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Furthermore, the region is set to witness
opportunities for olive oil, with an expanding base of
consumers inemergingmarkets likeChinaand India
driving interestandgrowth. In2016, retail valuesales
of olive oil in China marginally surpassed that of
France, and by 2021, value sales of olive oil in India
will be higher than sales in Japan. Olive oil contains
rich polyphenols help protect blood lipids from
oxidative stress and is the only product (some other
foods also contain beneficial polyphenols) thus far
approved by the European Food SafetyAuthority to
hold this claim. This provides oliveoil witha strongly
marketable health and wellness attribute. The
November 2016 launch of India’s own domestically
produced brand of olive oil is additionally set to add
toglobal productionandsupplyof oliveoil in the long
run, further improving prospects for growth.
Over the next five years, relative to consumer
health products such as vitamins and dietary
supplements, the intake of health and wellness
packaged food and drinks will remain the preferred
way to stay healthy in the future. Fortified/functional
products will continue to lead retail value sales,
followed by naturally healthy products.
Innovation and customization will be key to
generating futurebrandequity,productdifferentiation
andgrowth.Itwouldalsobe importantformanufacturers
to take note of other demand drivers for healthy
products such as convenience. The new Cadbury
Bournvita Breakfast Biscuit, launched in India, is an
interesting example of a convenient, on-the-go
fortified/functionalproduct thatblurs the linesbetween
breakfast and snacking occasions.
Finally, given APAC’s mix of emerging and
developed markets, a diversified market strategy is
required to leverage thevarietyofconsumersegments
in terms of age, income and health concerns in the
region.
References
Euromonitor International presentedat the 2017VitafoodsAsiaConferenceheld earlier this year
inasession titled, “IdentifyingOpportunities forHealthandWellnessPackagedFoodandBever-
ages inAsia-Pacific.”Theabovewrite-up isasummaryof thepresentationdeliveredby theauthor,
ReemaJagtiani,aSingapore-basedanalystwithEuromonitor International:www.euromonitor.com.
