Functional Ingredients: Market Research

Abstract

Functional ingredients are bioactive compounds that are present in plants or foodstuff and deliver physiological health benefits beyond their nutritional value. They serve as health‐promoting ingredients for several product categories such as herbal medicines, dietary supplements, functional foods, and feed and plant protection products. As functional ingredients face some challenges on their way from the laboratory to commercialization, market research is crucial in order to justify the investment of financial and human capital for new components. To this end, this article proposes a step‐by‐step guide for conducting market research of functional ingredients: ( 1 ) defining the target market of the ingredient, ( 2 ) analyzing the value chain, ( 3 ) evaluating the market potential based on market needs, and ( 4 ) analyzing the competitive forces of the industry. These steps will finally be illustrated by a case study discussing the target markets for the functional ingredient rutin.

Tomato’s Green Gold: Bioeconomy Potential of Residual Tomato Leaf Biomass as a Novel Source for the Secondary Metabolite Rutin

“…To establish a novel value chain that valorizes residual biomass for the extraction of secondary metabolites, the process must be practically feasible, economically viable, and accepted by actors of the value chain. , As there is an increasing interest in secondary metabolites as food supplements, which is, e.g., indicated by a growing number of patented food supplements using rutin as an ingredient, the valorization of tomato leaf biomass could open up new market opportunities for companies in the food supplement sector. Nevertheless, the proposed process requires adjustments to the conventional agri-food value chain.…”