3 trends driving growth in the “Better for You” space

If you somehow transported a grocery shopper from the year 2000 to the average grocery store of 2024, they’d likely be stunned by the sheer variety of “better for you” products. Shoppers today are living through a “better for you” renaissance. Where the previous generation was limited to aspartame and non-fat yogurt, we have aisle after aisle–even whole grocery store chains–dedicated to providing products that empower consumers to live more healthfully, sustainably, and responsibly.

It’s an exciting time to be in better-for-you product innovation. With so much opportunity, it feels like the sky’s the limit.

But that’s exactly the challenge. If the sky’s the limit, where do you begin?

Watch the full interview with Nate Rosen of Express Checkout at letshighlight.com

Know your category & consumer

Disruptive low-sugar brand Whipnotic has seen its distribution more than triple over the last year as they expand nationwide. In an interview with product-testing software Highlight, Whipnotic co-founder and President Tracy Luckow attributed the brand’s success “in part, due to the fact that we entered a category that’s been sleepy, historically.”

Luckow explained, “I worked in the dairy industry [at Dannon], and I didn’t really think about whipped cream when I thought about the dairy category. It’s an unexpected category to be redefining.”

The path to understanding their core consumer was less direct. “When we invented our product, we thought that people with sugar concerns–diabetics, people on keto–were going to be our primary target market,” said Luckow. “But what we’ve learned is that our target is actually much younger, more of the TikTok generation, who are new to the category and really love the multi-sensory aspects of the product. For them, the low sugar and the health benefit is the cherry on top rather than the main driver.”

Momofuku CEO Marguerite Mariscal and her team also prioritize understanding their consumers. “We look at trends less for flavor and more for understanding what’s important to the consumer,” she said in an interview with Highlight. “This is stuff we test with Highlight, too. For example, what do consumers care about when it comes to sodium content?”

Understanding the consumer preferences behind the trends

Product innovation requires experience and expertise across a multitude of specialties, but consumer data should act as the map to guide your innovation to success.

That’s why Highlight set out to take a snapshot of the consumer preferences driving current trends in the better-for-you space. What beliefs and perceptions are influencing consumer purchase decisions? We asked a nationwide group of 2,000 product testers from the Highlight Community to answer a 16-question survey about their purchasing habits and opinions related to more healthful, sustainable products. Here’s what they told us:

1. Protein is a priority
   Respondents were asked to select up to three attributes they most highly prioritize in better-for-you food and beverage products. Out of 21 options, “excellent source of protein” was the top selection. When asked which better-for-you products they had tried in the past six months, protein once again came out on top: 63% of respondents said they had purchased high-protein foods, powders, or supplements. The protein gold rush is well under way as both emerging brands and enterprise CPG companies bring protein-packed products to market. Eggo is just one example of a legacy product that extended their product line in reaction to evolving consumer demand for protein with the release of their “fully loaded” waffles, which contain 10 grams of protein per serving.

2. Consumers want lower sugar–but not completely sugar-free products
   When asked which attributes they most highly prioritize in grocery products, the second most popularly chosen option was “no added sugar.” Notably, however, “sugar free” only ranked tenth out of 21 attributes. 
   
    

   

   For better-for-you brands striving for a primarily sweet flavor profile, this sugar preference insight is important to remember. As Mariscal said, “At the end of the day, the data shows what we already believed, which is that taste is king.” That means finding the formula that reduces sugar content as much as possible or uses a sugar substitute without compromising on flavor. Taste and sensory testing are a crucial step for these brands.

3. Ozempic is popular enough to impact consumer demand–even though a significant minority lacks trust

   Even as many commentators say it’s too early to gauge the impact of GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, 10% of survey respondents said they had already tried one, and another 55% said they’d be willing to try. About the same proportion–63%–said they are interested in buying grocery products designed for GLP-1 patients, such as Nestlé’s new Vital Pursuits brand, offering high-protein, high-fiber ready-made meals.

   But, if 65% of respondents said they had already tried a GLP-1 drug or would be willing to try one, what about the other 35% who were less or totally unwilling to try them?

   When questioned about trust levels in GLP-1 medications, a significant minority–20%–indicated that they had doubts about or did not at all trust the safety of GLP-1 drugs.
   
    

   

   Trust (or lack thereof) may not impact the popularity of Ozempic-adjacent products, though. Prebiotics brand Supergut, for example, uses messaging and claims to appeal to the growing majority of consumers looking for products that claim gut-health benefits similar to those claimed by GLP-1 drugs.

   For brands innovating better-for-you products, the most important takeaway is this: there is opportunity within nearly every category to find your niche and the consumers who will love your product. But the only way to find that sweet spot is by testing with real consumers to understand who they are, what they want, and what they really think of your product.
   
    

Find the full data results from Highlight’s better-for-you preferences survey.