n utrition business€¦ · n ew n utrition business volume 16 number 5 –nutrition.com march 2011...

N E W N U T R I T I O N

B U S I N E S Swww.new–nutrition.com MARCH 2011 ISSN 1464-3308VOLUME 16 NUMBER 5

T H E J O U R N A L F O R H E A L T H Y E A T I N G , F U N C T I O N A L F O O D S & N U T R A C E U T I C A L S

Pages 17-19

Continued on page 7

Pages 11-14 Pages 15-16

By Dale Buss

Bio-Synergy’s sales growth is

anything but Skinny

Entrepreneurs drive growth of

coconut category

The challenge of communicating the uncertainties of science was starkly illustrated in February when more than 9,000 media reports ran with headlines such as “Is diet soda linked to heart, stroke risk?” and “Drinking diet soda is linked to a higher risk of stroke, heart attack.” The impetus for the media reporting was a presentation at the American Stroke Association International New Stroke Conference by researchers from the University of Miami which proposed a tentative relationship between consumption of diet soda and strokes and other vascular events.

Many experts quickly batted down the study as inconclusive and even faulty, with Dr. Gilbert Ross, medical director of the American Council for Science & Health, calling it “generally a poorly done” and “atrocious” study.

Others charged that the study did a disservice to consumers. “In the latest dietary guidance, weight management is the key factor, and replacing sugar-sweetened beverages is encouraged,” said Cathy Kapica, former chief nutrition officer for McDonalds and now senior vice president of global health and wellness for Ketchum, a Chicago-based food-industry consulting and marketing firm.

“Yet nobody but a dietitian is going to drink water as a first choice. So people have replaced regular soft drinks with diet soft

drinks. What this study is doing is sending the wrong message to them, and many consumers who see this and have limited information will just go back to drinking full-calorie sodas.”

FEARS STUDY COULD TARNISH ONLY GROWTH AREA IN SOFT DRINKS

Industry sensitivity over the study underscored an uncomfortable fact for soft-drink manufacturers: Diet soda is the only growth segment in the business, so they can’t afford bad health news to interfere.

“The soft-drink category overall is not a growth category, obviously,” said John Sicher, editor of Beverage Digest. “But while the entire carbonated range is flat to slightly declining overall, diet is somewhat outperforming the regular drinks.”

Carbonated soft drink volume fell 2.1% in 2009, compared with a 3% decline in 2008 and a 2.3% drop in 2007, according to Beverage Digest.

Soda sales have fallen for five years since 2004, the peak year for the US carbonated soft drink market. Volumes are expected to continue to decline by 1.5%-3% a year for the next five to 10 years as the category faces continued headwinds from health and wellness concerns and a proliferation of healthier alternatives, many of which also score highly on “naturalness”, such as

coconut water (see Case Study on page 17).Although regular Coca-Cola remains

America’s number one soft drink in 2009, Diet Coke is number two, with a 9.9% market share.

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine, found that drinkers of diet soda could have a much higher risk of vascular events compared to those who don’t drink soda. In findings involving 2,564 people in the large Northern Manhattan Study (NOMAS), the researchers said that people who drank diet soda every day had a 61% higher risk of vascular events than those who reported no soda drinking.

Researchers said they accounted for participants’ age, sex, race or ethnicity, smoking status, exercise, alcohol consumption and daily caloric intake. And even after researchers also accounted for patients’ metabolic syndrome, peripheral vascular disease and heart-disease history, the increased risk persisted at a rate 48% higher.

The subjects of the study, whose average age was 69, have been studied for 18 years under a collaboration of investigators from the University of Miami and Columbia University in New York. They filled out a “food-frequency questionnaire” when they joined the group of study subjects and continue to be followed.

“The results are intriguing and suggest

Controversial stroke study takes shine off diet soda?

Mars reinvents CocoaVia with fruit flavour,

circulation benefit – and no sterols

MARCH 20112

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LEAD STORY

1,7 Controversial stroke study takes shine

off diet soda?

NEWS ANALYSIS

3-4 Kraft takes gums in new direction with

novel flavours, lifestyle benefits

5-6 Health claims setback casts shadow over

new Alpro Soya Plus

EDITORIAL

8-9 Mars’ long-term strategy to reinvent

chocolate

REGULATION

10 See you in court?

CASE STUDIES

11-14 INNOVATION: Mars reinvents

CocoaVia with fruit flavours,

circulation benefit – and no sterols

15-16 WEIGHT MANAGEMENT: Bio-Synergy’s

sales growth is anything but Skinny

17-19 BEVERAGE: Entrepreneurs drive

growth of coconut category

20-21 MARKETING: Selling “vitality”: vague

hope or marketer’s dream?

22-24 DAIRY: Dairy’s new dawn: too early for

real change?

25-26 LABELING: Will industry label scheme

win over FDA?

NEW PRODUCTS

27-31 Functional & healthy-eating new

product launches

IMPORTANT NOTICE

32 A polite reminder to our subscribers

USEFUL TO KNOW

33 NNB Consultancy

ORDERING

34 New Nutrition Business Publications

35 Order Form

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE

36 Subscription Order Form

Acticoa ......................................... 8

Alpro Soya Plus ......................... 5,6

Amy & Brians ........................ 17,19

Barry Callebaut ............................ 8

Bio-Synergy ........................... 15,16

Bolthouse Farms Bom Dia ......... 18

Cadburys ................................... 3,4

Campbell Soup Company ......... 25

Cirku ..................................... 11,13

Coca-Cola ................................. 1,7

CocoaVia .................... 11,12,13,14

Dr Pepper ..................................... 7

General Mills ............................. 25

GNC ........................................... 19

GoodnessKnows ...................... 8,14

Green Coco ................................ 18

Harvest Bay ........................... 17,19

Kraft ..................................... 3,4,24

Mars Cocoapro ....................... 8,13

Mars ................. 8,9,11,12,13,14,26

Naked Juice ...................... 17,18,19

NuSkin .................................. 20,21

O.N.E. .............................. 17,18,19

PepsiCo ......................... 7,17,18,19

Phenom ...................................... 19

Positively Healthy Cocoa ............. 9

Sargento ..................................... 24

Skinny Water ......................... 15,16

Stride Spark .............................. 3,4

Trident Vitality ..................... 3,4,20

Unilever ................................. 20,21

Vita Coco ......................... 17,18,19

Zico .................................. 17,18,19

MARCH 2011 3


N E W S A N A LY S I S

Continued on page 4

Kraft-owned Cadbury’s chewing gum brands Trident and Stride – Trident has a 24% share of the $24 billion (€17.5 billion) US market, while Stride has a 10% share – are heading in a new direction, with the former focusing on Vitality and the latter on Energy.

The new Trident Vitality range is available in what the company describes as “three feel-good flavours of sophisticated and inspired ingredients”:

• Vigorate, citrus and strawberry fl avour with 10% of the RDA of vitamin C per piece.

• Rejuve, with mint and white tea.• Awaken, with peppermint and ginseng.The three fl avours went into distribution in

February, priced at $1.29 (€0.94) for a single pack and $2.89 (€2.11) for a three-pack.

NOVEL FLAVOURS FOR GROWN-UP CONSUMERS

A spokeswoman explained that Cadbury is attempting to speak to young consumers’ desire for a healthy lifestyle without promising them particular nutritional benefits.

“Based on our research, we found that many consumers are looking for unique new flavours that fit within their wellness lifestyle,” the Cadbury spokeswoman said.

The pellet-size gum, which comes in a box that “clicks” when opened or closed, is aimed at a slightly older consumer than many other gums, with the targeted audience being people in their 20s and 30s who are into wellness.

“One thing we found is that as people age, the gum fl avours may be less relevant with their lifestyle,” said Kraft spokesman Basil

Maglaris. “This is an opportunity that we saw [to be] relevant with consumers in the 25 to 34 age range.”

Already some industry experts have com-pared the Vitality range to Vitaminwater and suggested that in its search for a new point of difference Kraft may have taken inspiration from the water brand. The biggest fortified water brand in the US market, Vitaminwater has a number of variants offering a range of benefits, but as with Vitality ingredients are present at modest levels rather than effective levels and provide a “lifestyle” benefit rather than a concrete health benefit.

ADVERTS FOCUS ON FLAVOUR

In fact, Cadbury’s spokeswoman maintained that Cadbury largely is focusing on the flavour profiles of Vitality. “In developing these new ... gum flavours, we were inspired by sophisti-cated, delicious and unique flavours that are still grounded in the familiar,” she said. She also described Vitality as “stylish, contempo-rary and fashion-forward”.

In fact Vitality’s launch involved a tie-up with New York Fashion Week and a New York-based launch party filled with young music and movie celebrities.

In its initial TV advertising for Vitality, Cadbury depicts 20-somethings experiencing the product largely on the basis of flavour surprises. The ad voiceovers only say that Vitality includes “inspired ingredients” includ-ing white tea and ginseng.

The TV ad for Vigorate depicts people throwing oranges at one another while the ad for Rejuve, the flavour with mint and white

tea, shows people in a winter setting throwing snow balls.

FEEL THE BENEFIT?

Cadbury’s other recent launch is called Stride Spark and is aimed at a younger demo-graphic: the teenagers and college students who have been the target for the Stride brand since it was introduced in 2006. That’s why each piece of Spark provides 25% of the RDA of vitamins B6 and B12, which are common ingredients in energy drinks. Stride Spark comes in two varieties: Kinetic Mint and Kinetic Fruit.

“Our target of young adults is very famil-iar with B vitamins,” Gary Osifchin, Stride marketing director, told the New York Times, adding: “This is the first ever flavour profile with an oomph you can feel and an oomph you can taste.”

Kraft’s recent lifestyle-benefit launches are part of the industry’s quest to move beyond the dental health benefits which have become the category’s signature benefit – so common that no brand can make it a worthwhile point of difference.

The emphasis on flavour may also be a reaction to the fast growth of a rival product from market leader Wrigley, owned by Mars. Wrigley’s “5” brand is sold in black-coloured packs – which in some markets look so much like packaging for contraceptives that they are a turn-off for any consumer over 30 – in flavours including React, Zing and Flare. Already its market share has shot up to 13.1% of the sugar-free gum market, putting it close behind Trident.

Kraft takes gums in new direction with novel flavours, lifestyle benefitsChewing gum was arguably one of the first functional foods, with major brands offering dental health benefits such as reducing cavities or strengthening teeth since the 1960s. But with dental benefits no longer a point of difference, gum giants are trying to find a new direction. With its recent new product launches Kraft is focusing on the lifestyle benefits of “vitality” and “energy”. By JULIAN MELLENTIN and DALE BUSS.

Which couhtries it was launched in and when were still on te markeWWWWWWWhhhici h cococococoooooococoocooocc uuuuhhuhuhtrhuhuuuuuuuuuhtrtrtrhtrrthttrtrrrhtrththttrhtrhhttrrttries iesieseseesiesies esies iesies ieesiesieies iesieesiesiessieieeeieieeiesiee it wt wwwt wt wwt wt wwt wt wwwwt wwwwwwwwwt wwwwt wwt wwt aasasas las llauaununcncau chhehed in and when n w weerwereree still ll l onon n tttonn tn tnn ttn tttttttnn tttttttttttn ttttn ttttteeeeeeeee mee me me me me me mmmmaaaeeeeeee mmmaaeeee mmmaaeeeeee mmamaae mmaammaaammaaaamaaaaaaaarrrkekekerrkrrkrrrrrrn in the dairy case.n nnnn inn inn inininin inininninn innnn in in ttthe thethethethehehehehehehetheeththetheheheheheheeth daidd da dada da daidadaidai daidaidaidda daidaidadaddaairy cry cry cry cry cry cry ry cry cry cry cryry ry cry cry yry cry casasasease..

MARCH 20114



Aimed at a younger demographic, Stride Spark provides B vitamins, common ingredients in energy drinks. “This is the first ever flavour profile with an oomph you can feel and an oomph you can taste,” said Stride marketing director Gary Osifchin.

Designer Indashio at the fashion show pre-sented by Trident Fall Collection at NYC Fashion Week STYLE360. Photo by Thomas Concordia/WireImage for Style 360.

Man:

Experience new Trident Vitality

Song:

Hey I just came to say hello....

Man:

Trident Vitality with inspired ingredients like vitamin C, white zinc and ginseng.

TRIDENT VITALITY TV AD

Continued from page 3

MARCH 2011 5



Alpro, the Belgium-based supplier of soy-based food and beverage products, has launched a soy milk drink with added plant sterols – but has categorically denied this has anything to do with the recent rejection of a health claim linking soy protein with cholesterol reduction.

Instead the company insists the product – Alpro Soya Plus – is designed to offer consumers an augmented cholesterol lowering effect thanks to the inclusion of both soy protein and sterols in the drink, though it admits it does not yet have the science to prove this.

Soy’s ability to lower cholesterol levels is well documented in the scientific literature. So much so, in fact, that in the past health claims stating as much have been approved in a number of countries, including the US, UK and Japan.

So it was something of a surprise when, in August last year, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued a negative opinion on an Article 14 disease risk reduction health claim put forward for evaluation under the European Union’s Nutrition & Health Claims Regulation.

Submitted by a group of three trade bodies, the dossier requested approval for the claim that:

“Soy protein has been shown to lower/reduce blood cholesterol; blood cholesterol lowering may reduce the risk of (coronary) heart disease.”

Soy producers had hoped a positive opinion, and subsequent European Commission ratification, would have put soy on a similar footing to plant sterols and stanols, which are already subject to approved claims to lower cholesterol levels.

But, as we reported on the front page of the September 2010 edition of New Nutrition Business, EFSA threw the dossier out, arguing that the studies submitted did not demonstrate conclusively that soy

protein, rather than other constituents in the various products tested, was the cause of any reduced cholesterol levels that occurred. The industry was incensed and is lobbying EFSA to rethink its stance. But, for now, this state of affairs leaves the soy industry in limbo in the cholesterol space while others forge on, approved claim in hand.

It’s against this turbulent backdrop that Alpro, which is owned by America’s Dean Foods, has launched Alpro Soya Plus. Marketed as a cholesterol-lowering drink, it bears all the hallmarks of a direct response to EFSA’s negative opinion on soy protein.

CLAIMS PLAN FOR DOUBLE BENEFIT

But Alpro says this is absolutely not the case, insisting that it is simply a coincidence that it has begun to arrive on shelves just as the soy industry is facing a health claims-induced crisis. “Plus has been in the pipeline for some time and is not a reaction to the EFSA decision,” says John Allaway, Alpro’s commercial director for its UK business.

Instead, he says the rationale behind the product concept has always been to give consumers a double-dose of cholesterol-lowering power. “We believe there is an added benefit and at some point in the future, once we’ve managed to submit our studies [to EFSA], we’ll be able to make claims on the combined effect,” he explains.

Hamstrung by EFSA’s decision, Alpro for now will focus only on making claims relating to the cholesterol-lowering benefits of plant sterols when marketing Alpro Soya Plus. Messages relating to soy milk will focus not on cholesterol; rather they will focus on the general goodness of soy milk as a plant-based protein that’s low in saturated fat and high in vitamins, and its environmental benefits compared with producing cows’ milk.

Allaway says: “We’re not in a position to

make a claim for having the two together but a lot of our consumers who know that soy has got benefits also know that sterols have benefits. So the two combined is definitely a good thing in the consumer’s eye.”

PACK CLAIM NOT SPECIFIC ABOUT SIZE OF BENEFIT

Alpro Soya Plus contains 0.75g of plant sterols per 250ml (8 oz) serving. Guidance on the carton recommends two glasses a day to obtain a “beneficial effect” – but stops short of making any claim about the specific extent of cholesterol reduction.

This is intentional, says Allaway. “If you look at some of the research it does say plant

Health claims setback casts shadow over new Alpro Soya PlusAlpro’s new soy drink with added plant sterols is arriving on shelves just as the soy industry is reeling from European regulators’ rejection of a soy-cholesterol health claim. But Alpro insists the drink is not a reaction to the claim rejection – it’s an attempt to offer consumers a double-dose of cholesterol-reduction benefits and the company hopes ultimately to make a claim for the combined effect. By RICHARD CLARKE.

MARCH 20116


sterols can reduce cholesterol by 10%. But the actual amount varies very much from consumer to consumer depending on body weight, on size, on their cholesterol levels. So we’re not making a claim on pack.”

Alpro Soya Plus is being launched in Alpro’s home market of Belgium and in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and Spain. Although Allaway admits Plus will be competing with products already in the cholesterol lowering space – such as Benecol and Flora Pro-Activ – he says target consumers will primarily be those who are already shopping the soy foods aisle of their local store. However, they will typically be those who drink soy milk as a result of a health need, rather than those who do so because they have an allergy to cows’ milk or are vegans.

Alpro Soya Plus – a UHT product – will sell at a premium to other, standard ambient Alpro soya milks. In the UK, for example, Plus is retailing in Tesco for £1.35 ($2.19/€1.60) for a litre, compared with £1.09 ($1.77/€1.29) for the non-enriched version.

A ‘PROFESSIONAL FRIEND’

Marketing will be low key for now, making use of retailer loyalty cards to connect with relevant consumers. A new website has also been established in English and Dutch – www.alproplus.com – which offers general advice on cholesterol reduction in a way intended to be accessible and informative. Allaway says this strategy is part of an attempt to position Alpro as a “professional friend”.

In addition, Alpro will be getting in touch with health professionals in a bid to persuade them to recommend Alpro Soya Plus to patients with raised cholesterol. Statins, the drugs widely used in cholesterol-reducing treatment, have been receiving a bad press recently on the grounds of side-effects associated with taking them, and Alpro hopes some consumers with elevated cholesterol will be attracted to Alpro Soya Plus as a more natural way to tackle their health issue.

“We have a team who work very closely with healthcare professionals,” says Allaway. “We’ll be doing a large campaign letting them know about this product, providing them with material they can use with patients, and hopefully they’ll be recommending this product as a smart way to lower cholesterol.”


PLAYING IT SAFE WITH HEALTH CLAIMS

Alpro hopes that one day it will be able to make a claim that the soy extracts and plant sterols combination in its Alpro Soya Plus drink provides increased levels of cholesterol reduction compared with consuming these ingredients on their own. But for now, with EFSA having rejected a dossier linking soy protein with cholesterol reduction, Alpro is playing it safe, focusing on the cholesterol lowering benefits of sterols and the general well-being and environmental benefits of soy milk.

The front of the pack reads: “Alpro Soya Plus. 100% plant goodness. Reduces your cholesterol. +plant sterols: natural plant extracts.” The back shows Alpro’s “3 plus” list of the three key benefits of Alpro Soya Plus:

Plus for your cholesterol: ✓ with plant sterols (natural plant extracts) that reduce your cholesterol. High cholesterol is a risk factor in the development of coronary heart disease

✓ Naturally low in saturated fat

Plus for you – 100% plant goodness: ✓ Does not contain animal fat

✓ Packed with plant-based protein

✓ Easy to digest (0% lactose)

✓ Source of calcium and vitamins B2, B12 & D

Plus for the planet: ✓ 1 litre of soya protein drink uses 3 times less land and 2.5 times less water and generates 5 times less CO2 emissions than cow’s milk

✓ Our soya beans are sourced from agriculture not using GMO

On the side of the pack Alpro turns its attention to the functional benefits of Alpro Soya Plus:

“2 glasses of Alpro Soya Plus cholesterol lowering (250ml) contains 0.75g of plant sterols. The beneficial effect is obtained with a daily intake of 1.5 to 2.4g of plant sterols = 2 glasses Alpro Soya Plus. Alpro Soya recommends you drink no more than 4 glasses per day.”

Ingredients are listed as: Water, Hulled soya beans (5.9%), Raw cane sugar, Plant sterols (0.4%), Tri-calcium phosphate, Sea salt, Stabiliser (Gellan gum), Flavouring, Vitamins (Riboflavin, B12, D2).

Source: www.alproplus.com

MARCH 2011 7


that more studies on this question are needed,” said Hannah Gardener, lead author of the study and an epidemiologist who co-presented the results as an abstract at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference in Los Angeles.

“I don’t think they suggest that anyone should change their current dietary habits. However, individuals who drink diet soda very frequently may want to pay attention to other known risk factors for vascular diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension and obesity. And are they eating a well-rounded diet?”

Researchers asked subjects at the outset to report how much and what kind of soda they drank. Based on the data, they grouped participants into seven consumption categories depending on how much soda they drank and what kinds. During an average follow-up of 9.3 years, 559 “vascular events” occurred in the study group, including stroke.

CONTROVERSIAL EARLY RESULTS NOT THE FULL STORY?

Gardener herself cautioned that the full study “isn’t published yet” and that the researchers so far had disclosed only a one-paragraph abstract at the meeting. “It’s hard to boil down several years of research into one little paragraph and have that be fully representative,” she said. The researchers are “still running different models every day” to nail down their conclusions, Gardener said.

And, she said, “I don’t think there’s any message to the industry.”

Joy Dubost, a spokeswoman for the Institute of Food Technologists, agreed. “We do know, based on good scientific evidence, that diet soft drinks can be a useful weight-management tool, and that is supported by the American Dietetic Association.”

But news about the study’s basic conclusions was picked up and discussed by a wide variety of mainstream media in the United States and around the world. Some of the media coverage did cite skepticism of the study’s basic warning, but some industry figures believed it would indeed damage diet soda perceptions and even sales.

Skeptics countered that the study didn’t purport to demonstrate cause-and-effect from drinking diet soda but only spelled out discovered associations. The research also didn’t control for weight and for family health history, “and those are always the first two things you take into account,” said Brian Wansink, director of the Food & Brand

Lab at Cornell University and chief of the U.S.-government selection committee for the advisory council for the 2010 Dietary Guidelines.

“Heavy people are more likely to drink Diet Coke than those who aren’t heavy, so you have a built-in construct” that shows more vascular events among that population, Wansink said. “It’s like saying not playing tennis leads to heart attacks; heavy people generally don’t play tennis.”

Said Kapica: “If you’re overweight, you tend to drink more diet beverages. People tend to want to have their cake and their diet soda, too.”

Dr. Ross noted that “people who drink diet soda are quite likely to have other risk factors for [vascular] disease. You can almost say that drinking diet soda is a sign of an unhealthy lifestyle [or] at least that people who drink diet soda have a reason to pay attention to their weight. That is a confounder that is hard to control in a study.”

Gardener acknowledged such criticisms but said, “This is where the fact that it’s just an abstract really comes into play.” She said that she’s “not at liberty to talk about models we ran that aren’t part of the abstract but will be part of the paper.”

Another point of criticism is that the study only asked about consumption habits at the beginning and presumed those habits held over several years.

Yet another reason for skepticism about the general relevance of the results is that the Northern Manhattan study cohort is largely black and Hispanic and female. About 63% of them are women. Also, about 53% are Hispanic, 24% black, and only 21% white.

“Both blacks and Hispanics have statistically higher rates for heart problems,” Dr. Ross noted.

Gardener acknowledged the demographic bias but noted that “it was the purpose of the study to look at the risk incidence of stroke and cardiovascular disease in a population that was underrepresented in cohort studies.” She said there’s “no reason to believe our study won’t be generalizable.” Yet, Gardener also conceded, the study population – who were all 40 and older when they began as subjects – now are “older” than Americans generally and didn’t drink diet soda as frequently even over the course of the study as younger consumers did.

Soft-drink manufacturers are trying to gain greater traction for diet sodas. Coca-Cola, for instance, has seen strong sales of Coke Zero since its introduction in 2005. And while Diet Pepsi suffered from a lack of marketing attention by PepsiCo for a couple of years, as the company focused on its Refresh Project social-media initiative that is associated with regular Pepsi, the company is trying to revive the franchise now. “We are actually going to start talking to our consumer again,” Ami Irazabal, Pepsi marketing director, told Advertising Age magazine.

One part of that conversation will be Diet Pepsi’s Skinny Can, a shorter and slimmer package than regular Diet Pepsi that will be marketed beginning in March, around cultural relevance. Groups representing Americans with eating disorders already are objecting to the implications of marketing a skinny can.

Dr Pepper 10 is appealing more explicitly to men than Coke Zero and Pepsi M ax, which also are billed as full-flavoured sodas. “10 Bold Tasting Calories” will be the brand’s theme, and marketing will involve mobile “Testosterone Zones” at ballparks and car shows where men can watch TV and play video games.


WHAT IS THE NOMAS STUDY?

NOMAS – the Northern Manhattan Study – is a collaboration of researchers at Columbia University in New York and Miami’s Miller School of Medicine. Launched in 1993, it aims to examine stroke incidence and risk factor in a multi-ethnic urban population. With 3,298 participants it is said to be the largest study conducted into stroke incidence and related risk factors.

Continued from front page

Critics charge that Pepsi’s new “skinny can” design for Diet Pepsi reinforces stereotypes about women and body image.

MARCH 20118


E D I T O R I A L

No Western company has done more than Mars to invest in researching the health benefits of cocoa and turn that research into the basis for a business strategy. And in their approach to innovation few Western companies have shown a comparable willingness to step outside the constraints of their existing categories and experiment with new product forms, new ways of delivering benefits and new brands – and accept the risks of failure that go with this. Many of Mars’ test concepts may have been withdrawn, but it is clear that they are providing the company with a wealth of lessons that it can apply successfully in the future.

Unlike many large companies, where strategy often seems a moveable feast, Mars has shown a long-term single-mindedness. “Mars is a global leader in cocoa science and in making great-tasting chocolate,” Jim Katz, Mars’ vice-president of sales and marketing, told New Nutrition Business back in 2006, explaining that the company’s aim was to find ways to “bring flavanols to the public interest. Initially, we’ll develop products with the cocoa flavanol platform. But beyond that, we think there is a multitude of opportunities leveraging this technology as well as others that Mars has in our arsenal – as well as research yet to be done that will diversify our portfolio beyond flavanols.”

Katz’s statement was in 2006, but those goals have not changed today and they are little different from 20 years ago, when Mars

pioneered scientific research with some of the world’s largest universities into the health benefits of cocoa and the cocoa flavanols that provide the essence of those benefits.

Today Mars cites a body of 100 peer-reviewed papers published on cocoa flavonoids, “many of these on health benefits, with over 20 relating to cardiovascular benefits.” Published research, Mars says, suggests the following benefits in terms of maintaining cardiovascular health:

• Improving the antioxidant potential of plasma and inhibiting oxidation of LDL cholesterol

• Increased endothelial nitric oxide synthesis leading to a vasorelaxant effect

• Modulation of eicosanoid synthesis, which may reduce blood vessel vulnerability and platelet clumping

• Inhibiting platelet activation and aggregation (in a similar way to aspirin)

Mars also defends its investment in science, last year filing a lawsuit for alleged patent infringement against cocoa flavanol extract supplier Naturex, and against cocoa flavanol supplement manufacturers Nutraceuticals (makers of the Solaray products) and Life Extension Foundation (makers of the Cocoa Gold products) for infringement of nine US patents owned by Mars.

Chocolate processing giant Barry Callebaut is one of many companies which have recognised the value of Mars’ research and its portfolio of patents and in 2010 Barry

Callebaut began licensing Mars’ patents and will sport the Mars Cocoapro ‘bean in hand’ logo on its Acticoa products in the US and other markets with an assured consistently high level of cocoa flavanol content.

The duo have come to a consensus to support each other in promoting flavanol rich chocolate products with a guaranteed level of flavanols inside, and over the next few months, they are going to update their science and marketing communications, along with their websites to reflect the implications of this new cooperation.

But turning science into commercially successful products is the difficult part, especially since chocolate has such a strong association with pleasure and indulgence. Only recently has a health association developed – and that is specifically between dark chocolate and its naturally high content of antioxidants. It’s a message that consumers love to hear – that something they want to indulge in and which tastes good is also good for them. It is an example of “permission marketing” – a message that gives people permission to enjoy themselves and feel virtuous.

As a result, in most countries sales of dark chocolate grew at an annual rate of 20%-25% in the first decade of the 21st century – even the global recession didn’t halt the growth, which slowed, in the US, to 12% in 2008. All the more impressive, since dark chocolate is a premium item, retailing at up to a 100% premium over milk chocolate,

Mars’ long-term strategy to reinvent chocolate

Mars has shown an admirable willingness to experiment with new product forms and new product ideas and test-market them – an attitude to risk and innova-tion which is far, far ahead of that of most major companies.

MARCH 2011 9


E D I T O R I A L

POSITIVELY HEALTHY – MARS DROPS ITS BRAND FOR EUROPEAN TEST MARKET

In 2003 Mars conducted an interesting – and, sources say, successful – test-market for a highly innovative product concept. Positively Healthy Cocoa drink, which went into test-markets in the UK in early 2003, was a skimmed milk and cocoa powder beverage, packaged in a re-sealable 85ml bottle.

Neck labels described each bottle as containing 150mg of cocoa fl avanoids: “the equivalent of 500g blueberries, 450g red grapes or 400g green apples”. Among the health statements which appeared on the bottle’s neck-label were:

Cocoa antioxidants have been shown to be especially useful to top up the body’s defences to help maintain a healthy heart.

Cocoa antioxidants can help defend your heart and top up your defences.

While Mars has used its own brand name for its US efforts, in the UK, the approach was quite different, with the Mars name nowhere in sight. The launch was made through a company set up specially for the purpose of marketing healthy snack foods, called The Positive Food Company. Like Mars’ organic foods division, Seeds of Change, there were no references to its parent on the company’s website or literature or on the product and The Positive Food Company seems to have operated as a vehicle for testing healthy concepts.

Positively Healthy Cocoa Drink was marketed in convenience stores in the London area and other selected locations. An industry source told New Nutrition Business that there were also direct sales into large offi ces and that overall the more than year-long test went well. What Mars will do with the lessons of the test we can only guess at.

Priced at around £1 ($1.74 /€1.45) per bottle, Positively Healthy Cocoa stood at a signifi cant premium to comparable products, such as Yakult and Actimel probiotic daily-dose drinks, which retail at less than £0.40 ($0.65/€0.47) per bottle. It was also more expensive than Mars’ fl agship Mars Bar brand, which sells at around £0.30 ($0.49/€0.35) a bar.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Bottle Per 100ml Bottle Per 85ml

Energy 30 kJ/ 81 kcal 289 kJ/ 69 kcal

Protein 3.7g 3.1g

Carbohydrate 14.9g 12.7g

Of which sugars 13.7g 11.6g

Fat 0.7g 0.6g

Of which saturates 0.4g 0.3g

Monosaturates 2.2g 0.2g

Polyunsaturates 0.0g 0.0g

Fibre 1.3mg 1.1mg

Sodium 0.04mg 0.03mg

Cholesterol Trace Trace

Positively Healthy Cocoa Drink Ingredients: skimmed milk, water, raw cane sugar, fat reduced cocoa powder (5%), skimmed milk powder, stabilisers: (cellulose, carrageenan), natural vanilla extract, emulsifi er: (vegetable monoglycerides).

even for mass-market brands such as Nestlé.Dark chocolate’s success is a reflection of

how motivated people are by the message that something is “naturally healthy”. Talking about more specific benefits in relation to flavanols – such as heart health or circulation – is much trickier, and learning how to do this has been behind the many test-markets that Mars has run in recent years.

Looking at the news developments (see page 11) it’s clear that one of the things the company has learned is the importance of keeping its corporate brand name off the

product. Mars is a name associated with products such as Snickers and Mars Bars – to stretch it to health, credibly, has proven too much.

To many branding specialists the idea that chocolate can be repositioned on a basis of health benefits from flavanols is unbelievable. Hence it isn’t surprising that in its last test market – with the Goodness Knows brand – Mars is using fruit such as cranberry and blueberry, nuts and whole grains as the carrier for the health message. These are credible in the mind of the consumer in the

way that chocolate is not. Goodness Knows includes some chocolate, but it is not the signature source of health – the health is from a more holistic ingredient perspective.

Mars’ challenge is one that many companies face – but few have the courage to go outside their category and their brand to respond to it. If Mars succeeds, it will be a sharp reminder to many risk-averse corporate managements that success comes from embracing and managing risk, not hiding from it.

MARCH 201110


R E G U L AT I O N

No individual or group has yet taken the measure, or even ventured a likely court date with a member state tribunal or even the European Court of Justice (ECJ), but legal options are being seriously considered in the corporate and legal boardrooms of food and beverage companies around Europe.

Legal firms confirm they are receiving more requests to investigate aspects of the regulation that may be open to challenge.

The grounds on which the NHCR could be challenged – or aspects of it – are varied and many of them were given an airing at a recent meeting in Belgium, ranging from restrictions in free speech to barriers to trade to more complicated matters.

Perhaps one of the more compelling was posited by Belgian-based food lawyer Jean Savigny, from Keller & Heckman, who pointed to the 2008 Lisbon Treaty as a means for individuals to challenge health claims – especially claims falling under article 13.

The Lisbon Treaty had expanded the rights of individuals to challenge EU laws, and therefore individuals, or individual companies, could challenge generic article 13 claims, even though they were submitted not by individual companies, but member states.

Savigny said individual parties could seek annulment of decisions if they could prove they were “of direct concern to them”. [Under article 263 of the Lisbon Treaty.]There would be cases seeking annulment in 2012, when more than 2000 article 13 opinions will have been entered into the official EU claims register.

Lisbon could be used to defend against local enforcement actions toward claim-bearing products under article 267 which permits the ECJ to rule over “the validity and interpretation of acts of the institutions, bodies, offices or agencies of the Union”.

Challenging the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) opinions themselves was another matter, Savigny noted, especially given the ECJ’s stance that EFSA health claim opinions were scientific documents that did not directly impact industry.

“So the ECJ would need to change that position. This is doubtful but not impossible. EFSA is not out of legal reach.”

Paolo Vergano, a partner at Fratini Vergano, also in Belgium, suggested the regulation could be challenged due to its restrictive effect on trade between EU countries and those outside it.

Such a challenge could involve the World Trade Organization, he said, which may view, “negative opinions of EFSA and their validation by the European Commission” as inconsistent with its own trade guidelines such as the General Elimination of Quantitative Restrictions. Other WTO guidelines state members should not impose regulations that create unnecessary obstacles to international trade.

“Non-EU member states suffering economically from such trade restrictions stand good chances to be heard by the EU Commission with the argument of a violation of WTO trade rules,” Vergano said.

Trademark restrictions were another route worth exploring, he said, if brand names like Slimfast or Danone’s Activia could themselves be deemed health claims; the NHCR states trademarks, brand names, logos, pictorial, graphic or symbolic representations can be construed as health claims.

While brand names such as these that existed before 2005 are permitted to remain on-market until 2022 under article 28(2) of the NHCR, Vergano said any restriction of their use could be cause for legal complaint.

Such a restriction could be “tantamount to taking away a proprietary right which may be sanctioned under domestic or international IPR provisions”.

He drew parallels between the EU approach and that of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which had been forced to establish a qualified health claims system in the early 2000s after its unqualified system was successfully challenged in the courts for restricting commercial free speech.

“The question you have to ask is could this regulation have been achieved in a less business restrictive manner?” Vergano asked. “Litigation may be a way to try and solve your problems.” Another legal avenue of enquiry is altering the way EFSA and the EC are interpreting the regulation.

Izabela Blaszkiewicz, from the Brussels office of Hogan Lovells International LLP, said her firm had been asked about ways to change the way the NHCR is “delivered” by the likes of EFSA.

Specifically referencing the probiotic sector, Blaszkiewicz said a lack of clear guidance from EFSA about dossier requirements to back claims had led some companies to wonder about legal options.

This had been amplified by the fact EFSA had rejected 100% of more than 300 article 13, 13.5 and 14 claims to date.

Out of several avenues the beleaguered sector could take, she said changing the law’s implementation was a viable and practical option that could be based around the idea that statistically valid biomarkers were not being recognised by EFSA. She said a legal challenge to the law itself was unlikely to gain much traction with the ECJ. “It is the EC that deals with these opinions,” she said. “So we are getting a lot of queries about how to make EFSA more accountable for those opinions perhaps via further EC guidance.”

She also said removal of probiotics from the system, as had happened with botanicals, was an option that could be explored.

PROPRIETARY DATA

Dr Barbara Klaus, from Meyer Meisterernst in Milan, pointed out that whether or not it won health claims, proprietary data was not always as proprietary as its owner may think.

She said EFSA could make proprietary data that may have been submitted under the proprietary and emerging science article 13.5 section of the NHCR public if it deemed there was a public interest in it. This data is afforded five years of protection under article 21(1) of the regulation as long as it is deemed essential to the application, but EFSA could make certain proprietary data public, “if it determines there is a need for it.”

Sebastián Romero Melchor, from Food Law Consultants in Belgium, noted that the European Commission position that proprietary data is rendered non-proprietary once published in a journal will “likely be overturned” by the ECJ.

See you in court? The possibility of a legal challenge to the European Union nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR) is mounting as firms and industry groups try to extract themselves from the economically damaging corner many believe the controversial and despised regulation has unfairly pushed them into. By HENRI DEBAIN.

MARCH 2011 11


I N N O VAT I O N C A S E S T U D Y

Mars is trying to revive its CocoaVia brand, this time as a dietary supplement in the form of a powder to add to water, after withdrawing the original CocoaVia dark chocolate nutrition bar line nearly two years ago.

At the same time, the company is attempting to establish a market for a similar brand called Cirku that also consists of a packet of flavanol powder – but is fruit-flavoured instead of chocolate-flavoured.

“We leveraged the technology of what we do well, the development of the [flavanol] extract, and are giving it to consumers in a new form,” Catherine Kwik-Uribe, Mars’ global cocoa-flavanol research manager, told New Nutrition Business.

Mars has switched the positioning of these new products from a promise of “heart health” for the original CocoaVia products to a new emphasis on “circulatory” benefits. The Cocoa Via website (www.cocoavia.com) states:

Healthy circulation plays a role in: heart health, exercise endurance, cognition, alertness and eye health.

The addition of a fruit-flavoured form of flavanol delivery, the change in the CocoaVia product form from chocolate bars and chews to powder packets, and the new functional emphasis are only three of Mars’ significant alterations.

The company also decided to drop cholesterol-lowering sterols out of the product line. And CocoaVia now is available

only online, a return to the brand’s origins after Mars attempted to gain traction for the original products with distribution in mainstream retail outlets.

“The market changed and consumers evolved,” explained Fiona Posell, acting head of sales and marketing for CocoaVia, which is managed by the Mars Botanical division of Mars. “To deliver the benefits of flavanols on a daily basis, we had to look beyond what we were doing.”

Mars has spent more than 20 years intensely researching the properties of flavanols in cocoa – “the characterization and chemistry of flavanols as well as what

they do within the body,” as Kwik-Uribe put it. Mars came up with the original CocoaVia chocolate-based products under a patented and proprietary system for processing that allowed the heart-healthy flavanols to “remain active” in foods.

STRONG START TO SALES LOSES MOMENTUM

The CocoaVia brand was launched with much fanfare eight years ago. After initial internet sales beginning two years earlier, in 2005 Mars tested four flavours of dark-chocolate CocoaVia bars and two flavours of individually wrapped CocoaVia chews. Each 23g bar contained 100mg of cocoa flavanols

and 1.5g of plant sterols in a formula squarely targeted at cholesterol reduction.

Mars encouraged retailers to merchandise CocoaVia with “healthy snacking” products such as nutrition bars and granola bars. CocoaVia retailed at a suggested price of about $1 (€0.73) a bar, not far out of line with the typical price of many candy bars and nutrition bars.

Initial sales results were so encouraging that Mars expanded distribution of CocoaVia nationwide in 2006. Sales for 2007 came in at a total of about $11 million (€8 million) in US supermarkets, drug

stores and mass merchandisers tracked by SymphonyIRI,

the Chicago-based market-research firm, which doesn’t track sales in Walmarts.

CocoaVia played to Americans’ growing

Mars reinvents CocoaVia with fruit flavour, circulation

benefit – and no sterolsHaving failed to persuade mainstream consumers with the heart-healthy benefits of its cocoa powder in a bar form – sales plummeted 35% in 2008 – Mars has made sweeping changes to its approach. Gone is the heart-health benefit focus (including sterols), the bars and chews, and the mainstream consumer target. But can Mars convince consumers with cocoa in a powder supplement format and offering circulation benefits? And can it sell cocoa that doesn’t have a chocolate taste? By DALE BUSS.

MARCH 201112



consumption of dark chocolate in general. Not only has dark chocolate become a significant alternative to Americans’ traditional favourite, milk chocolate, but more and more mainstream confectionary brands are offering choices in dark chocolate.

Some consumers understand in particular that cocoa flavanols are healthy, while many more Americans simply have picked up on the vague notion that dark chocolate is “better for you” than milk chocolate and so have switched their candy purchases in favour of dark chocolate.

SALES OF DARK CHOCOLATE PICK UP AGAIN

US sales of dark chocolate peaked in 2007 at $829 million (€605 million), a 35% jump from the previous year, according to the National Confectioners Association. Then recession hit, and the pace of dark chocolate sales growth slowed to a still impressive 12% in 2008.

After more deceleration in early 2009, by the end of the year, momentum had returned to dark chocolate sales, and they finished the year with an overall 9% gain. No data are available yet for the 2010 sales trend.

Yet Mars was unable to establish CocoaVia as an attractive, differentiated brand. By 2008, sales of CocoaVia had plunged by 35% from the year before, and then just kept declining until Mars finally pulled the plug in mid-2009.

Mars executives said that American consumers decided they didn’t want to think of chocolate as a daily medicinal or supplement – and getting the heart-health benefit from CocoaVia required consumers to eat at least two serves of CocoaVia each day.

“Consumers will always love chocolate but they know that chocolate is a treat, an occasional indul gence,” Posell said. “While it can be enjoyed in moderation as part of a healthy diet, chocolate is certainly not a superfood or superfruit recommended for daily consumption for its flavanol content.” And, she said, “Most chocolate, even dark chocolate with a high percent of cacao, is not a consistent source of cocoa flavanols.”

Added Kwik-Uribe: “[Consumers] were telling us that chocolate is a great occasional treat but for every day we had to find food forms that were more convenient.”

MARS’ CHOLESTEROL-LOWERING BAR GOES MAINSTREAM

In late 2003 Mars’ Masterfoods began selling CocoaVia bars and individual chews on the internet only, at a retail price of $15 (€11) for 10 CocoaVia Chocolate Crunch Bars and 56 CocoaVia Milk Chocolate Flavour Chews.

Mars introduced CocoaVia in ads in Prevention, Cooking Light and Smithsonian magazines. In a highly unusual bit of targeted marketing for a chocolate company, it also sent out more than 30,000 direct-mail pieces nationwide to lists of people who had expressed interest to outside vendors about receiving literature about heart-healthy products.

The bars were rice, oat and soy crisps under drizzled chocolate, in Chocolate Crunch, Chocolate Almond Crunch, Chocolate Cherry Crunch and Chocolate Blueberry Crunch flavours. The individually wrapped chews came in Milk Chocolate and Dark Chocolate flavours.

Each serving of CocoaVia – one 23g bar – contained 1.5g of plant sterols and at least 100mg of cocoa flavanols.

CocoaVia also included vitamins B6, B12 and folic acid, calcium, three or fewer grams of fat and fewer than 90 calories per portion.

On-pack structure-function claims for CocoaVia included examples such as:

Cocoa has naturally occurring flavanols – antioxidants that help to maintain heart-health like those in red wine and green tea. All CocoaVia snacks have concentrated amounts of cocoa flavanols.

CocoaVia contains soybean extracts clinically shown to maintain cholesterol levels within a healthy range.

CocoaVia contains heart healthy vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid, antioxidants C and E, and is an excellent source of calcium.

By 2006 Mars had expanded distribution to Wal-Mart, Target, Wild Oats Markets, Walgreen drug stores and Fred Meyer supermarkets.

“This is a pretty big gamble for Mars”, Ken Harris, consultant with Cannondale Associates, a food-marketing consulting firm, told New Nutrition Business back in 2006. “It is smartly giving people ‘permission’ to eat chocolate. And if CocoaVia really does what Mars says it does – and it’s good for people – then this could be a great move”.

At the same time, Harris cautioned, “Mars can’t overplay the health angle or it is going to get itself in a heap of trouble”.

MARCH 2011 13


SELLING COCOA WITHOUT THE CHOCOLATE TASTE

As it reformulated the CocoaVia brand and product line, Mars also scrapped the original inclusion of plant sterols. While touted for several years as a primary or secondary functional ingredient in a wide variety of products, from spreads to orange juice, sterols simply have never achieved critical mass in the US market, despite their demonstrated efficacy in fighting high cholesterol levels.

“Sterols have their place and work in a very specific way,” Kwik-Uribe said. “But we didn’t need the plant sterols. We knew what we had was a strong position with cocoa flavanols alone. We decided to go back to our core focus.”

So Mars now is offering flavanols in a highly concentrated form under the CocoaVia brand name, which had acquired some equity, and flavanols in a fruit-flavoured form, in Cirku. “Here we have a concentrated source of flavanols, and it’s difficult to achieve that in a chocolate bar,” Kwik-Uribe said.

CocoaVia and Cirku are being marketed as dietary supplements for daily consumption that each include 350mg of cocoa flavanols and are retailed online in 30-count packs for $39.95 (€26.17). CocoaVia is offered in sweetened and sucralose-based forms, each with 30 calories per packet.

Cirku comes at 15 calories per packet in Cran-Raspberry, Wild Plum, Tropical Twist and Summer Citrus flavours. The Mars

executives conceded the challenge of getting consumers to detach the notion of “cocoa powder” from a chocolate taste.

“It’s not easy to go ahead and take the flavanols from cocoa and put them in unexpected forms,” Kwik-Uribe said. “If consumers are looking for more of a refreshing fruit option with no cocoa essence, then they can get that from Cirku.”

There were formulation challenges in moving to mix-in packets. “If you try to put cocoa powder in water, it doesn’t dissolve – it wants to disperse,” Kwik-Uribe explained. “But we developed dissolvability in a 16oz container of water for these products. And you get vibrant color and flavour in the drink, with no cocoa flakes floating around.” She declined to describe how Mars achieved this.

MARS SWAPS HEART HEALTH BENEFITS FOR CIRCULATION

Mars also dropped its original description of “heart-health” benefits from CocoaVia, the new products focusing on “supporting good circulation.” On the Cirku web site, for instance, Mars explains that “cocoa extract helps keep your blood vessels healthy and flexible” and that “quick thinking, heart health, endurance, youthful skin and even a healthy sex life depend on healthy circulation.”

More specifically, the company explains, Mars’ Cocoapro process produces powder that is “a concentrated source of a special

flavanol compound known in the scientific community as (-)-epicatechin, or ‘minus epicatechin,’” which “has been shown to be a key component of cocoa flavanols in relation to circulatory health”. The flavanols “support your body’s release of nitric oxide into your bloodstream, helping your blood vessels widen when there is an increased need for blood flow allowing oxygen and nutrients to flow to your organs and tissues.”

LOW KEY MARKETING

For now, CocoaVia and Cirku are being retailed and marketed only online, without any assistance even from social media marketing at the moment. Mars Botanical also is attempting to boost word of mouth about the products by sampling them at gatherings of dietitians, health-club trainers and consumers at health fairs.

In any event, for both brands, with its new flavanol strategy, Mars is betting that it can help consumers understand that the health benefits of dark chocolate lie in the flavanol compounds and, once they do, they’ll favor CocoaVia and Cirku – as carriers of Mars’ patented Cocoapro-processed flavanols – over more cumbersome vehicles for the good stuff in cocoa.

“As consumers become even more familiar with the science,” Posell said, “they will be looking out for these Mars products that use Cocoapro cocoa to retain important cocoa flavanols.”


In a change of strategy CocoaVia dietary supplements will only be available online

Cirku’s fruit-fl avoured mix-in form allows Mars to offer a concentrated source of fl avanols – something that’s diffi cult to achieve with a chocolate bar.

MARCH 201114



MARS TESTS SNACK SQUARE AS VEHICLE FOR “DEEP CHOCOLATE”

Mars’ quest to find a way to translate its command of cocoa-flavanol technology into product forms that will find sweet spots with the consumer continues, with the now year-long test-marketing of a new snack product, called GoodnessKnows.

GoodnessKnows is a line of “snack squares” that are a hybrid of chocolate confection, nutrition bar and granola square. They include whole almonds, fruits, whole grains and what Mars calls “deep” chocolate – and 200mg of Mars’ patented cocoa flavanols in each four-square serving. They retail for a suggested price of $1.59 (€1.15) per 36g four-square single serving and $5.39 ( 3.92) per five-serving multi-pack carton.

So far, Mars has only test-marketed GoodnessKnows in the adjacent cities of Denver and Boulder, in Colorado, at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. The area has been a hot-bed of healthy food innovation since the 1970s: for example, it’s where America’s soy milk industry was born and where Wild Oats, the natural foods supermarket chain which is now part of Whole Earth, opened its first store. The local consumer market has a strong representation of educated, upper income people willing to experiment with new brands and new foods that promise “wellness”.

As Mars said back in 2010 at the launch: “This area is world-famous for its emphasis on — and appreciation of — healthy living. If we can get a stamp of approval from Colorado’s discerning, health-conscious consumers, then consumers everywhere should embrace this new snack!”

The idea behind GoodnessKnows seems to be a recognition that American consumers are willing to look at cocoa flavanols as a healthful substance – largely because of the better-for-you image that the media has given to dark chocolate in recent years – but that they have yet to find the best delivery vehicle for those phytonutrients.

The debut of GoodnessKnows in the test market followed the demise of the original forms of CocoaVia: a chocolate bar, and a candy chew. One lesson Mars has learned from the CocoaVia experience is that consumers weren’t willing to participate in a regimen whose nutritional benefits required consumption of two chocolate bars a day.

GoodnessKnows would seem to lend itself much better to everyday consumption, though Mars’ marketing and online content about the product line doesn’t explicitly call for that.

The inclusion of fruits, nuts and grains makes for a snack that naturally would seem more wholesome and nutritious than a chocolate bar to most consumers.

GoodnessKnows comes in three flavours: Very Cranberry; Almonds & Berries; and Roasted Nuts & Grains. Each four-square serving provides 150 calories, two to three grams of fiber, 3g of protein, and 20-35mg of sodium, in addition to the 200mg of flavanols.

For Mars, its moves with CocoaVia and its testing of GoodnessKnows help make it clear that the driving force behind these products is the company’s desire to get retailers and consumers alike to appreciate the unique potency of cocoa flavanols, first of all, and of the particular flavanols Mars produces using its Cocoapro process.

“While flavanols can be found in some commonly consumed foods and beverages, there is a unique mixture of flavanols in cocoa, the exact combination of which can be found in no other foods in nature,” says Mars’ product literature. “While phrases such as ‘dark chocolate’ or ’70 percent cacao’ are used to describe the type of chocolate in a product, they cannot tell someone how many cocoa flavanols are in a product.

“Our deep chocolate uses cocoa beans specially selected and handled to retain flavanols.

“While there are many products on the market that are made with chocolate or natural cocoa, few of these products can guarantee the level of bio-active cocoa flavanols found in GoodnessKnows.”

MARCH 2011 15


UK-based sports nutrition company Bio-Synergy entered the mainstream functional drinks market four years ago with the launch of Skinny Water, a 500ml ready-to-drink weight loss beverage enriched with L-Carnitine and chromium.

Sales growth in the years following the launch has been anything but skinny and, since New Nutrition Business last spoke to company boss Daniel Herman in late 2008 (see NNB February 2009) total company sales have risen by two-thirds, from £6 million ($9.7 million/€7 million) then, to £10 million ($16 million/€11.8 million) now.

Skinny Water has been a success for Bio-Synergy, having won listings in supermarket chains Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Waitrose and, according to the company, is achieving retail sales worth in the region of £3-4 million ($4.8 million- $6.5 million/€3.5 million - €4.7 million) a year.

But it is still just 15%-20% of Bio-Synergy’s overall sales. That means the remaining 80%-85% of turnover comes from Bio-Synergy’s traditional heartland – sports-oriented performance and weight loss products.

TARGETING “LESS INTENSE” FITNESS ENTHUSIASTS

The company produces a range of supplements and powders aimed at physique and endurance enthusiasts who participate at the more serious end of the spectrum. Products include protein, creatine and carbohydrate powders designed to offer muscle-building, fat reduction and performance-enhancing benefits.

However, in this marketplace, too, Bio-Synergy has attempted to enter the mainstream with a range of 500ml ready-to-drink sports nutrition products. These include two brands – Fitness Water, a low calorie drink enriched with L-carnitine, calcium, zinc and vitamin D, designed to offer energy

and fat burning; and Sub-Zero, a low-calorie performance drink with L-Glutamine and L-Carnitine.

A third product in the family, Gym Tonic, was withdrawn because, says Herman, the range was “too broad”. He adds: “We felt people were a bit confused about the

difference between the three. At the moment we just want to focus on getting what we’ve got right.”

The two ready-to-drink sports beverages are aimed at less intense work-out enthusiasts. “The people buying the powders and supplements are probably more regular fitness participants,” says Herman. “The people buying the drinks, although they do fitness, they are probably less committed to it.”

But while Skinny Water has found favour with consumers doing their weekly shop, Herman admits that gaining mainstream listings for Fitness Water and Sub Zero has not been as easy. The products are sold in Waitrose, in specialist stores and online with Ocado and Amazon. But, as Herman admits, the contribution of these products to Bio-Synergy’s sales is “small”.

Why does he think this is the case? Herman says: “We’re competing more directly head-on with the likes of Powerade and Lucozade and, although the products in our opinion are better, there is limited space on supermarket shelves. At the end of the day they [the supermarkets] probably get a better return on those key brands than they can with ours because of the amount of investment behind them.”

RIVALS FOLLOW SKINNY’S LOW-CAL EXAMPLE

Herman believes Fitness Water and Sub Zero offer a point of difference from these major brands because they are low in calories while many of their competitors contain energy-dense ingredients such as glucose.

“Most people who go to the gym are going to keep themselves trim or trimmer,” says Herman. “A typical sports or fitness drink will have somewhere between 100 to 130 calories in. I know from my own experience that if I go on the treadmill for 20 minutes I’ll only burn 200 calories. If I had a typical sports

W E I G H T M A N A G E M E N T C A S E S T U D Y

Bio-Synergy’s sales growth is anything but Skinny

Its low-calorie Skinny Water has found favour with supermarket shoppers, particularly women, but tackling the mainstream market hasn’t all been plain sailing for sports nutrition company Bio-Synergy. With a tight marketing budget it’s hoping for a boost from the London Olympics next year. By RICHARD CLARKE.

As part of its focus on mainstream consumers, Bio Synergy launched a value version of Skinny Water, Skinny Dilutable – although at £3.99 it’s one of the most premium dilutable products on the market.

MARCH 201116


W E I G H T M A N A G E M E N T C A S E S T U D Y

drink then from a weight point of view, if not from a fitness point of view, I might as well have stayed at home. Our products will give you the hydration and performance benefits you need without the calories.”

It sounds like common sense, and evidently Bio-Synergy’s bigger rivals agree: both Powerade and Lucozade have recently launched low calorie variants of their sports beverages, something that is unlikely to make life easier for Fitness Water and Sub-Zero.

SKINNY HITS THE SPOT WITH WOMEN

Meanwhile, Skinny Water appears to be flourishing. This brand, too, is finding favour in the work-out market, mostly among women who find typical sports drinks too masculine for their tastes. “We did some market research and that came out,” says Herman. “I think women want something that differentiates them from the men in terms of products. They’ve got slightly different goals and different tastes.”

Reflecting this type of usage, Bio-Synergy also markets Skinnyshake, a protein-based powdered supplement. But innovation is also continuing in more mainstream areas, with the recent launch of Skinnybar, a protein-rich snack bar, and a dilutable squash version of Skinny Water on sale in Asda.

Herman says Skinny Dilutable is designed to be a cheaper functional drink in difficult economic times. “We wanted to offer people a take-home-and-share solution that would be very cost effective while also being a premium product. The recommended retail price is £3.99 ($6.44/€4.72), which probably makes it one of the most premium dilutable products on the market. But it provides 20 drinks, so if you look at it as a cost per serving it’s extremely good value.” By comparison, the 500ml ready-to-drink Skinny Water retails for about £1 ($1.61/€1.18) a unit in supermarkets.

Launched in March 2010, Skinny Dilutable sold 200,000 units last year, says Herman, who adds that he hopes to widen distribution beyond Asda this year. The product was launched first as a grapefruit flavoured variant, which Herman admits in hindsight perhaps wasn’t the wisest move. “We launched initially with grapefruit because of the connotations it has with health, but we probably missed a trick a bit because orange is the biggest selling dilutable flavour.” Bio-Synergy will correct this with the addition of an orange flavoured dilutable variant to the range soon.

Bio-Synergy has a modest marketing budget and relies principally on PR to get its messages over to consumers. Recent successes include the Daily Mail, one of the UK’s biggest selling daily newspapers, judging Sub Zero to be the number one sports drink for men. The company also raises awareness of its brands by working closely with a range of charities, supplying free drinks to participants in fund-raising events such as marathons and fun-runs.

2012 OLYMPICS HOLD MARKETING PROMISE

Herman believes that the 2012 Olympic Games in London will prove to be a watershed moment for sales of its sports nutrition products – especially the ready-to-drink variants. The hope is that excitement around the games will encourage greater participation in physical activity and therefore lead to a spike in the use of products that enhance performance and recovery.

Bio-Synergy is yet to decide what marketing activity it will undertake to tie in with the event. One of the company’s shareholders is the former British runner Seb Coe, who won 1500m Olympic Gold Medals in 1980 and 1984. Coe is also the chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, and Herman says: “We’ve got to be careful we don’t do anything that could bring him into a conflict of interest, so we’ll have to work out a strategy that’s sufficiently separated from him.” He adds that Bio-Synergy is looking at the possibility of using the Olympics to build

on the company’s existing partnership with Jody Gooding, a member of the UK’s beach volleyball team.

FORCED TO REMOVE PROTEIN-SATIETY HEALTH CLAIM

Like all companies marketing functional products, Bio-Synergy is being impacted – or will be impacted – by the European Nutrition & Health Claims Regulation. Bio-Synergy has not filed any health claims dossiers itself for Article 13.5 claims, so it is closely watching the European Food Safety Authority’s evaluation of Article 13.1 claims. Claims that are successful in this process will be added to a Community List of approved claims, which any company can use.

This list will be particularly vital for small companies like Bio-Synergy who do not have the resources to submit their own dossiers. But already the notoriously high claims rejection rate is beginning to make its impact felt. Although EFSA has ruled that protein contributes to growth and maintenance of muscle mass (vital for sports nutrition companies) it has also ruled that there is not enough evidence that protein increases satiety levels. Herman says: “We’ve been advised you can’t say things like, protein helps you feel fuller for longer. So we’re going to be removing that [from packaging].”

Herman says Bio-Synergy monitors the health claims process constantly for developments which may affect its marketing. “Obviously you have to be very vigilant as to what is going on. It’s an ever moving feast and you’ve just got to keep on top of it.”

TABLE 1: NUTRITION FACTS AND INGREDIENTS FOR SKINNY WATER

MARCH 2011 17


B E V E R A G E C A S E S T U D Y

Coconut water is defying the sluggish economy and fulfilling its promise as perhaps the most significant new healthy drink market. The entire category has grown to about $200 million (€146 million) a year in retail sales in the US, according to Nielsen data – a staggering 400% increase over its estimated size just a year ago.

The original “big three” of the American coconut-water market – Vita Coco, Zico and O.N.E. – continue to grow. Major mainstream beverage players, especially PepsiCo, are getting more active in the segment, with heavy rumours that others are about to join them. And small new startups are still attempting to carve out share.

“The category is the fastest-growing in the world, actually,” said Michael Kirban, founder and CEO of New York-based All Market, whose Vita Coco brand has remained the market leader in the segment five years after it appeared. In an interview with New Nutrition Business, he predicted: “All the major players in better-for-you soon will either have their own coconut water or at least use it as an ingredient in new products.”

Rodrigo Veloso, founder and CEO of Los Angeles-based O.N.E Enterprises, added: “One of the things that I’m most excited about is how legitimate the category is now in the US.”

Tom Pirko, a leading beverage-industry consultant, said that coconut-water products “have succeeded on their own merits. There’s always an ongoing search by consumers for something new and different and exciting and well-packaged. Coconut water has an inherently good image, a bit like cranberries do. Coconuts have a good image – people smile when you talk about them.”

Coconut water, of course, is not coconut milk. It is extracted from young, green coconuts, where it gathers as the coconut grows at a volume of about 11 oz (325ml) per nut, depending on the variety. It is sterile and a little thicker than pure water, and it

tastes like regular water that has been slightly sweetened.

Nutritionally, it has more potassium than two bananas, making it a natural electrolyte drink – three times more hydrating than water – and a great hangover cure. Additional nutrients include sodium, phosphorous, calcium and magnesium and 76% of the RDA of calcium per 100ml.

Coconut water first exploded in popularity in Brazil, where most of it is harvested, but the US is emerging as a strong second market. Initially it was a favourite on

the trend-setting American coasts, not surprisingly, as the primary initial brands leveraged celebrity endorsements to create a pop-culture buzz around their products and the segment.

Retail prices for 11oz (325ml) TetraPak containers of coconut water, the typical form of packaging, are around $2 (€1.46) and up. Whole Foods and other natural-foods outlets have been the primary channel for coconut water initially, but some brands are broadening to regular supermarkets, convenience stores and even mass discounters.

Independent – but with a significant minority share held by InBev, the European brewing giant – Vita Coco retained a 62% share of the US coconut water market at the end of 2010, according to A.C. Nielsen sales data, which excludes Walmart, Costco and Whole Foods, among other major outlets. Vita Coco has a very strong presence in Whole Foods – the number one natural foods supermarket chain – but at the time of writing it has only just begun to go into the stores of the chain which is the very exemplar of the mass market, Wal-Mart; 2011 will provide the test of whether mass-market acceptance can help sustain the market’s phenomenal growth rate.

The rankings of Vita Coco’s smaller rivals are:

• O.N.E. (in which PepsiCo has a 50% stake) has a 16.5% share and was the only player of the top three to have lost a chunk of the market in 2010.

• Zico, in which Coca-Cola has a minority stake, had an 11.5% share.

• PepsiCo-owned Naked Juice had a 5% share

• Amy & Brian’s, a startup, had picked up a 7.1% share.

• Another startup, Harvest Bay, had acquired a 0.6% share.

Naked’s seizure of a 5% market share

Entrepreneurs drive growth of coconut category

Coconut water, thought to be the fastest-growing category in the world, leaped from zero to a $200 million business within five years. Its all-natural, single-ingredient credentials seem right for now, and competitors, including big companies such as Pepsi and Coke, are piling in – but the market remains dominated by one entrepreneurial brand, Vita Coco. By DALE BUSS.

Vita Coco was the fi rst-ever fresh coconut water to be sold at US airports and in late 2010, it became the fi rst coconut water available on a domestic airline. Known for its celebrity investors, it’s not surprising VitaCoco’s seat-back commercial extolling the hydration benefi ts of the drink to JetBlue customers was produced in consultation with Academy Award-nominated director Spike Lee.

MARCH 201118


SUPPLY CONTROL ENSURES GROWTH FOR GREEN COCO

German coconut water brand Green Coco Europe saw the supply crunch coming. The need to ensure an adequate stream of quality raw material led Green Coco – which may be the second-biggest coconut water brand in the northern hemisphere after Vita Coco – to invest in developing control of its own supply, both giving it the capacity to ramp up sales significantly and providing major cost advantages over other coconut water companies which lack its vertical integration.

After trying coconut suppliers in Brazil and Sri Lanka it became clear that a fresh approach was needed. The result is that by 2008 Green Coco had its own extraction facility operational in Mexico, operating under a general manager reporting in to head office in Germany, using green coconuts supplied from plantations covering 13,000 ha rented by Green Coco.

To make use of every part of the green coconut Green Coco also markets a coconut milk for cooking and coconut cream.

“The advantage is that there is no demand for coconuts in Mexico but lots of coconut plantations which are not used, “explains CEO Stefan Reiss. “We have low cost of production, secure supply and a huge ability to increase our supply of raw material under our own control. This is the basis for our further growth.”


is impressive – the company only launched Naked Coconut Water in February. Naked also is including coconut water as a flagship ingredient in some of its new smoothies.

In any event, not only did Naked Juice Coconut Water mark the entry of a well-known, established better-for-you brand into the category, but Naked reportedly started out with deeply discounted pricing – as little as $1.39 (€1.02) for an 11oz (325ml) container. “They seemed to come in aggressive so they could grab some share,” said Bill Lange, vice president of marketing for Zico, based in California.

It worked. “Naked’s entry will be somewhat significant in the category,” said Kirban. “But I don’t know how [important] it will be for them.”

Similarly, smoothie market leader Bolthouse Farms is using coconut water as a key ingredient of a new product in one of its brands, Bom Dia. Coconut Splash Tropical Mango includes mango juice as well and is available in a 15oz (450ml) container.

SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGE

Kirban asserted that more players would like to get into the coconut-water market “but the problem is getting good coconut water”. He said that Vita Coco has avoided that problem by “working really hard on the production and supply side of the business” in Brazil,

including long-term supply arrangements and ownership shares of manufacturing facilities.

Lange added that “every brand had supply issues” in 2010 but said that “we have opened up a new supply chain and have it nailed down,” without elaborating.

But O.N.E. was hurt significantly in 2010 by what Veloso admitted was “a severe out-of-stock situation” caused by constraints at the company’s Brazilian supplier, which in turn were brought about by increasing domestic demand in Brazil. “It was a perfect storm” of difficulties, he said.

But as a result, the company made a decision to augment its supply of coconut water from sources in the Philippines and Malaysia. “No doubt we’ll be able to regain the little bit of market share we lost” in the US because of the supply shortage, Veloso predicted. “We have the highest sell-through rate wherever all [coconut-water] brands are available.”

APPEARANCE OF MORE STARTUPS

“The number of brands still jumping into this market is ridiculous,” said Lange, including a handful of new players based in Mexico, India and Thailand that are trying to break into the promising US market.

Los Angeles-based Amy & Brian’s has been in the market since 2007 and counts metal cans as its major differentiator in the

segment. Providence, R.I.-based Harvest Bay purveys its coconut water in 11oz (325ml) Tetrapaks.

O.N.E. has launched an SKU called Active to target the hydration efficacy of coconut water specifically at athletes. It includes other active ingredients, such as gingko biloba. The brand also has launched O.N.E. Kids. “We did a lot of research with mothers, and it indicated that the first thing they’re looking for in drinks for their kids is hydration, and juice doesn’t hydrate,” O.N.E.’s Veloso said. “Plus our product is low in calories.”

O.N.E. also just announced a licensing partnership with Jamba Juice under which the smoothie chain will market blends of coconut water and fruit juices in retail stores and in Jamba’s own outlets.

These three launches are part of Veloso’s strategy of positioning some form of coconut water in multiple broad beverage segments. “The non-alcoholic-beverage business as a whole is a $100-billion industry,” said Veloso. “Our goal is to tap into all major parts of it.”

At least one competitor questioned the basic notion behind O.N.E.’s strategy. Coconut water “is still small in terms of household penetration and mainstream awareness,” said Lange of Zico, which has stuck with coconut water-only products. “In my mind there is still lots of potential in the base proposition of coconut water.”

Yet Zico itself has announced flavoured

MARCH 2011 19


coconut-water SKUs, and Lange confessed that his company also plans “innovations beyond just flavours,” though he declined to be specific.

PEPSICO’S MANY ANGLES

PepsiCo has been doing more than standing behind Naked Juice’s entry into the market. It also announced a joint-venture agreement with GNC to develop and sell “fortified” coconut-water products under the newly created Phenom brand name. Initially, Phenom will be available in the spring only at GNC stores.

Phenom reportedly is to be marketed as a sports drink. In forming the venture, PepsiCo and GNC cited the success of their cooperation in marketing PepsiCo’s Gatorade G Series Pro product line in 2010.

For PepsiCo, the coconut-water category rapidly “has become like a game of Monopoly: they go around the board and try to buy up as many properties as they can,” said Pirko, president of Bevmark Consulting.

But GNC is retaining, at least for the time being, its partnership with Vita Coco to distribute that brand as well, Kirban said. “I’m not concerned at all about the cannibalization of our product [in GNC stores],” he said, because Vita Coco is “pure and a different type of thing” than Phenom, which he said would be “flavoured” as well as fortified.

“I’m hoping that [the PepsiCo-GNC deal] actually increases our sales by increasing awareness of the category,” Kirban said. “If PepsiCo markets [Phenom] and puts some dollars behind it, it markets the fact that coconut water is great for hydration.”

Meanwhile, O.N.E.’s Veloso professed that his company is “very aligned” with PepsiCo management even as the latter apparently decided that its stake in O.N.E. wasn’t enough of an investment in the coconut-water business. “Our partnership with Pepsi is structured at the very top levels. Their GNC decision shows a commitment to the category,” he said, adding that it wouldn’t cannibalize O.N.E.. “They’re just increasing the size of the pie.” PepsiCo executives weren’t available for comment.

But Kirban asserted that O.N.E. lost “significant share” to Naked, its corporate cousin. And Lange was skeptical that O.N.E. could outrun PepsiCo’s intention to cover its bets with partners other than O.N.E. and doubted that PepsiCo’s multi-pronged

offensive is internally harmonious. “If I were the folks at O.N.E., I definitely would be curious why PepsiCo is launching so many things,” Zico’s Lange said.

Such sniping is a sign of the times in the coconut water market – and yet another indication that it has become a segment worth fighting over.

Kirban predicted that the growth of coconut water soon would lure into the segment other major players such as Hansen, the energy-drink maker; Arizona, known as an iced-tea brand; and Coca-Cola.

Beyond its $15-million investment in Zico, he said, “Coke will come out with a coconut water under the Powerade brand, or Vitaminwater,” he said. “It’s too hot for them not to.”

Metal cans differentiate the Amy and Brian’s brand in the US coconut water market.


MARCH 201120


M A R K E T I N G C A S E S T U D Y

“Vitality” is one of those amorphous consumer needs that is said to crop up frequently in consumer research as a strong consumer need – without marketers, consumers or the market researchers themselves really understanding what it means. For many marketers, it’s exactly the loose nature of “vitality” that makes it both an attractive and an open opportunity for marketers scratching for growth in a better-for-you arena where few untested propositions remain.

Perhaps the most notable example of this trend in the mainstream is Kraft’s Trident brand, which has just introduced a new line called Vitality that includes vitamin C, white tea, ginseng and other ingredients.

“Vitality is a psychological key that says, ‘Live longer; live better’,” says Tom Pirko, president of Bevmark Consulting, a leading strategic, product and branding advisor to global beverage giants. “But we’re early on in this. Mainstream companies are still turning it over to their marketing departments to provide a clearer definition. We’re at the first stage.”

In fact, in the case of “vitality”, checking a dictionary isn’t such a bad idea. “Capacity to live and develop” is how the Merriam-Webster U.S. dictionary defines the term. “Physical or mental vigor especially when highly developed.”

Yet Vitality as an operative concept for business means something a little bit different to everyone. Here is a sampling of the various ways those in the industry see “vitality”:

• Vitality can mean whatever you want it to mean, which is why it’s a claim that the industry likes.

• Vitality is not an ingredient. It’s an experience.• Vitality is a little part of that puzzle of

feeling better. It’s psychological as much as it is biochemical.

• Vitality isn’t the same thing as wellness. Wellness is defined by the lack of any health problems; it’s a broader term.

• Vitality certainly suggests health and wellness in its broadest sense. But more specifically, it suggests energy and, potentially longevity – that you’ll live a healthier lifestyle and less will go wrong if you can grasp vitality.

• Vitality lacks a regulatory definition. There is no measuring stick for it. It’s all based on the reported experiences of the consumer.

• Vitality is more of a marketing thing. And hand in hand, it’s synonymous with health and wellness.

• “Vitality” is just a new term for “energy,” I think. But the market will tell.

The attention to vitality positioning may also be a reaction to the growth of the term “energy”. Many in industry believe that the growth of the energy drink segment has narrowed the classic definition of energy so that consumers are only capable of thinking of it in the context of the high dose of stimulation delivered by products like Red Bull or 5 Hour Energy shots.

Shawn Talbott, a nutritional biochemist, says that “the challenge for marketers has been finding ways to describe ‘mental-physical energy’ outside of the caffeine-sugar rush of sports drinks and energy shots.” But the Salt Lake City-based author prefers to use the term “vigor” to describe what others call “vitality.”

“The use of ‘vitality’ in the market is mostly just a new-agey way of saying ‘energy’ and is not really hitting the sweet spot of vigor that is lacking in so many people,” says Talbott, who has written a book about the vigor concept.

APPEAL TO BOOMERS AND YOUTH

The concept of vitality is increasingly interesting to the baby boomers, who now are beginning to reach the conventional retirement age of 65. Especially in America, boomers have defined and redefined every cultural, medical and social institution as they have aged, and now they want to figure out how to make “70” the “new 40.”

“If you’re a senior citizen, you think about vitality more than anything else,” quips Pirko, himself a member of the leading edge of baby boomers. “If not, you’re dead.”

On the other hand, these days the desire for vitality doesn’t seem to be restricted to those 45-and-older. “When people talked about vitality, it used to be imagining older people who were trying to get back their youth,” says Rachel Geller, chief strategic officer of Geppetto Group, a New York-based strategic-marketing agency. “But now, vitality also has been embraced by young people as a feeling of balance and that all four spheres of the individual – emotional, physical, intellectual and spiritual – are being helped from the inside out.”

Third, there is a sense in which vitality is a tonic for many Westerners of all ages who have become beaten down by the economic recession and its aftermath.

“Consumers are reacting to the combination of things affecting them right now,” Pirko says. “In the pelting that they’re getting from these other things, they’re searching for ideas and concepts for feeling better, and vitality is one of them.”

VITALITY SUPPLEMENT OFFERS GENTLE ENERGY BOOST

Research informed dietary supplement giant Nu Skin about each of the ways in which a new supplement could address consumer desires about restoration of vitality.

“We found there was basically a disconnect between what people thought was available to them and what their needs actually were,” explains Kevin Fuller, vice president of marketing for Nu Skin. “They’re familiar with stimulants to overcome simple fatigue. But what they’re experiencing is more than just simple fatigue, and so they were dissatisfied with the side effects of simple stimulants.”

Individuals “don’t want to be spun up and agitated in the way that caffeine can make you feel,” Fuller continues. “But they

Selling “vitality”: vague hope or marketer’s dream?

Struggling with the need to find a health positioning that enables them to use health messages without also having to deliver the supporting science that regulators are increasingly asking for, a growing number of food, beverage and supplement companies are using the term “vitality” to position and market new products. By DALE BUSS.

MARCH 2011 21


M A R K E T I N G C A S E S T U D Y

do aspire to have a baseline energy level that goes up, like a tide rises – instead of peaks and valleys.”

Decline of mental acuity is “another strong fear that people have” as they age, he says. “Many of them are professionals who are concerned about performance in the workplace. And, third, consumers were interested in a product that conferred “sexual benefits” such as increasing libido and desire, Fuller says, “not necessarily functional benefits”.

Interestingly, he says, Nu Skin found a commonality in these desires among aging consumers in its markets worldwide; the company makes only 17% of its sales in the US. “The only significant difference in how consumers in various markets perceived the benefits,” Fuller notes, “is a greater focus in some Asian markets on sexual vitality. This tends to get more play in Asia, and they tend to be more comfortable talking about it.”

Nu Skin chose a capsule form of delivery for its brand AgeLoc Vitality. “Putting it in a ready-to-drink liquid would have pushed people to compare it with energy products, which we didn’t think would be advantageous to us,” says Fuller.

Moreover, including efficacious amounts of the active ingredients required concentrations that would have prohibited a drink from tasting good, he says. And because the effects of AgeLoc Vitality take up to a month to manifest in the body, Nu

Skin wanted to contrast the product with the “immediate effects” of an energy drink. Nu Skin developed a mix-in powder variety for AgeLoc Vitality, he says, “but in the end, focus groups of consumers didn’t see the benefits of having a mix-in versus a capsule.”

RISK LIES IN VITALITY’S VAGUENESS

The risks and challenges of a strategy that includes ‘vitality’ are illustrated by the experience of Unilever, the Netherlands-based consumer-products giant.

In 2006, Vindi Banga, a lifelong Unilever executive who then was president of Unilever Foods, announced at a major corporate meeting in Barcelona that Unilever would be deploying a unique proprietary business platform called the Vitality Life Goals Model.

“More than ever, people are looking for real solutions to achieve their goals in life,” Banga told the gathering. “Next to a healthy diet and good hygiene, we see that emotional wellbeing is an important contributor to a long and healthier life. The Vitality Life Goals really tap into the fundamental requirements of people, and we can identify opportunities right across our portfolio of brands that truly deliver holistic vitality solutions helping people look good, feel good and get more out of life.”

Fellow Unilever executive Ralph Kugler, president for home and personal care, said that Unilever would spend the majority of its $1-billion annual research budget on “vitality-driven innovation” and that 60% of the food innovations already in the Unilever pipeline at that time were “vitality-related”.

Yet, these executives never really explained exactly what they meant by “vitality” nor connected it solidly to any practical vision of how the idea could become so central to the company’s activities. And soon after, vitality essentially disappeared from the public record of Unilever as it rolled out new products, positioning and promotions in markets all over the world.

Now, five years later, Unilever seems to have dropped entirely the term and the positioning, within and outside the company. It’s difficult even to locate a historical discussion of vitality on Unilever’s web site. The company’s business discussion in its 2009 annual report, “How We Will Win”, included four concepts – “winning” with brands and innovation, in the market place, through continuous improvement, and with people – but vitality wasn’t one of them. And Banga

left the company last spring.It’s possible that Unilever simply

experienced one of the obvious limits to vitality positioning that is the flip side of one of its biggest advantages: its vagueness.

“Look at the 2oz shot market and at the new products you’re seeing: condition-specific products for recovering, relaxing, sleeping – lots of conditions,” notes Andy Dratt, executive vice president of Imbibe, a formulator of private-label, better-for-you beverages for major retailers.

“So far we’re not seeing lots and lots of vitality-themed products primarily because the industry is trying to deliver products that are benefit-oriented, and they do best when they’re well-defined – so that the consumer knows exactly what the product will deliver.”

And if any food, beverage or supplement manufacturer should seek to get more precise about rendering vitality in some kind of nutritional formula, they would face different kinds of challenges.

“It would be very difficult to do, to just put ‘vitality’ in a bottle,” says Ram Chaudhari, chief scientific officer and senior executive vice president of Fortitech, the New York-based firm that helps ingredient and food companies develop better-for-you components. “You’d have to have so many nutrients – proteins, carbohydrates, omega-3s, co-factors and bioactive compounds – in order to get maximum benefits. And then you’d have to get them all working optimally together.”

Chaudhari continues: “Multivitamins are fine; they’re part of vitality – but only a subcategory. They don’t equate to vitality.

“There are 60 to 70 bioactive compounds you need for overall vitality, and it would be impossible to put them into one thing. Plus then you have the issue of bioavailability, and you’d have so many interactions among all of these things that you can’t even imagine them.”

Such difficulties, Chaudhari explains, are why few companies are beating down Fortitech’s door to come up with a single, comprehensive answer to the vitality challenge – and opportunity.

And the breadth of the nutrients that are required for humans to feel completely vital is one big reason that “you have to have a variety of foods, not just one beverage or food,” Chaudhari says. “You can’t change your whole health condition with just one thing. It isn’t going to happen.”

MARCH 201122


D A I RY C A S E S T U D Y

After decades in which many health professionals have advised people to reduce their consumption of dairy products because of the presence of saturated fat, dairy is possibly facing a new dawn.

“A lot of positive research has emerged recently that is beginning to change perceptions in the health and science community about dairy foods and saturated fats,” said Gregory Miller, executive vice president of research, regulatory and scientific affairs for Dairy Management Inc., a not-for-profit marketing arm of the US dairy industry based in Rosemont, Ill.

Donald Moore, the executive director of Global Dairy Platform, a not-for-profit advocacy organization founded by some of the world’s leading dairy entities, noted that “health professionals and regulators have put saturated fats out there as a bogeyman, and something to be avoided, for many years”. But, he said, “the breaking science about saturated fats is relatively new news, and at this point there’s a degree of confusion even among regulators about how they should be approaching this.”

As two of the leading figures behind the change in perceptions, Miller and Moore hardly are dispassionate observers. But some independent experts agreed that dairy – particularly saturated fats – has been over-vilified and now is regaining some measure of nutritional respect.

SLOW SWING TO BETTER IMAGE FOR DAIRY

Dairy is “much better perceived as being positive in health benefits than 10 or 20 years ago,” said Michael Zemel, a University of Kentucky professor – unaffiliated with any dairy interests – whose research continues to find redeeming nutritional qualities and even medical efficacy from dairy components,

especially calcium and possibly including saturated fats.

The swing back toward a more balanced view of consuming saturated fats has been a long time in the making.

“Over the last 30 years there has always been some ingredient that people wanted to demonize,” said Brian Wansink, director of the Food & Brand Lab at Cornell University. “It was sugar. Now it’s fat and saturated fat. But it’s certainly not as bad as it’s made out to be.”

Here’s a sampling of recent research that buttresses Wansink’s contention about saturated fats:

• Saturated fats aren’t bad per se. Assuming that saturated fat “at any intake level is harmful is an oversimplification and not supported by scientific evidence,” said J. Bruce German, a University of California at Davis professor and chemist, during a late-2009 symposium in Orlando.

• Their role in cardiovascular disease is dubious. A recent review of research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition pooled results of 17 studies and found no association between high intakes of either regular-fat or low-fat dairy products and increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease. There are even suggestions of a protective effect because certain nutrients in dairy have a beneficial impact on blood pressure.

• They may actually help prevent strokes. Saturated fatty acid intake was inversely associated with mortality from a total stroke according to a Japanese cohort study that appeared in August in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

RESISTANCE REMAINS

Yet there continues to be strong resistance in the scientific and media realms to the notion that dairy fats could be anything other than harmful to human health.

Dairy’s new dawn: too early for real change?

Burgeoning scientific evidence that dairy and saturated fat may not be as bad for us (and better for us) than we thought is undoubtedly good news for the dairy industry. But this is brand new science, and saturated fats and dairy aren’t going to become the good guys overnight in the mindsets of consumers and even much of the scientific and health professional community. So until perceptions change, the dairy industry is concentrating its efforts on “low hanging fruit” such as sodium-reduction to polish its health credentials. By DALE BUSS.

Science writer Gary Taubes meticulous examination of the science around dietary fat and heart disease has won him worldwide recognition. His book has been instrumental in challenging many people’s perspectives – and has made him popular with the dairy industry.

MARCH 2011 23



Walter Willett, for instance, is one of the most highly regarded nutritional experts in America by the scientific establishment and mainstream media, and the chairman of the nutrition department at the Harvard Public School of Health; he categorically told New Nutrition Business that the “ optimal diet will be low in saturated fat, including dairy fat and red meat fat”.

Many other doctors and scientists continue to stick with resolute opposition to saturated fats. They “have caused our nation’s current health crisis,” said Dr. John McDougall, for example, who treats the obese at his clinic in Santa Rosa, Calif., with a low-fat, low-starch, vegetarian diet. “Saturated fats and trans fats have a reputation for causing serious illness, including atherosclerosis and cancer.”

Thanks in part to such charged rhetoric on both sides of the debate, saturated fats also have emerged as a major flash point – along with the obesity epidemic, and sugary soft drinks – in the emerging reality that “nutrition science is beginning to be guided by emotion, perceptions, and public-health advocacy, and is stepping away from data and science,” according to Cathy Kapica, senior vice president of health and wellness for Ketchum, a Chicago-based marketing firm that counts several major CPG companies among its clientele.

One of the most recent examples of this phenomenon was a story in the November 6 New York Times that was positioned as a major exposé of federal-government hypocrisy. The thesis: that even as the Obama administration has prioritized its fight against obesity, the Agriculture Department and other federal entities still promote dairy fat to the food industry and to the American people, in part because they still pay subsidies to US farmers to produce high-fat milk.

The biggest problem with the story is that it made not a single mention of the reams of recent research suggesting that, in a number of ways, animal fats may not be the villains presented by conventional wisdom.

Professor Zemel felt victimized by the story’s depiction of his research mainly as a springboard for a Dairy Management campaign to depict the weight-loss benefits of dairy. “It bothered me,” Zemel said “because my perception was that [the author] was a careful reporter. But he made me look like a jackass.”

Of course, there are at least two different referenda concerning dairy products that are ongoing in America – and only one involves the scientific and nutritional community and

the mainstream media. The other vote on dairy is occurring in the

marketplace, and in that arena, dairy interests are definitely scoring some points, especially with cheese, yogurt and other non-liquid products. “The good news,” Miller said, “is that we’re doing well in the marketplace.”

Here are some other major dynamics in the continuing battle over saturated fats:

A PASS FROM DIETARY GUIDELINES

Even the US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee for 2010 went easier on dairy products and saturated fats than many critics would have liked. The group recommended a new standard calling for saturated fat not to exceed 7% of total calories – about 15.6g in a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet. The average American’s intake has remained about 11% to 12% of calories for at least 15 years.

Though reducing obesity was the central mission of the new guidelines, and the panel cited the role of saturated fats in increasing “adiposity”, their conclusions stayed away from roundly condemning dairy products. The group didn’t even change the previous US-government recommendation.

EMPHASIS ON REPLACEMENT

Much of the debate about the role of saturated fats in the diet focuses on whether it’s a lesser evil than what might replace it. Professor Thomas Pearson, of the Dietary Guidelines advisory committee, said one of the committee’s biggest concerns was “saturated fats reduction and its adequate replacement – rather than just saturated-fats reduction”.

Willett, who was not a committee member, echoed that concern. “The key is what replaces saturated fat,” he said. “If it is refined starch and sugar, there will be no benefit. However, if it is replaced by unsaturated fats, such as in liquid vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, and avocados, there will be important health benefits. The evidence from controlled feeding studies, randomized trials with heart disease as the endpoint, and long-term epidemiologic studies is totally consistent with this conclusion.”

The main problem has been that, over the decades of disfavour with animal fats, food and beverage companies have tended to substitute carbohydrates for saturated fats.

“If you’re a food formulator, you’ve been developing out of fat and replacing it with carbohydrates,” said Moore, of the Global

Dairy Platform. “So we’ve ended up with more carbohydrates, particularly sugars, as we’ve taken fat out.”

And that’s posed perhaps a bigger problem than if the saturated fats were just left alone. Replacing saturated fat with mono-unsaturated fat yielded uncertain effects on cardiovascular-disease risk, found a research review by Dariush Mozaffarian, an epidemiologist at the Harvard School of Public Health. But replacing saturated fat with carbohydrates – especially starches or sugars – was found to be ineffective and even harmful.

So, Mozaffarian said, it’s far better to focus on positive nutrients for cardio health, such as omega-3s and whole grains – and on reducing trans fats and sodium – than on replacing saturated fats in the diet.

PROMOTING MODERATION

If there can be said to be a consensus emerging, it is that moderation in saturated-fat consumption is a good thing, but that doesn’t necessarily require moderation in dairy consumption. Reduced- and low-fat products have a bright future in this construct.

“We’re actually quite strong in terms of recommending low-fat dairy products, and the protein, calcium and vitamin D in dairy,” said Pearson. “We’re not anti-dairy. And if [US] farmers weren’t paid for the percentage of their milk fat, the industry probably could have a little better view of the selling of healthful foods.

“They don’t have to sell the fat; it’s an artifact of the market. A gallon of skim milk should be the prized nutrient. But things have gotten away from that. The situation with fat is to find some uses for it other than human consumption.”

PROMOTING DAIRY’S OTHER ADVANTAGES

Dairy interests continue to promote the notion, backed with research, that milk in a diet can actually help promote weight loss. They are also emphasizing the importance of the calcium and vitamin D in milk, along with other components, in children’s diets. And they are heavily promoting milk as an effective alternative to sports drinks for “recovery” from workout and athletic events.

Recent Israeli research, for example, found that dieters who consumed milk in their diet lost more weight than non-milk

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drinkers, regardless of what else was in their diets, reported Dr. Timothy Johnson, the lead medical correspondent for ABC News.

Professor Zemel’s research, in part, aims to understand what has made milk such a nutritional staple over the centuries and perhaps to restore some balance to how it is perceived.

“The counterintuitive point about dairy these days is that it has been a mainstay of American dietary recommendations for many decades,” he said. “It’s an easy straw man to knock down when you’re looking for something. When the low-fat era hit us, dairy became an easy target because many dairy foods have higher-than-recommended levels of fat. So, well, ‘Dairy must make you fat.’ That’s where the counterintuitive argument comes in.”

NEGATING DAIRY’S OTHER DRAWBACKS

On the other hand, a new tactic being adopted by Dairy Management is to attempt to deal with the dietary drawbacks of dairy products that can be addressed without altering their fundamental nature.

Cheese, for example, isn’t edible to most people without sufficient fat. Non-fat cheese analogs have been attempted for decades without making much of a dent in the US market. However, with cheese, sodium content is quite another thing altogether.

Dairy Management believes that dairy interests have a lot of room to cut sodium in cheese and that it would be advantageous to the industry if it could do so, given that sodium reduction in all foods has become a major push in the government’s anti-obesity initiative – and was a significant recommendation of the Dietary Guidelines committee.

So recently, major cheese producers including Kraft and Sargento agreed to an “audit” to determine actual sodium content of their cheeses and whether they were labeled accurately.

“We discovered a lot of discrepancies in how cheese was labeled for sodium,” said Barb O’Brien, president of the Innovation Center for US Dairy, a two-year-old Dairy Management affiliate. “There was a lot of over-estimation of sodium levels versus what was actually in the product.” And there was a lot of variability among brands.

It turned out that, for the most part, cheeses actually for sale were below stated sodium content but that manufacturers labeled their products conservatively for

sodium because they didn’t want to be found by regulators to be exceeding sodium limits. Now, manufacturers are pondering how to reduce variability in sodium content so that they can cut the amount of labeled sodium in their products – and, presumably, take credit for sodium reductions.

“It is low-hanging fruit,” Miller explained.

BIDING THEIR TIME ON A TURNAROUND

Despite the fact that aggressiveness by the dairy industry has finally muddied the one-sided science on saturated fats in the diet, it isn’t yet time for milk-product manufacturers to take the offensive on behalf of animal fats.

Kapica said that “the whole issue of

saturated fats is so ingrained in people that it’s going to take a lot of data” to change the minds of consumers, and of many scientists and nutritionists. “It’s still a complicated story.”

Added Moore: “I don’t believe consumers are quite enough aware yet” of the burgeoning scientific evidence against the idea of villainous saturated fat “that companies could start in all confidence formulating full-fat products again. We’re not going to see that kind of shift until we see a shift in opinion leaders and in the regulatory world on saturated fat.

“If you’re a marketer, the last thing you do at this point is take a stand on this issue, especially if you’re a large company.”

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L A B E L I N G C A S E S T U D Y

The two leading trade associations of mainstream American food and beverage manufacturers have opened up a new front – literally – in the raging war over how they market their products to an obese nation. The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) have stolen a jump on the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) – which is getting clos-er to issuing new rules telling manufacturers exactly how the government wants them to do that – by launching an industry-wide food labeling programme called Nutrition Keys.

Nutrition Keys calls for the front of food packages to display a series of icons show-ing four basic nutrients – calories, saturated fat, sodium and sugars. As an option, certain labels could include “nutrients to encourage” including potassium, fibre, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium and iron.

Controversy arose immediately after the launch, with critics unhappy that the groups apparently tried to pre-empt the federal advi-sory.

“A lot remains to be seen,” said Cathy Kapica, senior vice president of global health and wellness for Ketchum Communications, a Chicago-based marketing agency that counts several major CPG manufacturers among its clients. “The key issues will be whether the manufacturers can get agreement from other key parties like the White House and external health associations [such as the American Heart Association] as well as the FDA.

“And then of course the real success would be in terms of not only showing consumer understanding of the system but also chang-ing consumer behavior.”

The FDA could still come back with a “request” to the industry to change the new front-of-package scheme. Indeed, in a state-ment responding to the launch of Nutrition Keys the White House said:

“We regard their commitment to dedicate space, for the first time, to an industry-wide front-of-pack label as a significant first step and look forward to future improvement. The FDA plans to monitor this initiative closely and will work with experts in the field to

evaluate whether the new label is meeting the needs of American consumers and pursue improvements as needed”.

But it’s likely that the horse will already be too far out of the barn.

CONSUMER EDUCATION PLEDGE

The FMI and GMA have pledged to spend $50 million (€36 million) to explain to con-sumers their initiative, which is intended to make nutrition information simple, clear and understandable on the front of packages using a “fact-based format”. It includes informa-tion on “nutrient-dense” eating as well as on “shortfall nutrients” that are under-consumed in the diets of most Americans.

“This is a landmark step forward in the industry’s commitment to help address the obesity challenge,” said David Mackay, president and chief executive offi cer of FMI member Kellogg Company.

“It represents the most signifi cant change to food labels in the United States in nearly twenty years. And our commitment to an ambitious consumer education campaign will amplify the impact the labeling change will have in households across the country.”

Campbell Soup Company immediately came out in support of the programme, say-ing it planned to begin including the symbols on appropriately-sized packages across its portfolio of healthy beverages, baked snacks, and simple meals in 2011 and 2012. And General Mills said it would incorporate the new Nutrition Keys icon on its products “as new packages are produced”.

But here’s the rub: Critics assert that the food-marketing groups only made this move in order to steal a march on the FDA, which is in the throes of coming up with its own recommendations on front-of-package labeling. Agency offi cials have said that the programme would be voluntary, but manufacturers agreeing to comply would have to do some specifi c things.

It’s assumed that the FDA will take an approach similar to that of another U.S. government body, the Institute of Medicine

(IOM), which recently recommended that the front of packages should focus on disclosing only calories, serving size, saturated fats, trans fats and sodium content, because those measures address Americans’ most pressing food-related health problems – and highlighting more nutrition facts that already are on the back of the label might overly clutter the front. The IOM’s report discouraged including positive nutrients on the label, saying that could confuse consumers and encourage manufacturers to fortify foods unnecessarily.

Food manufacturers naturally take exception to that approach, because they want to be able to tout – even in simple form – the presence of body-boosting nutrients such as omega-3s, fi bre, and added vitamins. FMI mentioned “the 20,000 healthier product choices” its members have developed and launched over the last several years.

Marion Nestle was unmoved. The food-studies and nutrition professor at New York University and blogger – known for her anti-industry views – fumed, “Forget the consumer-friendly rhetoric. There is only one explanation for this move: heading off the FDA’s” initiative.

Nestle added: “This move is all the evidence the FDA needs for mandatory [front-of-package] labels. GMA and FMI have just demonstrated that the food industry will not willingly label its processed foods in ways that help the public make healthier food choices.”

The food groups’ move stems implicitly from their conclusion that the industry has no choice but to perform a radical makeover of front-of-package labeling. Their aggressiveness in making nutritional claims in big letters on their packaging got ahead of itself a few years ago and, after the Obama administration marked a more activist approach on the regulatory front two years ago, CPG companies have pulled back on front-of-package claims.

But no consistent standard yet has come into the void, and no industry likes that sort of uncertainty. “What GMA is doing is being presented as ‘pre-emptive’ of government, but

Will industry label scheme win over FDA?Will the US food and beverage industry’s new Nutrition Keys labeling scheme – which critics charge was a pre-emptive move to sidestep a potentially less favourable FDA-designed system – win the FDA’s approval, or could it still ask industry to change the scheme? The system, which controversially allows “positive nutrients” to appear on the front-of-pack, has already swung into action with major food brands saying their products would soon start to display Nutrition Keys icons. By DALE BUSS.

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L A B E L I N G C A S E S T U D Y

it’s more of a pro-active leadership position,” Kapica said. “They want to be able to do this fast and with a consumer-education programme behind it.”

Kapica noted that many CPG companies have learned a lot about front-of-package labeling systems and their effectiveness over the last several years as some leading companies, collectively and individually, instituted their own programmes. They included PepsiCo’s Smart Spot program and Smart Choice, which was run by a not-for-profi t concern with the participation of dozens of major food and beverage companies – and abandoned by industry after the FDA said it might mislead consumers.

Major retailers also have come in with their own systems. Some have been based on a “traffi c-light” approach, wherein the retailers made their own evaluations of products and recommended them on a nutritional basis to consumers as a “go” purchase, “cautionary” or “stop.”

But this approach has been discredited on a national basis in the United Kingdom, and Kapica said that the Institute of Medicine’s negative evaluation of traffi c-light systems already has doomed the possibility that the industry groups would recommend such an approach.

“The Institute said they’re basically looking not for an interpretive system but for a fact-based system, and while it’s only a suggestion, what the GMA is doing probably will be consistent with what the Institute has come up with.

“Data is the key. And the other key is for the industry to take a leadership position using the experience that member companies have had with labeling for decades, and basically move this forward faster.”

Yet even a broad agreement between industry and the FDA that “fact-based” nutrition labeling should reign on the front of packages won’t be without its diffi culties. “If you have a system that lists four nutrients and you’ve got a candy bar, where are you going to put that where shoppers can read it?” said Kapica.

Yet perhaps ironically, one of the leading advocates and implementers of a fact-based front-of-package labeling system has been Mars, which several months ago launched a scheme for its candy bars and other products that displays levels of the four key nutrients – in small type.

The four basic icons, for calories, saturated fat, sodium and sugars, represent key nutrients for which dietary guidance recommend limiting consumption in the diet. The four basic icons are always presented together as a consistent set:

On small food packages, one icon may be used, representing calories in a serving of the food. This is an option for food manufacturers, recognizing that small food packages may not have enough space to accommodate the four Basic Icons. This labeling system will complement the Clear on Calories labeling system developed by the American Beverage Association.

As an option, certain labels could include “nutrients to encourage” – nutrients needed to build a “nutrient-dense” diet. In addition to the basic four icons, packages may include up to two “nutrients to encourage”: potassium, fi ber, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium and iron. All of these are either shortfall nutrients or are required to be on the nutrition facts panel. These “nutrients to encourage” can only be placed on a package if the product has more than 10 percent of the daily value per serving of the nutrient and meets the FDA requirements for a “good source” nutrient content claim.

The GMA-FMI front-of-package labeling system will make the FOP icons graphically distinct from other nutrition-related claims on front-of-pack.

THE NUTRITION KEYS SYSTEM

Source: GMA

MARCH 2011 27


N E W P R O D U C T S

Country Company Brand & Product DescriptionPART 1: NORTH AMERICA – FOODS & BEVERAGES

All new product information is sourced exclusively from Mintel’s GNPD (Global New Products Database), which can be visited at www.gnpd.com. Mintel can be contacted at 18-19 Long Lane, London EC1A 9PL, U.K.. Tel. +44-(0)20-7606-4533, Fax +44-(0)20-7600-3327

FUNCTIONAL & HEALTHY-EATING NEW PRODUCT LAUNCHESEach month we summarise new product launches from around the world.• Part 1: North America • Part 2: Rest of the World

BAKERY

Canada Multi-Marques Bon Matin Healthy Way Multigrain Loaf

Made with 100% whole grain and is for those looking to maintain healthy cholesterol and blood pressure levels. Approved by the Heart & Stroke Foundation and contains 10g of fibre per two slices. It is low in sodium, saturated fat and trans fat.

Canada Weston Bakeries Wonder+ Simply Free White Bread Contains 14 essential nutrients and is free from artificial colours, artificial flavours and artificial preservatives.

USA Bimbo Bakeries Oroweat Dutch Country Soft Multigrain Bread

Features a smooth texture with oat and barley. This multigrain bread provides 10g wholegrain per serving and is a good source of calcium, vitamin A, D and E. No high fructose corn syrup.

USA Interstate Brands Corporation Wonder Classic White Bread Enriched with calcium and vitamin D but does not contain any trans fats and 25% less sodium than regular white bread.

USA La Vita Health Foods La Vita All Natural Chocolate Crunchy Cookies

Free from gluten, sugar, lactose, dairy, cholesterol and trans fat. This prebiotic product is low glycemic, is diabetic friendly, and has extra fiber.

USA Ultimate Superfoods Ojio 100% Organic Cacao Powder Sun dried, hand peeled and stone ground by native artisans to preserve its natural mineral density. This kosher and USDA organic certified cacao is free from BPA and gluten.

BEVERAGES

Canada Abbott Laboratories Similac Mom Chocolate Flavoured Meal Replacement Drink

Said to help pregnant women and breastfeeding moms meet their nutritional needs. This product contains iron and calcium, folic acid, vitamin D and protein.

Canada The FRS Company FRS Healthy Energy Energy Drink Contains only 90 calories. This apricot and nectarine flavoured product is formulated with Quercetin, which is a powerful all natural antioxidant. It contains no artificial sweeteners, colours or flavours.

USA Bolthouse Farms Aura Cucumber, Lemon and Rosemary Flavoured Water

An all natural enhanced water infused with herbs and fruit juice. Each serving contains 45 calories as well as: 50% of the recommended daily value of vitamins B3, B5, B6 and B12, as well as 100% of the RDV of vitamin C. Range includes Orange Basil; and Grapefruit Sage flavoured varieties.

USA Borba Borba Clarifying Pomegranate Skin Balance Water

Designed to combat oily skin, clogged pores and impurities. It contains four essential B vitamins and is high in antioxidant vitamins C and E. Infused with goji berry and cranberry, the product is free from calories, carbohydrates, aspartame, sodium and preservatives. Water said to contain a revolutionary cultivated bio-vitamin complex along with a scientifically designed blend of nutrients intended to help skin regenerate its natural support system and improve clarity. Formulated to work with the body’s chemistry to promote healthy skin. Pomegranate effectively protects cells from damaging free radicals. This on-the-go product retails in a 16-fl. oz. pack.

USA Eastbluff Trading Co. Tisano Organic Loose Leaf Herbal Chocolate Tea

Rich in aroma and features a decadent taste. The 100% pure cocoa based chocolate tea is rich in antioxidants, and free from trans fats, calories, sugar, dairy or gluten. It is lower in caffeine than green tea or decaf coffee and contains theobromine, a natural mood booster, making it a healthy alternative as it boosts energy and stamina, supports the immune system, and promotes a healthy heart.

USA Health is Wealth Products Health is Wealth Nutriccino Mocha Latte

A vitamin infused coffee, low in fat and made with a natural blend of South American coffee. Infused with 12 vitamins including vitamin E, calcium and provides 100% daily value of vitamins. Free from lactose and antibiotics and has a low sodium content.

USA Herbalife International of America Herbalife Formula French Vanilla Healthy Meal Nutritional Shake Mix

Said to provide an ideal balance of protein and nutrition to help satisfy hunger and give a lasting energy. Each shake is packed with 19 vitamins and minerals, herbs, antioxidants and prebiotic fiber. Formula 1 powder contains only 90 calories, and when mixed with eight ounces of nonfat milk, contains only 170 calories. The manufacturer states that 25g soy protein a day, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease.

USA Leading Brands Pure Blue Wild Blueberry Super Juice

A blend of wild blueberry, sauvignon blanc, syrah and merlot grape and blackcurrant juices from concentrate with added natural flavours and vitamin C. It contains over 750mg of polyphenol per bottle which can help maintain healthy cells, and is free from artificial colors or preservatives.

USA Litehouse Litehouse Veggie Fruit Smoothie Contains pineapple and vegetables. It is vitamin and mineral fortified with essential B vitamins, kefir, amino acids and probiotics. It contains eight live and active cultures and has 10g of fiber per bottle.

USA Nano Pharmaceutical Laboratories ZümXR Extended Release Energy Supplement

Uses an exclusive technology for liquid-suspended, extended release nanocules, developed by Nano Pharmaceutical Laboratories. The drink contains two delivery components- a high-performance liquid for immediate impact and extended release nanocule spheres for ultimate endurance, which distribute and dissolve at various points in the body over time. Low in calories the beverage provides energy, hydration and electrolytes without crash and was created for competitive, driven athletes.

USA NeXstep Beverages Sokenbicha Skin Barley Tea Blend Described as a refreshing authentically brewed full-bodied barley tea blend with cinnamon, ginger and other natural botanicals believed to refine the skin from within. This drink provides zero calories and contains no added sugar or preservatives. Also available in this range are the following varieties: Purify; Defend; Shape; and Revive.

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USA Sunkist Growers Sunkist Naturals Chocolate Raspberry Complete Protein Smoothie

Made with raspberries from Oregon and Michigan crushed and blended with organic Dutch cocoa. This drink contains 25% fruit, no cholesterol, fat, gluten, GMO ingredients, preservatives or other artificial ingredients. This drink is packed with 20g complete protein per bottle and contains nine essential amino acids. This kosher certified product is a source of fibre.

USA Vitality Distributing Vitality Avitae Caffeinated Water Purified water with 45mg of natural caffeine. It contains zero calories, no artificial ingredients, has no aftertaste and no not-found-in-nature flavors.

BREAKFAST CEREALS

Canada Kellogg Kellogg’s Fibre Plus Cereal with Summer Berry Flavour

Low in fat, saturated fat and sodium, free from trans fat and very high in fibre. Made with natural and artificial flavours and provides a source of eight essential nutrients.

USA Kashi Kashi Go Lean Crunch! Protein & High Fiber Cereal

Repackaged and is now available in a 25-oz. Crunch! Lover’s Pack. Provides a good source of protein from soy; and is high in fiber that helps feel full longer, keeps the digestive system running smoothly and helps balance blood sugar. Made with whole grains that are packed with beneficial phytonutrients.

DAIRY

Canada Danone Danone Silhouette 0+ Yogurt Fat-free and contains no added sugar. The limited edition product is made with vitamin A and vitamin D fortified skim milk, and is sweetened with Splenda. Pack contains 12 x 100g cup yogurts, six of which are vanilla-marula flavoured, and six of which are vanilla-cinnamon flavoured.

USA Bio-K Plus International Bio-K Plus CL1285 Dairy Free Fermented Soy

A dairy-free culture formula with CL 1285 that contains a minimum of 50 billion fresh, live and active L. acidophilus and L. casei bacteria.

USA Breyers Yogurt Company Breyers Yo Crunch Fruit Parfait Yogurt Multipack

Vanilla fat free yogurt made with real fruit pieces, premium granola, live and active cultures, and milk, which is free of synthetic growth hormones. With added vitamin A and vitamin D, the parfait contains no rBST. This product contains active yogurt cultures including L.acidophilus & bifidus.

USA Dannon Dannon Activia Parfait Crunch Low Fat Mixed Berry Yogurt with Granola

Contains Bifidus Regularis that help regulate the digestive system, added vitamin D and features a 1.5% milk fat content.

USA Fage USA Dairy Industry Fage Total 0% Greek Strained Yogurt with Blueberry Acai

An all natural yogurt. This vegetarian and gluten-free product has been prepared with milk free from rBHG.

DESSERTS & ICE CREAM

USA Palapa Azul Palapa Azul Coconut Flavor Fruit Bars

Made with real fruit and contain only 80 calories. Sweetened with organic cane juice, and is free from wheat and gluten.

MEALS & MEAL CENTERS

USA Classic Cooking Garden Lites Butternut Squash Souffle

Free from gluten and contain two servings of vegetables, 9g of protein and 180 calories per souffle, and provide three Weight Watchers Points.

USA General Mills Progresso Grilled Chicken Primavera Italian-Style Pasta

Contains 53% of the daily value of fiber per serving.

USA ConAgra Foods Healthy Choice Portabella Parmesan Risotto

Contains 10% of daily grains and 40% of daily vegetables.

SNACKS

Canada PepsiCo Quaker Cafe Squares Dark Chocolate Mocha Hazelnut Granola Squares

Contain 11g of wholegrain and 120 calories per square. This snack is low in calories and contains a good source of fibre. Also available is a Raspberry Mocha flavour.

Canada Small Planet Foods Lärabar Apple Flavored Fruit and Nut Energy Bar

Said to be a magical harmony of fruits and nuts, and contains only the best ingredients. It is free from gluten, dairy and soy.

Canada Wholesome Goodness Wholesome Goodness Sour Pineapple Raisins

Contain natural flavour. This 100% fruit snack is claimed to be extra sour and is free from added sugar.

USA Clif Bar Luna Protein Mint Chocolate Chip Bar

Chocolatey covered nougat with 12g of protein, calcium, folic acid, vitamin D, iron and under 200 calories. Low glycemic.

USA Divine Foods PranaBar Supercharger Blueberry Coconut Organic Energy Bar

An all natural energy bar that provides raw enzyme power. This energy bar is made with raw, unprocessed antioxidants and enzyme rich foods that promote good health and boost daily energy. The USDA organic certified product contains no GMO, soy, added sugar, gluten, or dairy. A source of medium chain fatty acids, beneficial to the health of the immune system. Coconut is said to support muscle and skin health.

USA H.J. Heinz Company Bagel Bites Cheese and Pepperoni Bagels

Repackaged to show that they contain 8g whole grain per serving, They also contain 8g protein.

USA Kellogg Kellogg’s Special K Chocolatey Chip Cookie Bar

Said to be a good source of fiber and contains 90 calories per serving. Also available is a Raspberry Cheesecake Bar variety.

USA Kellogg Kellogg’s Special K Cracker Chips Low-calorie baked snacks. Available in a sea salt flavour and a Sour Cream & Onion flavour.

USA Kellogg Kellogg’s Special K Strawberry Cereal Bar

Now available in a new 4.86-oz. pack containing six individually wrapped cereal bars. This product is a good source of fiber and contains 90 calories per serving. The pack features Special K Challenge.

USA Mars Kudos Granola Bars with M&Ms Milk chocolate granola bars with crisped rice, toasted oats and M&Ms. These bars are made with whole grain and contain as much calcium and vitamin D as a glass of milk. One bar contains only 100 calories.

USA Mitoku Mitoku Quinoa Black Sesame Snacks Wheat-free crackers with no added preservative, leavening or wheat flour of any kind. The snacks are made from steamed quinoa and brown rice combined with whole black sesame seeds.

USA Target Archer Farms Simply Balanced Freeze Dried Strawberry Slices

Contain no added sugar, fat, trans fat, sodium, preservatives or additives.

USA Bissinger’s Handcrafted Chocolatier Bissinger’s Naturals Gummy Pandas Contain goji, natural guava flavor and camu camu which are natural sources of antioxidants. This all natural product is free from gluten, wheat, artificial colors or sweetener, is made with organic sweeteners.

SUGAR & GUM CONFECTIONERY

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Country Company Brand & Product DescriptionPART 2: REST OF THE WORLD – FOODS & BEVERAGES

BAKERY

Argentina Dodo Do Do Choco Cereal Biscuit Made with bittersweet chocolate and oatmeal. Fortified with calcium, vitamin E, iron to improve anemia and phosphorous to improve the memory.

France Distriborg Gayelord Hauser Oat & Wheat Biscuits

Made with oat fibres said to help regulate cholesterol levels.

Malaysia Kraft Kraft Tiger Choc Yogurt Cream Biscuits

Contain prebiotic inulin.

Philippines Creative Bakers & Confectioners Walter Health Nutrition Weight Control Bread

Low GI, low sodium and 98% fat free. High in fiber and protein, with oat fiber, 4g of dietary fiber and 6g of protein. Double Fiber Wheat Bread contains soluble fiber from apple.

Spain Bimbo Bimbo DHA Omega 3 Crustless White Sliced Bread

Provides 18% of the RDA of DHA. Contains ‘life’s DHA’, which is said to promote healthy brain, eyes, and heart.

Spain Nutrexpa Cuétara Fibra Línea Sugar-Free Cocoa Cookies

High fibre, 54% cereals, has Cuétara Oleoequilibre, a blend of vege oils that promotes high oleic content and aids cholesterol levels.

Spain Virginias Virginias B-San Peso Ideal Weight Control Biscuits

Wholegrain and made with soya. Only 64 calories per unit and are a source of fibre, calcium, iron and magnesium.

Australia Artesian Water Artesian Water Carbonated Australian Water

An “all natural mineral shot” to recharge the body’s mineral deposit with its “naturally occurring bicarbonates, sodium and chlorides that create high levels of ions…known to keep the body’s fluid levels clean and balanced”.

Australia Coca-Cola Amatil Mother Low Carb Energy Drink High caffeine content, also with taurine and guarana.

Australia Wheytogo MyWhey Vanilla Flavoured Meal Replacement Drink

With high protein quality isolated whey and green tea extract.

BEVERAGES

Brazil Abbott Laboratories Ensure Plus Food Supplement A chocolate flavoured, high calorie, high protein and high nitrogen drink. Provides complete balanced nutrition, gluten-free.

Finland Rauch Rauch Happy Day 100% Mild Apple Juice with Calcium

Enriched with calcium, no added sugar. Low in fruit acid, ideal for children.

France Coca-Cola Glacéau VitaminWater Essential Orange Vitamin C + Calcium

Spring water with vitamins A, E, C, B3, B5, B6, B9, B12 and calcium.

Hungary Innovative Beverages Be! Relaxed Beverage for Calm Thinking

A low energy drink made with rooibos tea, natural mineral water, fructose, calcium, magnesium, valerian, melissae herba and vitamin B6.

India Dabur Real Activ Fibre+ Orange Citrus Punch

Tropical citrus fruits plus dietary fiber to manage weight, keep digestive and cardiovascular systems healthy, enhance fullness.

Indonesia NutriFood L-Men Hi-Protein 2 Go Rasa Chocolate Flavoured Drink

Convenient nutrition for men, with L-Carnitine. High protein, low fat.

Netherlands Coca-Cola Aquarius Rehydration Lemon Energy Drink

Reformulated with five vitamins. Contains natural flavours, free from added preservatives. Claims to restore the body’s moisture balance after exertion and assist the metabolism and immune system.

UK Energizer Brands Attitude Energy Drink Said to make consumers more alert naturally. Rich in antioxidants and free from caffeine and taurine. With 50% of the RDA of vitamins.

UK Maximuscle Maxifuel Energy System Viper Active Raspberry Elite All-in-One Sports Drink

With blend of four essential electrolytes including sodium, calcium, potassium and magnesium to help replace essential salts lost during intense exercise. Claimed to support stamina and help body stay in peak condition with sustaining branch chain amino acids.

BREAKFAST CEREALS

China Affcet Foods Affcet Five Coarse Grains Xylitol Oatmeal with Milk

Contains calcium to strengthen bones and teeth, and dietary fiber to regulate intestinal functions.

Italy Cerealvit Cerealvit Bio Oat Flakes A natural source of beta-glucan, which helps reduce cholesterol. Rich in protein and vegetable fat. Low carb and low GI.

Russia Raisio Nutrition Nordic Oat with Wheat Bran Now contain more fibre.

UK Alara Alara Muesli Claimed to be the first aphrodisiac muesli, with maca.

Belgium NewTree NewTree Low-Sugar Chocolate with added Fibre

Contains 3-times more fibre and 30% less sugar.

Netherlands NewTree New Tree Sexy Pink Peppercorn Pure Dark Chocolate

Made with 73% cocoa and guarana extract.

DAIRY

Brazil Danone Danone Activia Drinking Yogurt with Grape Juice

Newly designed package. With Bifidobacterium Animalis DN-173 010.

Germany Danone Danone Danacol Cholesterol Lowering Drink with Multi Fruit Flavour

Repackaged to feature Austrian Heart Organisation recommendation on the front. One pack contains 1.6g plant sterols.

Japan Ohayo Dairy Products Ohayo Shibo Zero Yogurt Zero Fat Yogurt

This zero-fat yogurt contains 1,500mg of added fibre, which is equal to eating half a lettuce. Targeted at women.

Malaysia Dutch Lady Milk Industries Berhad Dutch Lady School Chocolate Flavoured Milk

Contains added omega 3 and 6, and vitamin B6 for optimum development during academic years. For children 6-12 years, contains protein.

CHOCOLATE CONFECTIONERY

MARCH 201130



Mexico Pasteurizadora de los Productores de Leche

Levia Honey & Cinnamon Flavoured Drinking Yogurt

Contains dietary fibre to aid digestion, omega-3, antioxidants and bacterial cultures.

Netherlands C1000 C1000 Light Yogurt Drink A low fat yogurt drink with sweeteners and added calcium. Contains 70% less sugar than C1000 regular yogurt drinks.

South Korea Maeil Dairy Sangha Organic Cheese for Children For children three to five years old. It contains zinc, nucleotide and colostrum for the immune system; DHA and choline for brain development; calcium, vitamin D3 for healthy growth; xylitol for teeth; and vitamin A for healthy eyes.

Thailand Danone Dumex Dumex Mama Prebio ProteQ Partially Non-Fat Milk

For pregnant and lactating mothers. Repackaged to reflect the fact that it has been reformulated with “Prebio ProteQ”, a combination that includes soluble fibres (GOS/ LcFos). Also has high levels of folate and DHA per serving, and contains calcium and phosphorus, vitamin B12, zinc, 13mcg beta-carotene and iron.

UK McNeil Nutritionals Benecol Light Cream Cheese Style Spread

A blend of skimmed milk and vegetable oils. Contains plant stanols, proven to reduce cholesterol, and 30% fewer calories than regular Benecol Cream Cheese Style Spread.

UK Nöm ProViact Cholest Strawberry Flavoured Probiotic Yogurt Drink. Contains added plant sterols, and is a source of vitamin C. Said to help reduce cholesterol.

DESSERTS & ICE CREAM

France Danone Taillefine Les Jardins Gourmands Apple and Rhubarb Dessert

Free from added sugar. A source of fibre and vitamin C.

MEALS & MEAL CENTERS

Japan Orbis Orbis Rice Pasta A weight-control positioned rice pasta “for those who want to feel satisfied when on a diet, or who want to have more “normal” meals”. This high-satiety product is formulated with 11 vitamins, dietary fiber, iron and calcium.

Sweden Gunnar Dafgard Familjen Dafgård Greek Style Beef Meal

Recommended as part of a glycemic diet by GI expert Ola Lauritzon.

UK Marks & Spencer Simply Fuller Longer Spanish Style Paella Salad with Chicken, Prawns & Chorizo

High protein and features balanced carbohydrates to help lose weight by keeping hunger under control. Provides 260 calories and 1 of 5 a day portions of vegetables.

UK Marlow Foods Quorn Spaghetti & Balls With Quorn balls, which are high in protein and fibre. Low in fat and saturated fat.

Venezuela Campbell Soup Campbell’s Spaghettios Original Pasta in Tomato and Cheese Sauce

Aimed at young consumers. Low fat, contains 3g of fiber per serving and a full serving of vegetables. A source of vitamins and minerals.

SAUCES & SEASONINGS

France Bonduelle Bonduelle Grated Carrots in Vinegar A source of fibre for a healthy digestion, and contains beta carotene, an antioxidant.

Mexico Grupo Satob Symbiosal 120/80 Premium Gourmet Health Salt

A 100% natural sea salt with added chitosan, a natural source of glucosamine claimed to help lower cholesterol levels.

SIDE DISHES

Hungary Gergely Food Diabet-Max Diabetic Alimentary Pasta

Formulated for diabetics. Rich in dietary fiber, contains 30% less carbohydrate and is recommended for weight loss diet.

Italy Poggio del Farro Poggio del Farro Wholemeal Spelt Couscous

A high satiety product naturally rich in fibre, said to help digestion and bowel regulation. High protein, low gluten.

Snacks

Austria Gittis Naturprodukte Gittis Plum-Lemon Wheat Bran Bar with Fibre

With 40% mixed fruit and probiotics.

France Casino Casino Bien Pour Vous! White Chocolate Flavoured Hyper Protein Bars Coated in Dark Chocolate

Rich in proteins and contain 12 vitamins and 10 minerals. Contains 223 calories per two bars and helps control weight.

France Patisserie de Flandres Trésors Gourmands Croc’ Légumes Beetroot & Shallot Snacks

Crispy wafers made with 50% vegetables. Rich in fibre.

Mexico Asgard Smart Products Cactus Kid Dried Chili Cactus High in dietary fiber and vitamins, only 100 calories per serving.

Netherlands Nutrition & Santé Modifast ProtiPlus Protein Bars with Milk Chocolate and Pistachio

Rich in fibre and protein and give a lasting feeling of fullness. Can prevent loss of muscle mass during a diet; low-calorie.

SOUP

Czech Republic PRO-BIO Biolinie Creamy Spelt Soup Made with wholegrain spelt flour - an ancient wheat grain said to have a high protein content for muscle development.

Japan Fancl Fancl Soupy Germinated Rice with Chicken, Mizuna and Ginger

A high-satiety soup; one serving provides less than 100 calories.

Japan Orbis Orbis Petit Chowder With 12g of protein for dieters, 1,000mg of beauty-positioned collagen and 4.g of dietary fibre for high satiety. With a balanced blend of 11 vitamins.

Portugal Unilever Knorr Sopas Frescas Green Soup With natural ingredients, rich in fibre.

Japan Kraft Food Recaldent Mix Berry Mint Gum Sticks

Sugar-free gum with milk-origin CPP-ACP to prevent demineralization, while remineralizing teeth.

Mexico Biorganic Bonfibra Gelatin Gums Enriched with fiber, contains prebiotics. Said to help regulate digestion and maintain a healthy intestinal flora.

SWEETENERS & SUGAR

Italy D&C Misura Pure Fructose Provides 23% less calories than ordinary sugar, low GI.

Philippines Sharmila Marisco Coco Sugar Coconut sweetener naturally rich in vitamins and minerals, high in potassium and low GI (35). Said to lower total cholesterol, help with weight control. “A perfect substitute for artificial sweeteners”.

UK Now Slim Now Slim Sweetener Claimed to help prevent users reaching for high calorie snacks and cakes that often accompany a hot drink.

SUGAR & GUM CONFECTIONERY

MARCH 2011 31


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Consultancy and strategic advice

Data is everywhere, explanation is rare. We focus on the explanation.Our exclusive focus on the business of food, beverages, nutrition and health gives us unrivalled knowledge of our sector globally. Our customers appreciate our ability to explain what is happening and what it means to them. This is why we are uniquely positioned to deliver significant value through a range of services including:

Health & Nutrition Trend Analysis: what we do better than anyone else. All year round we monitor consumer research, supermarket sales data and interview 400 industry executives to give our customers clear, actionable insights. Then we tailor these to individual companies’ specific areas of interest. From Australia to America to Europe, businesses use our unrivalled health trend analysis to inform their strategy and guide the direction of product development. We individually tailor a package for each company. We make the content as convenient and accessible as possible, using web delivery tools, webinars, audio files and in-house presentations.

For a taste of our trends analysis, take a look at our annual Ten Key Trends report at www.new-nutrition.com/10kt2010.asp. Julian Mellentin’s in-person presentations of the Key Trends are popular with companies around the world. For more information e-mail: [email protected]

Health & Nutrition Success Factors: our expert focus means that we are able to identify and constantly refine and evolve – in response to the evolution of markets and regulations – the “Golden Rules” for success for products with health benefits. Tailored to your category and market, our Success Factors guides are widely used by many companies. For more information e-mail: [email protected]

Business Models: since 1995 we have identified models which are now widely used to help businesses think clearly about how to get the best results, whether for commercializing science, new ingredients or food and beverage brands.

Workshops and presentations: insight into how to create specific advantages for your business, explanations of successes and failures across many categories and markets, and much, much more. Julian Mellentin delivers these in person or long-distance via webinars.

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To find out more contact [email protected]

MARCH 2011 33


Apps and social media strategies in healthy foods and beverages Key lessons and case studies

February 2011

This concise 47-page report:

Wat-aah

Ordering is easy…see inside back cover or visit www.new-nutrition.com

PRICE FOR EITHER PDF OR PPT: €300 / $395 / £255 / A$420 / NZ$530 / ¥33,000 / C$395PRICE FOR PDF & PPT TOGETHER: €480 / $630 / £400 / A$670 / NZ$840 / ¥52,000 / C$630

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Apps and social media

www.new-nutrition.com

Case study 2: Wat-aah – creating an urban lifestyle brand with social mediaHeavy use of social media, provocative

marketing messages, campaigning style and intense cultivation of a heavy dose of “attitude” and “cool” are getting the start-up Wat-aah! kids’ water brand attention and growing its sales and distribution. Launched in 2008, Wat-aah! describes

itself as the first functional bottled water for kids without sugar, colouring or calories “that tastes great, is legitimately healthy, and genuinely cool”. Wat-aah! was founded by three New York-

based advertising and media executives, all of them women, who financed the initial stage, then turned to friends and family and now are said to have won backing from an unidentified European investor.

What is notable is that the products themselves have little or no point of difference from many others already available. Instead the company focuses on carving out its point of difference by building an independent and quirky brand identity, using its considerable marketing skills and its anti-big brand campaigning style.“The soda bubble is bust. Kids know

it, their moms know it, but so do the soda manufacturers,” said Wat-aah!’s CEO and founder Rose Cameron in a press statement.

“That’s why they have launched an overwhelming number of so-called ‘healthy alternatives’, such as juice-based drinks or enhanced water beverages. But the truth is that these ‘healthy alternatives’ often have as

33

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www.new-nutrition.com11

Here’s how better-for-you brands are making

the most of social media:

2.1 SET THE RIGHT ENGAGEMENT

LEVEL

Social media probably are the best way to

create buzz about a new brand these days.

“You can engage your consumer directly,”

said Larry Weintraub, CEO of Fanscape, a

Los Angeles-based social-media consulting

firm. “How do you like our product? What

would you recommend we do next? How does

it impact your life? Give us case studies and

stories to tell.”

Despite the fact that social media really

have been part of the marketing mainstream

only for a few years, some major brands

already have used them to turn around their

sagging fortunes.

Starbucks is one of them, Weintraub said.

“The shine was coming off the brand two

years ago,” he noted. “But Starbucks went

heavily into social media: asking customers for

ideas, giving them free things for being part

of the community. It’s a benchmark for how

you can see a brand grow as a result of this

strategy.”

But don’t talk too much. Hawaiian Springs

water launched a Facebook campaign to

help build market appetite in the US for its

product, which genuinely is bottled in Hawaii.

It has found that two or three posts a week

to update the brand’s fans – maybe four

including the weekend – are plenty.

“You have to be real careful to keep them

interested but not to talk too much,” said

Margaret Fuentes, marketing director of the

Costa Mesa, Calif.-based company. “Because

if you send out too many updates, people start

taking you off their feed.”

2.2 DEVOTE THE RIGHT

RESOURCES

Nestlé’s palm-oil problem “wouldn’t have

happened if they’d put real, dedicated

resources” into social media, Weintraub

maintained. “They weren’t treating it as a

significant outlet or a resource for growing a

customer base.”

PepsiCo’s Gatorade doesn’t intend to

overlook social media. It is betting big on

Facebook and other social media in its efforts

to turn around the brand from its recent sales

slide with a new, expanded, tripartite product

2. How to make social media work for you

Hawaiian Springs found that two or three Facebook posts a week were enough to keep the brands’ fans satisfied – more than that could

lead to consumers taking a company off their feed.

Apps and so

11

Here’s how better-for-you brands are making

the most of social media:

2.1 SET THE RIGHT ENGAGEMENT

LEVEL

Social media probably are the best way to

create buzz about a new brand these days.

“You can engage your consumer directly,”

said Larry Weintraub, CEO of Fanscape, a

Los Angeles-based social-media consulting

firm. “How do you like our product? What

would you recommend we do next? How does

it impact your life? Give us case studies and

stories to tell.”

Despite the fact that social media really

have been part of the marketing mainstream

only for a few years, some major brands

already have used them to turn around their

sagging fortunes.

Starbucks is one of them, Weintraub said.

“The shine was coming off the brand two

years ago,” he noted. “But Starbucks went

heavily into social media: asking customers for

ideas, giving them free things for being part

of the community. It’s a benchmark for how

you can see a brand grow as a result of this

strategy.”

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Hawaiian Springs found that two or three Facebook posts a week were en

lead to consumers taking a company off their feed.

Report

Apps and social

media strategies

in healthy foods

and beverages

Key lessons and case studies

By Julian Mellentin

MARCH 201134


PUBLICATIONS

Apps and social media strategies in healthy foods and beveragesSocial media and apps are the fastest-moving, biggest bandwagon in global marketing and branding – and food and beverage marketers know they’ve got to get to grips with this new technology. But there are still more questions than answers about how best to use social media – and how to avoid the pitfalls. This concise 47-page report outlines seven practical ways to make social media work for you, based on real life examples.

Ten Key Trends in Food, Nutrition & Health 2011This is the food and beverage industry’s most important guide to the business trends in nutrition and health. Companies all over the world already use our trends analysis to inform their innovation, R&D and marketing strategies. Whether you are in ingredient supply or consumer foods and beverages, our annual forecast 10 Key Trends provides unrivalled practical insights.

Smart start-up strategy in healthy food and beverageIf you have an idea for a new food or beverage with health benefits, or nutrition science that you want to commercialise, how do you successfully take it to market? Starting up a new business in healthy foods and beverages is risky; the cost of marketing is always higher than entrepreneurs believe it is going to be, and the rate of sales growth is always slower. This report sets out the five elements of successful start-up strategy over 21 pages, drawing on lessons from 28 key case studies of recent start-ups, both successful and unsuccessful.

Coconut water: innovation and natural health benefits drive a new categoryFrom Brazil to America to Europe: coconut water is the fastest-growing new category, with retail sales already above $450 million (€327.5 million), thanks to its strong isotonic, hypo-allergenic and all-natural health benefits. Using new processing technologies and new brands, start-ups in Germany, the US and elsewhere are growing coconut water sales and getting premium prices. Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, some of Europe’s biggest brewing families and even Madonna have invested in the sector.

Innocent Drinks: seven strategy lessons from the setbacks of Europe’s biggest smoothie makerInnocent Drinks rocketed from start-up to over $200 million in retail sales within eight years, creating a new category in Europe – fruit smoothies. But between 2007 and 2009 its sales plunged by 29% and prices were slashed. This unique 27-page report sets out the seven strategy lessons that can be learnt from the experience of Innocent.

Pom Wonderful: how innovation in science, packaging and branding can create a new superfruit categoryPom Wonderful pomegranate juice is the world’s most distinctive beverage brand. First launched in 2002 in innovative and eye-catching bottles, its meteoric rise helped create a category which did not previously exist.This case study delivers a close-up view of Pom Wonderful’s strategy and positioning and the lessons that everyone can learn from this extraordinary brand.

Beauty foods and beverages: 7 strategy lessonsBeauty foods and beverages are big in Japan, but in the West few brands have gone beyond a niche. This unique report sets out the seven strategy lessons that can be learnt from the experience of Danone Essensis, Nestlé Glowelle and Borba Skin Balance Water - three case studies which provide the most clear insights into the risks and opportunities in the “beauty-from-within” business.

20 Key Case Studies in Functional and Health-Enhancing Beverages 2010Using 20 Case Studies of brands addressing a range of benefits – energy, joint health, sports beverages, protein boosting, digestive health, weight management and heart health – this report looks at why some brands succeed and why others fail.

Probiotic juice: five key strategy lessons from Europe and the USCase studies in digestive and immune healthProbiotic juice is one of the biggest untapped innovation opportunities in the healthy beverage business, worldwide. Drawing on case studies from Europe and the US, this report sets out sets out the five key lessons that are essential reading for anyone who wants succeed in probiotic juice.

Failures in Functional Foods & Beverages: And what they reveal about successThe functional foods market is a complex one. Success with a new product or ingredient is rare. This unique 98-page report examines failures by functional brands and ingredients. It sets out the lessons that can be applied by anyone trying to develop an effective strategy for a brand or trying to commercialise nutrition science and offers concise strategies for reducing the risk of failure.

Organic and all-natural kids’ snacks and baby foodsSeven Key Case StudiesHealth-conscious parents seem committed to continuing to buy healthy food for their children despite the recession, even as they economise in other areas.

Energy shots: birth of a new premium-priced, high-growth categoryStrategies, trends and case studies from the US and UKSuch is the value to consumers of the proposition of a daily dose of energy with no added sugar that in the US alone this new category has soared to over $350 million in retail sales in less than two years - despite recession and despite selling at a massive 400% price premium over “mainstream” energy drinks such as Red Bull!

Trends & Strategies in Weight Management: Ten Key Case StudiesOur concise analysis shows which brand strategies are most effective and why, which ingredient strategies are most effective and why and sets out the key market and consumer trends. Our analysis is illustrated with ten detailed case studies which cover satiety and fat burning and look at how to use weight management to revive old brands or create new ones.

Superfruit: strategy for superfruit successSuperfruits are revolutionising the way consumers relate to fruit and fruit-based products and they’re growing their market fast – from 40%-100% every year. And yet just a handful of fruits have crossed over from commodity status to superfruit stardom. This guide provides a checklist for superfruit success.

Probiotics: Successful Strategies from the Global MarketplaceThis report is written for anyone trying to develop an effective strategy in the challenging and fast-changing area of probiotics. It sets out the seven steps to creating a successful probiotic brand and describes probiotic strategy both in dairy and emerging new segments such as fruit juice and solid foods.

The Food & Health Marketing HandbookIn a competitive world how do you take your technology to market so that it’s your product that wins at the point of purchase? This handbook tells you how to get the best out of the science and the health benefits of your ingredients or products.

Our case studies and reports give you unique insights into the vital and changing food, beverage and nutrition market.

For more New Nutrition Business case studies visit www.new-nutrition.com

MARCH 2011 35


R E P O RT O R D E R F O R M

PDF POWERPOINT POWERPOINT PRICE PER REPORT IN PDF OR PPT – €300 / $395 / £255 / A$420 / NZ$530 / ¥33,000 / C$395 ONLY ONLY & PDF COMBINED PACKAGE FORMAT OF PDF & PPT – €480 / $630 / £400 / A$670 / NZ$840 / ¥52,000 / C$630 Apps and social media strategies in healthy foods and beverages 10 Key Trends in Food, Nutrition & Health 2011 Fiber for digestive health: Opportunities, strategies and case studies Smart start-up strategy in healthy food and beverage

PDF POWERPOINT POWERPOINT PRICE PER REPORT IN PDF OR PPT – €200 / $295 / £190 / A$345 / NZ$395 / ¥23,000 / C$295 ONLY ONLY & PDF COMBINED PACKAGE FORMAT OF PDF & PPT – €320 / $472 / £305 / A$552 / NZ$632 / ¥36,000 / C$472 Coconut water: innovation and natural health benefits drive a new category

Innocent Drinks: seven strategy lessons from the setbacks of Europe’s biggest smoothie maker

20 Key Case Studies in Functional and Health-Enhancing Beverages

10 Key Trends in Food, Nutrition & Health 2010

Probiotic juice: five key strategy lessons from Europe and the US

Marketing Kids’ Healthy Beverages

Organic and all-natural kids’ snacks and baby foods: Seven key case studies

Failures in Functional Foods and Beverages And What they Reveal About Success

Successful Superfruit Strategy

The Food & Health Marketing Handbook

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