"If Possible, Healthily"... Growing Functional Food Market with Health Claims

Last Year, the Health Supplement Market Surpassed 5 Trillion Won
Functional Label Food Market Also Growing
Products Containing Functional Ingredients Flooding the Market

Daesang, 6 types of Chungjungone Hongcho./Photo by Daesang

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Following the COVID-19 pandemic, interest in health and investment costs have increased, leading to a remarkable growth in the health functional food market. Last year, the domestic health functional food market size surpassed 5 trillion won for the first time.

According to the Health Functional Food Association on the 12th, the health functional food market size last year reached 5.0454 trillion won, exceeding 5 trillion won for the first time. The market, which was 4.1728 trillion won in 2017, has grown about 20% annually over the past five years. The number of registered general foods with functional claims has also increased significantly. As of the 11th, 343 products have been registered as launched or planned to be launched with functional claims, a 34-fold increase compared to January last year (10 products).

This growth is attributed to the implementation of the "General Food Functional Claim System," which allows general foods to display functional claims if there is scientific evidence. This system permits products containing any of the 29 functional ingredients used in health functional foods to display these claims on their packaging. The implementation of this system has expanded the scope of functional ingredient use, and the industry is actively releasing various products with functional claims, invigorating the related market.

In Korea, about 50 companies are performing well in the functional claim food market. Pulmuone introduced 29 products, offering the widest variety, followed by Lotte Chilsung Beverage with 28, Irom with 11, and Lotte Food, Dano, and Orion each releasing 10 products. Among product types, beverages such as fruit and vegetable drinks and fermented drinks were the most common, accounting for 40 and 34 products respectively, followed by raw food and powder products (23), and soy milk (22). By functional ingredient, many products emphasized ingredients that aid bowel movements, such as indigestible maltodextrin (87 products), aloe gel (39), fructooligosaccharides (25), and probiotics (22). This is because the product development process is not complicated, and consumers can easily feel the effects when consumed.

The industry views the growth potential of the functional claim food market highly, judging that products with functional claims have sufficient competitiveness within the same product category. As a result, various products are being released, including those with added functional ingredients or multiple functional claims.

Daesang recently launched functional claim foods by adding aloe gel to all six types of Hongcho (fermented fruit vinegar) products, including pomegranate, bokbunja (Korean black raspberry), blueberry, green apple, grapefruit, and tart cherry. The newly released Hongcho products contain 100% fruit-aged fermented vinegar made with a patented three-step fermentation method and aloe gel, which may help improve skin health, gut health, and immunity. Namyang Dairy Products also introduced a new functional claim food, Bulgari's Post Drink, containing patented postbiotics. It includes fructooligosaccharides, a health functional food ingredient known to promote the growth of beneficial intestinal bacteria and aid bowel movements.

Carbonated drinks with added functional ingredients are also emerging one after another. Lotte Chilsung Beverage launched "Chilsung Cider Plus," a functional claim food that may help suppress post-meal blood sugar spikes, improve blood triglyceride levels, and support smooth bowel movements. Chilsung Cider Plus contains "indigestible maltodextrin dietary fiber." Lotte Chilsung Beverage plans to continue expanding its lineup of functional claim foods starting with this product. Woongjin Foods also released three new Victoria Enhanced Sparkling products last year, the first carbonated waters containing coffee-extracted caffeine, L-theanine, and probiotic lactic acid bacteria (heat-killed), respectively. Recently, they launched "Victoria Vitavi," containing vitamin B1, niacin (B3), pantothenic acid (B6), and vitamin B6. Maeil Dairies recently released "The Great Tea Kombucha," a fermented carbonated drink containing 4g of plant-based prebiotic "guar gum hydrolysate," known to help promote the growth of beneficial intestinal bacteria, classified as a functional claim food.

An industry insider said, "As the functional claim food market is expected to continue growing, diversification will expand not only in beverages but also in other food categories," adding, "Functional claims are also expected to diversify beyond gut and skin health-related ingredients to include antioxidants and immune enhancement."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.