Probiotics are introduced to the body for its beneficial qualities and contain live bacteria or yeast said to have a variety of health benefits. This could be either in a food or drink products, or nutritional supplements. Made up of microorganisms intended to enhance health, found in yogurt and other fermented foods, dietary supplements and beauty products. 80% of global consumers cited they take products as part of an everyday balanced diet. The probiotic market has witnessed considerable growth over the last couple of decades.

Consumers attitudes towards probiotics
Consumers motivations for buying probiotics are primarily health based, specifically gut health. 73% disclosed their motivation for using probiotic products was to support digestive health, followed by 71% who answered it was to help boost their immune system. Two thirds claimed to use these products for general health and wellbeing purposes and half of consumers want to ensure they have enough “good” bacteria in the body. Consumers prioritize the benefit claims and product efficacy of the probiotics they use and these are leading factors consumers look out for when choosing what products to buy.
75% of consumers who use probiotics say that they take them as part of an overall balanced diet as opposed to using them when wanting to address health symptoms. With consumers taking a ‘prevention is better than cure’ approach to health they are investing in products to build and support their immune system and other areas of health; in order to minimize vulnerability to illness and maximize and maintain fitness and general wellbeing. More than half of consumers said they did not experience any symptoms, but of those who did almost all of these were digestive issues. The most common symptom for consumers was bloating (17%) when first using probiotics, but this could potentially be a result of also leading a poor dietary habit.

Consumer behaviors and claims
Of those who take probiotics, 74% prefer food and drink probiotic products over any other format, with only 14% claiming they prefer supplements. 74% of consumers say they prefer food and drink probiotics because they’re tastier. Of those that claimed they preferred probiotic supplements, 59% said this was because they have a proven effect which represents the significance of scientifically supported claims. Supplements can be found in tablet, capsule, beverage shot, gummy and powder format.
74% of global consumers say science-based claims are important when choosing probiotic products, highlighting that people are concerned about the content of the products they consume and prioritize validity, reassurance and transparency of claims over ingredients used in formulation. 56% of global consumers believe the best format of probiotics are multi-strain food and drink and nutritional supplements.
The most popular probiotic food product reported by global consumers was yogurt in a cup (65%) followed by yogurt drinks (56%), putting dairy as the preferred format for consumption of probiotics. When asked what flavors consumers like, almost 9 in 10 said vanilla (88%), with the top five answers being: vanilla, orange, chocolate, lemon and blueberry.

Conclusion
When consumers were asked why they haven’t bought probiotic food and drink products 56% said it was because of the price and 63% cited price for nutritional supplements, suggesting these products are deemed too expensive and outside of consumer budget. With the rising cost of living, it is to be expected that consumers will live with disciplined spending habits. Therefore, in order to appeal to consumers through the probiotic market, brands and manufacturers must recognized price is an influencing factor and consumers are looking for good value for money as well as quality; prioritizing taste, affordability and health efficacy.

This article is based on FMCG Gurus: Probiotic Surveys. For more information, please contact Info@fmcggurus.com.

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