Functional food Claims are increasing

Functional food Claims are increasing sleep increases by 18%Fuji Outlook for 2024: Fat suppression increases by 3%, overall by 7%

The market size of functional food labeling has expanded, and according to Fuji Keizai, the domestic market in 2024 is expected to reach 7,350 billion yen, an increase of 7% compared to the previous year. Since 2015, with the introduction of the functional food labeling system, the market has continued to grow in response to consumer health needs.

In particular, the market for GABA functional food labeling products is expected to grow by 10%, and the fat suppression sector is also expected to increase by 3% to 2,928 billion yen. Additionally, the market size of the sleep sector is expected to reach 1,065 billion yen, an increase of 18%, with the expansion of lactobacillus products also observed.

On the other hand, the market size of specific health food products (Tokuhos) is showing a tendency to shrink, with an expected decrease of 2% to 2,638 billion yen in 2024 compared to the previous year. This is due to the differences in processes and content between functional food labeling and Tokuhos, and it is expected that the release of new products for specific health food will be limited. Mr. Tetsuya Kusano from Fuji Keizai’s Consumer Business Division believes, “For companies, specific health food products require time and cost, but the content that can appeal to consumers is not significantly different from functional food labeling. The points of differentiation are limited to aspects like obtaining the ‘Tokuhomark’ from the Consumer Affairs Agency. The release of new products for specific health food is expected to remain limited in the future.”

Source:Nikkei MJ 13 March 2024