Smart nutrition brands should watch out for three p’s – private label, plant-based, and personalisation – to remain relevant as this once-niche category moves into the mainstream, says Mintel.
“The smart nutrition category of nutrient-controlled meal replacements continues to grow,” said Rick Miller, food and drink associate director for specialised nutrition at Mintel. “It is evolving beyond niche startups to big brand food conglomerates who are able to accelerate the pace of bringing these foods to the mainstream consumer.”
Brands with an interest in the category should “be mindful of diversification, the rise of private label and the emergent use of smart nutrition for consumers using GLP-1 medicines”, he added.
Smart nutrition represents an evolution of sub-categories in food and drink, creating calorie-controlled foods with a complete nutritional profile. Most product launches are a form of ready-to-drink meal replacement, such as those sold by brands like Huel and yfood.
Once the domain of startups, the category has matured significantly in recent years, moving from meal replacements for weight management to time-saving, on-the-go innovations for the busy modern consumer.
Increased demand, driven by busy lifestyles and the need for convenience, has driven market growth beyond the early innovators: last year, Nestlé acquired a minority stake (49.95%) in Germany-based meal replacement startup yfood, for example.
And, as the pace of modern life continues to gather speed, brands must bring fresh ideas to this growing portfolio if they are to remain relevant, says Mintel.
What’s trending in the world of smart nutrition?
Ready-to-drink formats continue to boom, with concomitant diversification in formats. While bulk powder formats continue to dominate, liquid-based nutritional and meal replacement launches have grown in Europe over the past three years, according to Mintel.
There has also been growth in new product launches featuring plant-based and functional claims, driven by early innovators such as Huel.
“Further NPD in this sub-sector of smart nutrition includes functional ingredients, such as Unico’s Gemini Vegan Meal Replacement featuring ashwagandha and acai berry extract,” said Miller.
Meanwhile, Mintel figures show that 7% of new global smart nutrition launches in the past five years have featured low-sugar claims. Growing consumer interest in metabolic health and low-carbohydrate approaches, such as the ketogenic diet, has inspired brands like HLTH code to position products around this claim.
While there has been expansion in ready-to-drink options, plant-based, and lower-carbohydrate variants, the most interesting shift, perhaps, is with regards to personalisation.
The food and drink industry is “on the brink of mass personalisation”, claims Mintel, as brands embrace a paradigm shift away from “one size fits all” formulations. A key differentiator in the future of the smart nutrition category will be “the ability for brands to offer degrees of personalisation to allow consumers to make tailored products of their own”, said Miller.
He used the example of abnormal., a subscription-based, personalised meal replacement service, in which consumers complete a questionnaire that aids an algorithm to produce a personalised meal solution.
Influencer marketing is a highly lucrative channel, especially among gen Z consumers. More than two in five (43%) German 16- to 23-year-olds consider advertising from social media influencers to be more relatable than traditional approaches, compared with about one in four (28%) millennial consumers, Mintel figures show.
Some smart nutrition brands have invested heavily in influencer marketing. However, Mintel sounded a note of caution to brands seeking to jump on the bandwagon.
Huel, for example, has secured substantial financial investment from celebrity investors including film star Idris Elba and Steven Bartlett of Diary of a CEO podcast fame.
However, in August, the brand came under fire from the UK Advertising Standards Agency after a social media ads featuring Bartlett failed to disclose his commercial interest in the company.
“As smart nutrition grows, brands need to carefully consider influencer involvement in advertising,” Miller said.
