Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD, founder of the F-Factor Diet, and director of Nutrition at M Booth’s Better4You, offers some exclusive tips for brand managers on the lookout for trends in food and nutrition:

A growing number of people are looking to get nutrition from “real food.” According to a market study conducted by Sloan Trends, Inc., a big trend this year is a move toward “real food nutrition,” with consumers selecting foods based on their health benefits.

• Study data showed the number of people making an effort to serve more nutritious meals is up 6% points between 2009 to 2011 (36% to 42%)
• The study also revealed that users of vitamin supplements are scaling back and opting for food-based nutrition.  Why?  Consumers are better informed about the benefits of “food first” nutrition and some say they are concerned about the quality of and possible long-term effects of supplements.

Consumers are becoming better informed about nutrition.   The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Trends 2011 survey found that consumers are hearing more about foods with health-related benefits such as berries and omega-3 rich foods, and people are eating more of them as a result.

• Consumers prefer to eat inherently healthier foods “their way,” rather than cut back on foods they like that may not be as healthy.
• Most consumers get their nutrition news and information from television, and among those 24-44 the internet now leads magazines as their second most used information source. As such, brands have the opportunity to produce web-based content to educate and cultivate key consumer audiences.

As consumers become more food and nutrition-savvy, marketers will need to integrate key messaging across an even wider media mix that includes PR and social media, as well as packaging, websites, social media channels, paid product placement and events.