FDBusiness.com

In 2010 the functional food market was worth $24 billion and it is growing by approximately 14% per annum. In the last five years the number of new product introductions carrying a specific functional health claim (such as heart, eye, bone and gut health), has more than doubled. Food and drink companies are increasingly driven by the need to develop products with optimal nutritional properties for human health, but to gain a foothold in the market manufacturers are increasingly looking for distinctive ingredients to differentiate their products.

The growth of the functional foods market and the need for product differentiation is pushing the boundaries of ingredient exploration further afield. Increasingly companies are utilising the marine environment to discover new ingredients. For example, utilising the major bioactive properties of marine peptides include their effect on anti-hypertension, as an antioxidant, satiety enhancing effects and anti-stress effects in beauty foods. Marine ingredients also have the potential to open up opportunities to drive category innovation. For example, the application of essential omega-3 fatty acids in food and drink products (rather than in pill and supplement format) to promote brain, eye and heart health.

As the hard edges of the pharmaceutical and food industries converge, marine derived ingredients could increasingly provide food and drink companies with a unique source of product differentiation. Leatherhead Food Research is holding a conference Marine Ingredients: Opportunities for Food Innovation to explore how the potential of marine ingredients can be fully harnessed by the food and drink industry. The conference will be held in central London at Fishmongers Hall on 22 June. For further details visit www.leatherheadfood.com/marine-ingredients.