May 19, 2025 – Fiber is the primary ingredient and nutrient linked to digestive health. Health organizations around the world recommend certain levels of daily fiber intake to improve health and reduce the risk of disease. Innova Market Insights research looks at fiber and prebiotic ingredients in food and beverages with a fiber or prebiotic claim, highlighting use in key categories and subcategories that incorporate fiber-containing ingredients.
Benefits of Fiber
Fiber ingredients can be categorized into dietary fibers, prebiotic ingredients, and human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs). Prebiotic ingredients include chicory root, fructans, inulin, oligosaccharides, and other types of prebiotics. Classic sources of fiber consist of whole grains, legumes, vegetables, and fruits. Prebiotic fibers such as inulin, inulin-related soluble fibers, and resistant starches have become more prominent than traditional bran as the primary types of fiber added to food and beverages.
Fiber is the key ingredient associated with gut health. Diets rich in fiber are associated with a reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes, and various types of cancer. It promotes the regular transit of digested food through the gastrointestinal tract and enhances the satiety of food and beverages, which aids in weight management.
Consumer Insights
Consumers favor whole foods and beverages for their functional health benefits. Health and wellbeing rank as the number 2 concern for global consumers, with one in three saying it is a top spending priority. Over the past year, 39% of consumers have actively taken steps to improve their health.
Fiber and prebiotics address these consumer needs by improving nutrition and health, particularly digestive health, which is the primary health concern for 30% of consumers. Fiber and prebiotic trends show a preference for targeted nutrition through everyday food and beverage products, while innovation focuses on items with added prebiotics. Among functional food and beverage products, those aimed at digestive and gut health are the most commonly purchased. Additionally, Millennials are the generation most interested in fortified products and supplements for gut health.
Category Drivers
Fiber is a leading claim in food and beverage launches that focus on functional health benefits. The increasing interest in gut health is driving the rise of fiber claims in products, reflecting ongoing potential, particularly in regions with growing populations and evolving dietary patterns. Fiber trends reveal that consumers primarily look for fiber in food and beverages to address gut health, outpacing other ingredients. While only a small percentage of consumers actively seek out prebiotics, this highlights an opportunity to improve claims, product information, and consumer education about prebiotics as a type of fiber. Baby Boomers are the generation most likely to connect fiber with gut health, whereas Millennials lead searches for other gut health ingredients.
Innova’s Top 10 Trends in Action
Taking Innova’s Top 10 F&B Trends for 2025 into account, trends 1, 2, and 4 are particularly relevant to fiber and prebiotics.
Trend 1, “Ingredients and Beyond”, highlights that as the demand for added value becomes standard, elevating quality beyond ingredients is key. Considering fiber, the type, amount and benefits of fiber and prebiotic ingredients are essential.
Trend 2, “Precision Wellness” highlights that information culture raises the bar by challenging brands to meet targeted nutritional needs at any life stage. Packaging claims can help consumers identify products to meet their gut health needs.
Trend 4. “Flourish From Within” highlights that growing the awareness of feeding the microbiome creates a space for the next ingredient to take the spotlight: fiber. A variety of products help consumers satisfy their desire to increase fiber.
Product Launches
Product launches are generally growing, but launches specifically for babies and toddlers are experiencing a decline in innovation within this category. The variety of fiber sources in F&B products is increasing, with classic bran-type ingredients being joined by soluble fibers like inulin and resistant starches. Established categories such as bakery and cereals continue to perform well, while newer categories focused on prebiotic ingredients are driving growth. Beverages lead the market, and prebiotics are increasingly being added to desserts and confectionery items.
Fiber is highlighted as a benefit in Smug’s Dairy Deliciously Whole Milk With Oat, a hybrid product that combines dairy and oats. Additionally, prebiotics are highly soluble in various beverages, including carbonated drinks and herbal iced tea, as seen with Waku Tea Prebiotic Herbal Tea, which uses chicory root inulin as a primary ingredient.
What’s Next in Global Fiber and Prebiotic Trends?
Fiber and prebiotics are key ingredients moving forward, particularly due to rising consumer concerns about gut health and the focus on protein and fiber intake associated with GLP-1 medications and weight management. Innovations in formulas and dairy products for infants and toddlers provide parents with a growing choice of nutritional options for their children.
The market is saturated, especially in the functional beverages category, prompting manufacturers to refine their messaging, claims, and packaging strategies to engage overwhelmed consumers. It’s also important to recognize that consuming high amounts of fiber and prebiotics, from various sources, can cause digestive issues, highlighting the need for consumer education. Brands that highlight the overall health advantages, not just gut health, of prebiotics and fiber, in addition to educating consumers, are likely to succeed in the market.
This article is based on Innova’s Fiber & Prebiotic – Global report. This report is available to purchase or with an Innova Reports subscription. Reach out to find out more
