Andrew Wiseman provides his reflections on this year’s Food Matters Live event.
It was great to be invited back to Food Matters Live this week.
For those who are unaware of what it entails, it’s a two-day jamboree of food NPD, held at Old Trafford Cricket Ground. Now unlike last year, where the weather could best be described as ‘inclement’, this year had wall-to wall sunshine as we enjoy the driest spring in over 60 years.
This year, Mustard was invited to host a series of round tables on the future of functional food. More on that later, but I must first praise the wonderful venue: an executive suite in the main pavilion, with a view of the 2nd XI game thrown in for good measure. As a Yorkshireman, I was surprised at the Lancastrian hospitality on the pitch, as the wickets clattered with satisfying regularity.
Anyway, I digress. Functional foods. There’s been a real explosion in foods with claimed health benefits over the last few years, so it was great to be able to discuss what happens next with almost 50 food and drink NPD professionals.
Here are our hot takes from the sessions:
⁃ Taste is KING! Function without flavour is a failure waiting to happen. There’s a tension between adding flavour enhancers that then might make the product less natural
⁃ But there are exceptions. Taste can sometimes matter LESS depending on how serious the consumer is about the function. The more serious might question the efficacy of something that tastes exactly like the non-Functional alternative
⁃ Function has two roles. There’s the functional health benefit to the consumer, but the function of the product needs to work, It needs to be stable and have shelf life. Retailers want both!
⁃ Consumers are sceptical! If something has less of something, there’s a presumption that something else has been added. If it’s got more of something, it must have been processed. There was LOTS of discussion around UPFs and how they’re sometimes misunderstood
⁃ Brands are not always 100% clear or accurate in their messaging. However legislation moves too slowly to ever catch up – so they’re never going to get caught out
⁃ Making some products more functional is futile. If you’re after a big, fried donut, then you don’t want it to be functional – you want it to be indulgent. Thinking about occasions where functional fits is critical
⁃ Key to future success is about education and transparency – the media plays a role here in not creating ‘pile-ons’ for consumers. Brands need to use all their channels to educate and inform consumers about the ingredients they use and their purpose
So, what did we take away?
Functional food is growing up fast, but it still has some awkward teenage moments. If brands want to succeed, they’ll need to serve up more than just good intentions — flavour, clarity, and credibility are non-negotiables. The appetite for innovation is clearly there. But as ever in food and drink, it’s the things you can’t fake — great taste, trust, and transparency — that are going to separate the fads from the future.
