2006-03-21

New Hartman Group Report Reveals that Consumers Continue to Turn to Supplements And Turn Away from Functional Foods for Health Concerns

BELLEVUE, WA, Mar 21,2006 - Vitamins continue to be the most preferred form of functional ingredients, in fact 72% of American consumers prefer this form research shows. The newest report released by The Hartman Group, Pulse Report: Functional Foods from a Consumer Perspective, examines the market for functional foods and beverages as they continue to expand from a production standpoint. According to the report functional foods are a concept that consumers are still trying to wrap their minds around.

"Despite the introduction of thousands of functional foods and beverages into the U.S. market, American consumers still associate more strongly with dietary supplements in pill form for treating chronic health conditions and to boost overall wellness than they do with foods and beverages," said Laurie Demeritt, President and COO for The Hartman Group.

Research finds that for consumers, the era of functional foods is largely a new one when compared to the some 90 years that packaged goods have been offered to them in retail settings: media headlines and claims approved by government that can be associated between functional ingredients and various health conditions have been in the public domain for less than ten years.

"Food has obvious functions but less in terms of health than in terms of viewing the body as a machine: To consumers, food is energy for today and food helps maintain the body over the long haul," said Demeritt. According to the report, this does not mean that products marketed as "functional foods" fail entirely to connect with consumers: When asked if they "ever use" functional foods, 79% of respondents indicated that they had. When asked what products they were consuming, juice, food bars, cereal, yogurt and "beverages" topped the responses.

About the Report
Pulse Report: Functional Foods from a Consumer Perspective examines the sugar and sweeteners of all kinds from the perspective of a diverse group of consumers across the United States. The report was conducted in the Summer of 2006 by Hartman Interactive and polled over 1,424 consumers.

About The Hartman Group
The Hartman Group, Inc., founded 1989, is a full-service consulting and market research firm offering a wide range of services and products specializing on the health and wellness markets. The company's headquarters are located in Bellevue, Washington.