Crossing the Line

Familiar with a function

It’s no accident that commonly purchased foods such as juice, yogurt and bread have been chosen by companies to capitalize on omega-3 as a health-boosting ingredient. The decision to buy a familiar product with added health benefits for a similar cost is often a no-brainer for consumers.

This same strategy for success is being used to market other functional foods featuring ingredients that may not yet be as familiar to the public. Shoppers Drug Mart (Pharmaprix in Quebec) recently launched chocolate+plus bars, which pair delicious chocolate with ingredients that address specific health concerns. Beth Stiller, director of Corporate Brands for Shoppers Drug Mart, says “The idea of adding health benefits to an indulgent item is fairly new to the Canadian consumer…[but] consumers are telling us they like the idea of taking a guilty pleasure and adding a healthful twist.”

The eight chocolate+plus offerings include four probiotic plus bars, “enriched with at least two billion active Bifidobacterium longum bacteria to promote good intestinal activity and increased immunity,” says Stiller. They are available in dark chocolate with mixed berries, dark chocolate orange truffle, milk chocolate tiramisu crisp, and white chocolate raspberry truffle. The two “vitamin” bars (dark chocolate mojito mint and milk chocolate hazelnut espresso) are enriched with vitamins and minerals. The “strong bones” formulation (milk chocolate peanut butter praline) contains added calcium and vitamin D3, and “sweet dreams” (white chocolate English toffee) contains magnesium oxide and valerian to encourage restful sleep.

Despite the economic climate, companies seem positive that consumers will keep reaching for products with added healthy ingredients at the same time they continue to learn more about them. Industry is betting that baby boomers – many of whom have significant disposable income – will continue to turn to functional foods as part of their overall strategy to safeguard and nurture health. “Stay tuned,” says Stiller, “for some great functional food launches in 2009 and 2010.”