Within the sweet biscuit market there are two opposing forces at work globally, according to Innova Market Insights. The treat image of biscuits is driving the premium sector forward, while rising health concerns have also raised interest in better-for-you products.

Increasing interest in foreign cuisines has been particularly significant for the cooking sauces category, which alone accounted for half of tracked global sauces launches in 2011, well ahead of bottled table sauces with over a quarter and mayonnaise and dressings with about a fifth,” says Lu Ann Williams, Research Manager at Innova Market Insights.

Despite ongoing economic difficulties, new product activity in the global snack foods industry appears to be continuing unabated, with launch numbers recorded by Innova Market Insights showing a strong double-digit increase in 2011.

Cherries have long been appreciated for their taste, but growing evidence about their health benefits is now putting them squarely in the frame for ‘superfruit’ status and they are increasingly being used in juices and juice drink blends.

Rising interest in naturalness and growing awareness of the potential health benefits of botanical ingredients have combined with the desire for something more unusual to develop the demand for floral ingredients and flavourings.

Despite financial constraints it appears that consumer interest in making ethical food choices is continuing to increase, with recent data from Innova Market Insights (www.InnovaDatabase.com) showing that products positioned on an ethical platform of some kind accounted for over 7% of total global food and drinks launches recorded in the 12 months to the end of October 2011. This is up from less than 6.5% in the previous year and from less than 2% five years previously.

While the ready-to-drink or iced coffee market is relatively mature and showing only modest growth in much of Asia, levels of interest elsewhere in the world appear to be growing. This is seen not only in the relatively well-established USA market, which is number two in size globally after Japan, but also perhaps more interestingly in Europe, led by initiatives from multinational beverage and dairy companies.

Despite an ageing population and a growing interest in maintaining active lifestyles, joint health remains a very underdeveloped area of the functional foods market as a whole. While there has been considerable activity in dietary supplements for joint health, the mainstream food and drinks market has seen relatively few developments in this area.

Dairy products marketed on a bone health platform have become increasingly sophisticated in recent years, having originally primarily focused on a naturally high calcium content or calcium fortification, while largely relying on consumer awareness of its benefits. More recently, bone health products have tended to see the greater use of ingredient blends, not only with calcium, but also vitamin D or other ingredients to help boost calcium absorption and bone formation. Ingredients now promoted in bone health applications include vitamin K2, lysine, prebiotic fibres and soy isoflavones.

Innova Market Insights has reported that confectionery was the leading food and drinks sector in terms of global launch activity in the first half of 2011.