Food Makers turn to healthy food

At Go4Fresh we are obviously keen on healthy food initiatives, so it is interesting and encouraging to see this post in Reuters today. (thanks @MikeAshworth for the pointer!).

Although the aims of these major brands in this instance appears to be to bolster food prices in a pressured economic situation through delivering percieved extra value, the underlying stats make interesting reading and it all adds further weight to our findings for a demand for healthier food AND for a means of delivering it.

The bottom line from the report is that consumers will generally pay more for a better quality product when times are tough.

To quote the report - “The emergence of so-called health and wellness foods with lower fat, sugar and salt are aimed at keeping consumers buying premium brands even amid the escalating credit crisis, high fuel prices and housing meltdown.”

Some major brands are quoted in the Reuters report and indicate:

• Kraft Foods reported that its “better for you” foods are growing two to three times faster than its other food lines. According to Kraft North America President Rick Searer: “Health and wellness is a priority.”
• In the U.K. Unilever indicated that it has been “cutting out fats, sugars and salt from foods as a way to bolster its health and wellness lines”. Bauke Rower, Senior VP of Foods for the Americas says “The long-term trend towards better food and people looking after themselves is here to stay.”
• France’s Danone cited that the health benefits of its recent introductions of two probiotic products with live bacteria should mean “strong revenue growth.” Even with two price hikes since last August, Danone Chief Executive Juan Carlos Dalto: “We are very optimistic we will see nice double-digit growth in the years ahead in North America.” Even though these two products cost 10-30% more than other yogurts.

I welcome your feedback on this:
> Do you look at pricing first when considering a healthy option?
> Do you think this is just brands seeking to exploit a new opportunity, or are they fulfilling a need?
> What pressures are on you to choose the "healthy option"?
> What constitutes a healthy option to you and where does "freshness" come into consideration, if at all?