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

The categories covered in this report are:

• Dairy drinks and yoghurts
• Breakfast cereals
• Water
• Juice drinks
• Soy drinks

The health benefit platforms covered include:

• Weight management (satiety and calorie-burning)
• Heart health (cholesterol-lowering, blood pressure-lowering)
• Bone health
• Joint health
• Beauty and skin
• Energy
• Digestive health
• Brain and eye development

Ingredients featured include:

• Probiotics
• Prebiotics
• Fibre
• Wholegrains
• Plant sterols and stanols
• Green tea
• Omega-3
• CoEnzyme Q10
• Protein
• Soy
• Calcium
• Glucosamine
• Antioxidants

The report is in two parts. Part I is a concise 40-page analysis setting out:

• Which brand strategies are most effective and why
• Which ingredient strategies are most effective and why

Part II consists of 15 detailed case studies which summarise:

• success factors, and common causes of failure
• common lessons for pricing, positioning and marketing
• key lessons in selecting ingredients
• key lessons in communicating benefits
• how to extend an existing brand
• how to create a successful new brand

Each case study is based on interviews with executives at the companies concerned. They speak with considerable frankness about challenges they have encountered. We have set their opinions in the context of our own analysis - which means that we do not always agree with some companies’ self-analysis - to create a template that will be useful to anyone trying to develop a new product with health benefits or devise a strategy in health.

Author Julian Mellentin is an acknowledged international expert on the business of food, nutrition and health - and his insights have been derived from 15 years of dedicated research in the area.