Functional Food-Consumer Motivations and Expectations.

Kinga Topolska,Adam Florkiewicz,Agnieszka Filipiak-Florkiewicz

doi:10.3390/ijerph18105327

Abstract

This review provides insight into consumer attitudes toward functional food (FF), with the purpose of better understanding the needs and behavior regarding this kind of product. A total of 47 articles were selected for this paper. The available studies from last 20 years differ according to the focus (awareness, attitudes, motivations, willingness, acceptance by consumers) and methodologies used. Several factors, including socio-demographic, cognitive and attitudinal ones, seem to be serve as the basis for the acceptance of functional products. The research papers showed that nutritional knowledge is the most important of these. Older people are more interested in functional products than younger consumers, because of their stronger belief in the health benefits of FF. Moreover, women are more open to compromise between taste and health properties. Claims concerning the disease preventative properties of FF are the most attractive for consumers. This review focuses also on future perspectives for the functional food market. Adequate knowledge and evidence-based communication seem to be the most promising ways to increase consumers’ interest in these kinds of products.

Highlights

Changes in lifestyle, including improper nutrition and inadequate physical activity, have resulted in the epidemic of non-infectious diseases being a cause of several health problems and even death [1].Functional food (FF) influences specific functions of the organism, may provide additional health benefits or remedy from some diseases following the addition/concentration of a beneficial ingredient, or removal substitution of an ineffective or harmful ingredient [2]
According to EU documents, if it can be proven that a food product affects one or more targeted functions in the body in a positive way, this food product is regarded as a functional food [3]
To examine the extent to which consumers perceive specific health claims associated with particular food products; to examine how consumer responses to health claims are affected by various communication formats

Summary

Introduction

Changes in lifestyle, including improper nutrition and inadequate physical activity, have resulted in the epidemic of non-infectious diseases being a cause of several health problems and even death [1]. Functional food (FF) influences specific functions of the organism, may provide (beyond basic nutrition) additional health benefits or remedy from some diseases following the addition/concentration of a beneficial ingredient, or removal substitution of an ineffective or harmful ingredient [2]. FF is defined as food products possessing the appearance of traditional food and included in the daily diet. These products provide physiological benefit and/or can reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases. FF contains added ingredients, which provide health-related benefits for people beyond the effect of typical food products (not pills, supplements, etc.) [4]. The functional product industry is an innovative one, characterized by dynamic growth, and new products are launched on a continual basis [1,5,6,7]

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