Spotlight on regional food trends Health ingredients Many South American countries suffer from the double burden of obesity and micronutrient deficiencies, meaning fortified, health-promoting foods were strongly appealing even before the coronavirus pandemic. The coronavirus pandemic has brought the link between food and health into even sharper focus and manufacturers can tap into this demand by formulating healthy products for the ‘new normal’. Lockdowns have taken a physical and psychological toll with almost half of Latin Americans saying they have gained weight and many sleeping worse, according to a survey conducted by Americas Market Research.8 51% of Brazilians say they put a higher priority on eating healthily since the COVID-19 outbreak – much higher than the 37% in the US and 35% in Canada - while nearly three-quarters of Peruvians are regularly consuming immune-boosting foods, according to Mintel’s COVID-19 Tracker.9 Global sales in vitamin C, D and other immunity-based dietary supplements have increased since the outbreak, and Latin America has led this growth in sales.10 Beyond supplements, however, consumers are looking for the convenience of everyday food and drink products with immune-boosting benefits. Vitamin and mineral fortification is a common regional brand strategy for product innovation and renovation, and some manufacturers were quick to offer this in the context of COVID-19. In March 2020, major Costa Rican dairy company, Dos Pinos, increased the vitamin and mineral content of its milk and orange juice between 30% and 50% specifically to help people fight coronavirus, without raising the price.11 In addition to vitamins and minerals, other nutrients have room to grow in Latin America’s immune-health category. Protein is known to repair body tissue and help fight viral and bacterial infections while prebiotics, probiotics and fibre are beneficial for the gut microbiome, which is linked to the body’s immune system.12 Snack products are a good fit for immune health nutrients thanks to their one-time consumption. In Colombia, Free Zen makes a dulce de leche-filled, sugarfree cookie with 5 g of protein the brand says helps create defences for the immune system while Brazilian manufacturer B.eat makes a Peaceful Night snack mix with 8 g of protein from nuts and seeds that it says has a calming effect before sleep.
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