July 3, 2025 – Consumers are taking greater control of their wellbeing, with increasing focus on fitness, mental clarity, energy, and vitality. While health priorities shift over time, many concerns remain consistent across generations. Innova Market Insights explores these evolving needs in Consumers’ Attitude to Functional Health – Global, analyzing how global influences, lifestyle choices, and broader trends shape behaviors and expectations. As part of Innova’s 360 Consumer Reports, this report connects consumer insights with category dynamics to support smarter product development and brand strategy.
What Is Consumer’s Attitude Toward Functional Health?
For consumers, wellbeing represents the pursuit of optimal health and sustained energy for daily activities. This awareness of physical, mental, and emotional wellness drives individuals throughout their adult lives to actively seek products and ingredients that support their health goals. As people age, their health priorities naturally evolve, with fundamental wellness concerns remaining constant while specific issues become more pronounced over time. Among all generations, Millennials demonstrate the highest level of concern across various health categories.
Functional health operates across multiple areas, encompassing nutrients, essential ingredients like protein and fiber, organ and system health, plus broader considerations including weight management and sleep quality. Companies strategically monitor these functional health trends alongside macro global forces and lifestyle transformations, developing innovative products that make healthy eating and drinking both seamlessly accessible and convenient for modern consumers.
Why Is Targeted Nutrition Key to a Healthier Lifestyle?
Consumers worldwide actively pursue healthier lifestyles to enhance their wellbeing, with healthy eating serving as their primary pathway to better living. All consumer segments maintain a strong focus on health while taking proactive approaches to wellness.
There is a consistent commitment to targeted nutrition strategies for health prevention. Health trends reveal that weight management, heart health, and healthy aging emerge as top concerns, while actual purchasing patterns show strong demand for products supporting weight management, digestive health, energy, and immunity. Mental health represents another category, with consumers seeking functional foods and beverages to address acute issues like stress, anxiety, tiredness, fatigue, and sleep disorders. Health priorities differ between younger and older generations, though natural ingredients and freshness remain universally important to consumers. Interest in fortified foods, beverages, and supplements continues growing.
How Do Products With Health Benefits Offer Good Value?
Across all regions, high protein and high fiber are the most prominent claims for health-related products. The percentage of product launches that feature a protein claim continues to rise. Following protein and fiber, the next claims include whole grain and energy. Top functional categories provide distinct benefits, such as weight loss and cognitive health in hot tea, vitamins and antioxidants in juices, hydration and energy in bottled water and sports drinks, energy and protein in cereal bars, and protein and fiber in snacks. Additionally, immune health and energy claims dominate the supplement market.
Why Are Products That Meet Nutritional Needs Popular?
Consumers globally recognize the connection among diet, nutrition, personalization and health. With over half of consumers supporting the efficacy of personalized nutrition plans and solid percentages using nutrition plans to address health and lifestyle issues, the door is open for companies to meet consumer needs. Products should be directed toward their particular concerns.
Companies can choose to launch products targeted to a limited number of needs and conditions or, more efficiently, products that bundle together more than one benefit, e.g., high protein and high fiber for consumers managing their weight with or without GLP-1 drugs. It is essential for companies to communicate product features and benefits effectively and efficiently to enable consumers to readily identify products that might meet their needs.
How Regular Food and Beverage Offers the Most Opportunities
Health trends indicate that nearly half of consumers globally ensure targeted nutrition intake with regular food and beverages. Companies that use packaging and labels to communicate the inherent nutritional benefits of food and beverage products can capture the attention of consumers seeking products that meet their individual health and lifestyle needs.
Preferred types of targeted nutrition vary somewhat with age, with Generation Z and Millennials driving interest in products that are nutrition-fortified. Focusing fortification efforts on products positioned for younger consumers could secure these consumers while young and retain them as they age.
Are Consumers Globally Proactive About Their Health?
Over half of consumers worldwide, especially in Brazil and Indonesia, are actively taking charge of their health. Products that clearly communicate their health benefits empower consumers to make informed choices about their wellbeing.
A percentage globally rely on regular food and beverages for targeted nutrition. This presents a clear opportunity for manufacturers to attract these consumers by effectively showcasing the health benefits of whole foods and products derived from them. Health trends show that nutrition-fortified products are particularly popular among younger consumers, indicating that adding essential nutrients can enhance market share and appeal.
While many individuals want to take control of their health, they often feel anxious and confused about how to do so. Strains on healthcare systems mean there’s less guidance available from healthcare providers, which further complicates this journey. This confusion is entirely understandable, given the complexities of diet, nutrition, and health. To empower consumers in navigating their health, effective strategies such as social media campaigns, public relations initiatives, and on-package messaging will play a key role moving forward.
What’s Next for Consumers’ Attitude to Functional Health?
Innovation that combines functional health benefits with clean environmental attributes—such as protein, fiber, and being genetically modified organism-free—can effectively attract consumers seeking multiple advantages in a single product. Targeting specific life stages, especially younger generations, is a strong strategy for building brand loyalty.
Despite potential budget constraints in an uncertain political climate, the demand for healthier lifestyles remains strong. Consumers are focused on diets that enhance mental and physical wellbeing, opening doors for brands to tailor products to specific health concerns.
Consumers actively seek personalized nutrition plans tailored to their individual needs, with Millennials standing out as the most engaged generation in functional health. The uncertain political environment may pose challenges, but the need for effective, nutritious solutions has never been greater.
This article is based on Innova’s Consumers’ Attitude to Functional Health – Global report. This report is available to purchase or with an Innova Reports subscription. Reach out to find out more
