More than a third of consumers are seeking foods that improve their mood, sleep, gut health, fight aging or otherwise provide functional benefits, according to new analysis by Tastewise.
The new Functional Foods Report 2019, “Putting Food to Work in the Age of Wellness,” uses an AI-powered platform to analyze billions of food data points, from social, menus and home recipes published online to track the “why” behind food trends.
Functional Foods, according to the report, are “a category of ingredients, meals and preparations that serve a particular function and purpose beyond mere sustenance.”
Produce items that are trending include:
- for gut health, 119% more people are talking about peppermint, 49% said leafy greens and 26% said watermelon;
- for memory, 135% tied ginger and 125% said sweet potatoes are beneficial;
- for sleep-inducing properties, 100% more people are talking about asparagus;
- for weight loss, 63% more people are talking about cranberries;
- for wellness, 121% more people have identified smoothies;
- for energy, 48% more people talking about peaches;
- for anti-inflammatory properties, 243% more people talking about pumpkin, 118% about pomegranates, 105% about walnuts and 86% about mangoes;
- for anti-aging, 179% more people talked about blackberries, and 154% tied papaya;
- for skin care, 204% more people are talking about kiwifruit, and 52% attributed avocado;
- to recover from illness, 302% more people said peppermint, 268% said bok choy and 250% said artichokes help you recover;
- for an immune system boost, 149% said kiwifruit and 136% said beets;
- Celery was highlighted with its own section in the report touting benefits from weight loss, depression, sickness treatment and anti-inflammatory properties.
