods, a trend which accelerated during the pandemic, and has endured. Food manufacturers are leveraging this trend in their long-term strategies by shaping their health offerings accordingly. A vegetarian diet is often perceived as healthy by consumers, and therefore more consumers are turning to vegetarian staple foods. Moreover, some consumers are showing

Consumer concerns over excess weight are rising, partly due to consumers becoming more focused on maintaining good health in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with this benefiting sales of health and wellness staple foods in New Zealand. There is growing awareness of the impact that excess weight can have on heart health and the immune system, with more importance placed on healthier diets as a result. A growing focus on weight and diet is also linked to an ongoing rise in the share of the popu

One of the most notable features of the development of the health and wellness trend in recent years has been the way in which it has increasingly aligned with ethical considerations around social and environmental sustainability and concerns about animal welfare. In part, this may be the logical consequence of the increasingly holistic character of consumers’ approach to health and wellbeing, with interest in health extending beyond the individual body to the broader social and physical environ

In 2023, sales of health and wellness staple foods continued to benefit from the increasing focus on the importance of following a healthy diet. This had a noticeable positive impact on the demand for natural processed meat, seafood and alternatives to meat, with this being largely due to a rising demand for plant-based alternatives to meat. Towards the end of the review period, a significant shift was seen towards plant-based options in meat, seafood and meat substitutes, a trend which motivate

Local consumers have been paying greater attention to their diet since the pandemic and have been exploring different dietary plans. In Hong Kong, flexitarian and plant-based diets have attracted the most attention. A flexitarian diet promotes plant-based food consumption while minimising the consumption of meat and other animal products. According to Euromonitor’s Voice of the Consumer Survey January-February 2024, 8% of respondents claimed, “I am vegan”, 10% replied, “I am vegetarian”, while a

High inflation fuelled by the global recovery from COVID-19 and the fallout of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continued to pose challenges for health and wellness staple foods in Chile in 2023. Given that such products traditionally tend to be more expensive than standard alternatives, they faced significant exposure to increased budget-consciousness among the population in an environment of sustained pricing pressures and weakened purchasing power. Accordingly, a number of the main categories saw

Historically, the United Arab Emirates was a market with relatively high obesity levels, compared to the rest of the world. Although obesity levels are now declining, driven by government efforts and consumers’ awareness of healthy eating, it is still regarded as an issue, and this is one of the reasons why staple foods with health and wellness claims are in high demand. Choosing staple foods which are considered good for one’s health is also increasingly perceived as fashionable among younger g

The health and wellness trend has been growing within staple foods in South Korea, with consumers increasingly wanting to prevent any medical issues by eating healthily. Many health and wellness attributes have seen an increase in popularity as a result. For instance, concerns that food and drinks are sometimes overprocessed have contributed to high sales of variants with natural claims. Natural therefore remained the largest health and wellness claim in staple foods in 2023, with retail value s

Post-pandemic, increasingly health-conscious consumers are searching for healthier staple foods in Germany, including breakfast options, thereby driving up demand for no, low or no added sugar variants, all of which recorded double-digit value growth in 2023. These alternative options contain reduced levels of added sugars, while still providing essential nutrients and fibre. They are often marketed as a way to support weight loss, improve gut health and reduce the risk of chronic diseases such

In 2023, consumers in Mexico were increasingly looking at ways to improve their overall health and wellbeing. This included reducing ingredients deemed harmful at large quantities, such as salt, sugar, and fat. This behaviour was encouraged by the introduction of black seals on products with high levels of sugar, salt and fat, enabling consumers to be more aware of these levels. This caused players to launch new products, such as Kellogg de México SA de CV, launching Corn Flakes + Puré de Fruta

With a greater focus on health and nutrition in India, an increasing number of consumers are looking for nutritional value in the foods they consume. This is leading to demand for staple foods that offer something extra, such as fortification, or the addition of functional ingredients. However, with increasingly busy lives, staple foods also need to be convenient. For instance, traditionally, an Indian breakfast generally consisted of cooked food such as idli, dosa, paratha, and upma. However, t

According to Euromonitor International’s Voice of the Consumer: Lifestyles survey, fielded January to February each year, 21% of respondents in Japan looked for healthy ingredients in foods and beverages in 2022, and this increased to 27% in 2023. Moreover, the survey also showed that the percentage of respondents willing to pay more for healthy and nutritional properties in foods and beverages increased in 2023. Health-conscious consumers are becoming increasingly wary of processed products, an

In 2023 in Taiwan more consumers turned to high protein staple foods, prompted in large part by accelerating fitness trends. A growing number of Taiwanese began to visit gyms and exercise regularly during the review period. Apart from working out, people are also paying attention to their diets. Many have changed their diets and exercise routines to achieve a particular fitness objective, whether it be weight loss or improved overall health. There is thus strong demand for protein sources in sta

In 2023, consumers were increasingly searching for staple foods that supported rising health goals, with vitamins, minerals, protein and probiotics becoming increasingly sought after. In addition to boosting positive nutrients, many were looking to reduce ingredients they perceived to be harmful to health, including salt, sugar and fat. Furthermore, lactose free and gluten free options rose in popularity, as consumers without intolerances bought these goods to aid gut health, inflammation and ov

Health and wellness staple foods saw strong growth in 2023 in current value terms despite prevailing economic uncertainty, high inflation and rising living costs. Nonetheless, increased price sensitivity did see some consumers opting for cheaper options when it came to shopping for staple foods with health and wellness claims. For example, sales of private label baked goods – in particular, packaged leavened bread – continued to grow due to their greater affordability and similar nutritional cla

Dietary and free from staple foods such as vegan, vegetarian, and plant-based all continued to increase in popularity in the US in 2023, as more consumers are becoming interested in their health, but also concerned about the environment and animal welfare. These products are popular not only amongst people who want to avoid animal products in their diet, but also amongst flexitarians, who are trying to limit the number of animal products they consume. In 2023, in Euromonitor’s Voice of the Consu

In 2023, consumers in Poland sought ways to increase the nutritional benefits of their staple foods, reaching for functional items and goods fortified with fibre, protein, omega-3 and vitamins and minerals. In addition to consuming products that are beneficial to health, many consumers were looking to avoid high levels of fat, sugar, and salt, while others were looking to reduce their intake of lactose and gluten to aid gut health and digestion. While gluten free sales are supported by consumers

The trend towards plant-based diets is rapidly gaining momentum in Thailand, supported by the ongoing alignment of consumers’ health and wellness concerns with ethical considerations around environmental sustainability and animal welfare. The spread of social media has helped to support a global increase in awareness of the environmental impact of livestock farming compared with arable farming, as well as the proliferation of health trends, particularly amongst younger consumers. In this context

One of the challenges that people faced during the pandemic was that they had fewer opportunities to do physical activities as they were confined to their homes for extended periods. Accordingly, many people gained weight, with the share of the Turkish population who are overweight or obese rising from 69% in 2019 to 72% in 2023. However, during 2023 consumers were encouraged to become more active again, with gym memberships rising and more people taking up sport and fitness activities. Alongsid

The health and wellness trend continued to grow in Sweden in 2023, shaping consumers' purchasing habits of staple foods. In addition to seeking low sugar, fat, and salt, many consumers are reaching for free-from options and looking to eliminate certain ingredients to aid overall wellbeing. An estimated 2% of the Swedish population have coeliac disease, although it is believed a high number of sufferers go undiagnosed. This potential consumer base has helped to fuel demand for gluten free staple

Alongside rising consumer awareness in the UK of the importance of healthy nutrition, the HFSS regulation (High in Fat, Salt, and Sugar) continued to drive innovation in the health space. On 1 October 2022, restrictions on product location came into effect, targeting products identified by the Department of Health's Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) as high in fat, salt, and sugar. This regulation imposes restrictions on the physical and online presence of HFSS products, specifically impacting thei

Consumers in Switzerland eat a lot of processed meat and processed seafood, but there has been a growing movement towards the adoption of vegan, vegetarian and flexitarian diets. While the proportion of people identifying as vegans and vegetarians among the population remains low it has risen significantly since the pandemic. Moreover, a much higher number of Swiss people now identify as so-called “flexitarians”, which refers to the desire to reduce one’s intake of animal products and/or to swit

Gluten free remained the leading health and wellness claim in staple foods in Finland in value terms by a substantial margin in 2023. Several categories saw volume sales of products with this positioning grow at robust rates, as in line with rising health-consciousness – a well-established trend that has gained momentum since the pandemic – Finns are becoming more aware that recurrent digestive complaints like diarrhoea, bloating and abdominal pain can be symptoms of coeliac disease or an intole