- Market and Marketing of Functional Foods and Dietary Supplements in America

Abstract

In the present era, processing and new distribution options provide increasing opportunities available to food marketers to provide the consumer with convenient and nutritious products. The rapid economic and income growth, urbanization, and globalization are leading to a dramatic shift of diets away from staples and increasingly toward livestock and dairy products, vegetables and fruit, and fats and oils (Pingali 2004). The current food consumption patterns are showing signs of convergence toward a nutritious diet. The main determinants of the changes in the demand for food are: income growth, which leads to major shifts in demand across different types of food; the process of urbanization, which brings about new dietary needs; and more generally lifestyle changes (Pingali 2004). All these factors, which are responsible for change or shift in consumer demand, have led to change in the product mix of the dairy products over a period of time. A number of innovations have taken place in the past and many health-oriented dairy products have appeared in the market. The recent examples of these are probiotic curds and drinks launched by major dairy players. The research is undergoing to integrate the millets with the dairy products so that a wholesome food can be provided to the consumer. This paper broadly discusses the changes in consumption pattern of dairy products along with major innovations in dairy sector.