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Health & Wellness food in India
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Saturday, 05 September, 2009, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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By Niraj Lalka
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Globally, health & wellness (H&W) foods are the fastest growing segments in the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry. Increase in consumerism driven by strong economy and rising income has resulted in the increased demand for the packaged goods products in India. With increased health awareness, Indian consumer is also following the global trend of "Go healthy and be well" which has led to rising demand for H&W products in India. Many domestic and international FMCG companies are aggressively looking to tap this growing demand of the health conscious Indian consumers.
Consumer attitude towards health
Globally, health has been one of the prominent selling points for the consumer companies. In a survey conducted by Datamonitor in 2008 across 15 countries, health was seen as a key factor influencing food and beverage choice.
Health considerations have a significant amount of influence on food and beverage choices
Key findings relevant to the Indian health & wellness sector:
■ Datamonitor consumer survey results show that consumers in the emerging economies like India, China, Brazil and Russia (BRIC) give higher level of importance to health in comparison to developed markets of USA, UK and Japan. According to the survey, 80% of the Indian respondents agree that health considerations significantly influence their choice of food and drinks.
■ 50% of the Indian respondents have shown interest in purchasing products claiming improvement in general health and well being with equal number of respondents very keen to buy products that help in improving heart and digestive system.
■ Similarly, around 48% of respondents feel that functional food claims like low fat, low sugar, reduced calories play significant role in their purchasing decision for food and beverages products.
Health & Wellness sector
Traditionally, health & wellness food sector is segmented into 3 categories*.
■ Functional and/or fortified products: Food with components or ingredients added to impart a specific medical or physiological benefit is considered as functional food. Products which have been fortified with ingredients to provide special health benefits like recuperating energy loss, or imparting some physiological benefits are considered as fortified food. Iodized salt, fibre-enriched biscuits etc. form part of this category
■ Natural/Organic products: Natural or organic products include those products which make least use of chemicals, fertilizers or pesticides while farming/cultivation or processing.
■ "Good for Health" (GFH) products: "Good for Health" category includes products with low level of nonessential ingredients like sugar, cholesterol, fat etc. Strong "Prevention better than cure" marketing campaign by consumer companies have made "Good for Health" class of products very popular among consumers. Cholesterol free edible oil, digestive biscuits etc. are classified as "GFH" products.
Indian Health & Wellness food market
The Indian health & wellness food market is evolving mainly around two themes. The fundamental theme being Indians are traditionally health and wellness conscious. This is widely apparent in the Indian food habits such as emphasis on fresh food, sanctity of eating times, high importance to natural products etc. The other theme revolves around the increasing consumer base due to rising access and awareness of international food habits. The growing income levels and evolution of modern retail are further contributing to the growth of the Indian H&W food market.
Global H&W food market is dominated by developed economies like USA, Japan and key European countries where share of H&W food segment is about 20-30% of the total CPG food industry. In comparison, India is at a very nascent stage with H&W segment accounts for a meagre 3-4% of the total organised food market. According to Datamonitor, Indian health and wellness food market is estimated at approximately $610 million in 2008 with annual growth rate of over 25%. Low penetration level exhibits the enormous potential ready to be tapped for the H&W food players in the Indian CPG food market.
Health & Wellness food market in India
Total market size ~ US$ 610 million
According to Datamonitor, bakery & cereals market leads the H&W food market with around 35% share. Functional breakfast cereals, cereal bars, digestive biscuits, functional bread products etc. have found acceptance among Indian consumers. All leading companies in the bakery and cereals markets including Britannia and Kellogg's are actively launching products with health/wellness benefits.
Iodized salt market contributes about 27% of the total H&W market. This segment got a strong boost when the government imposed ban on sale of non-iodized salt. In the recent past, this segment witnessed some new product development activities targeting consumers demanding higher value-add from this common food ingredient. Tata Chemicals, leading company in the iodized salt market, has introduced its low sodium salt - "Tata-lite". Other key brands with strong presence are Saffola salt, Ankur low sodium salt, Ankur double-fortified salt, etc.
Edible oil market has also started contributing significantly to the overall H&W food market. Indian consumers, with most number of heart cases (Source: WHO), are most prone to heart diseases in the world due to its lifestyle and eating habits. Low cholesterol oil products are increasingly getting popular among Indian consumers. Edible oil, which is traditionally been considered to be risky for heart, has seen whole array of products launched in the "GFH" category targeting "Heart" conscious Indian consumers.
Recently, Indian dairy industry has also seen numerous product launches from local companies like Amul and International giants like Nestle and Groupe DANONE launching probiotic yogurt, functional spreads and other functional dairy products in the market.
Other sectors which hold good potential in the Indian H&W market include probiotic ice-cream, baby food, confectionery etc.
Major players and their product initiatives in the Indian H&W space
Britannia, leading biscuits manufacturer in India, has launched wide range of biscuits with health benefits under "NutriChoice" range. Britannia claims its "NutriChoice 5 Grain" range are made from 5 healthy cereals which helps in reducing cholesterol and fat, promotes healthy heart and is a good source of fibre and calcium. Other offerings from Britannia in H&W category includes digestive biscuits, whole wheat bread etc.
Tata chemicals launched Tata-lite in 2007 and became leader within first year of its launch in the niche low sodium salt segment. Tata-lite, the company claims, is made through unique low sodium and potassium formulation which helps in blood pressure and weight management.
Agro Tech Foods limited with its tagline of "healthy oil for healthy people" has launched whole range of healthy oil products under the brand name Sundrop. Companies' Superlite and Nutrilite variants specifically targets health conscious consumers.
Marico, known for its innovative product offerings, have introduced a whole array of products in the functional food segment under "Saffola" brand name providing sugar management, weight management and cholesterol management solutions. Though priced steeply, these products target a large consumer pool suffering from life disorder diseases like obesity, diabetes, heart disorders etc.
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