APAC's heart health functional food market set for robust growth
Analysts said increasing consumer understanding of the benefits of such products, combined with growing health awareness of people aged 45 and above, will drive the growth.
They highlighted plant sterols and soy protein as being the two most sought after ingredients, especially by consumers who are vegetarian or who are looking for halal products.
"Increasing life expectancy and rising health consciousness among the populace is prompting health care professionals, researchers, governments, and functional food manufacturing companies to meet the changing demands of consumers efficiently.
"As a result, demand for heart health functional foods is expected to increase significantly in APAC over the forecast period, owing to an increasing number of consumers opting for preventive measures rather than cures," noted analysts at Researchmoz.
China and Japan growth
When assessing individual product categories, they stated that dairy goods would lead the charge with a CAGR of 7.7%, and account for 31.8% of the value share by 2026.
The edible oil segment is also forecast to perform well due to the popularity of omega-3s and plant sterols.
Markets in China and Japan are expected to contribute significantly to the overall revenue growth of the APAC heart health functional food market over the next eight years. Currently, Japan accounts for the majority of revenue share at 28.7%, followed by China.
Supermarkets and hypermarkets are set to remain the most popular distribution channels, with the latter tipped to witness 7.2% revenue growth to 2026. This segment is projected to create an incremental opportunity of US$128.9m over the same period.
