Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Consumers increasingly turn to food for ‘emotional wellness’

According to The Hartman Group’s Health Benefits 2024​ report published late last month as a companion to the research firm’s longstanding Health and Wellness syndicated series, 90% of the more than 3,400 US adults surveyed agreed mental and emotional balance is just as important as physical health.

Of those surveyed, 25% listed “emotional health” as one of their top three health priorities – so that it fell just behind the 26% who listed energy as one of their top three priorities and the 32% who ranked sleep in their top three. Weight management was the most frequently cited priority at 45%.

Among those addressing emotional health, 48% said they were taking steps to improve their emotional health and 52% said they are addressing emotional health to prevent future problems. This includes 20% who are turning to foods or beverages that are naturally helpful and 15% who are leaning on functional foods and beverages. While far from the majority of consumers, these figures are significantly higher than the 6% of consumers who use over-the-counter drugs and 16% who use prescription drugs to manage their emotional health.

Consumer preference to use food over drugs to manage emotional health is opening doors for innovative brands, like startup Daily GEM, which offers “clean nourishment” that “supports holistic wellbeing.” In this episode of FoodNavigator-USA’s Soup-To-Nuts podcast​, Daily GEM Head of Brand Joyce Luttrull and COO Brian Watkins share how consumer attitudes about their emotional health and the power of food as medicine are evolving, how their portfolio of nutrient-dense bites support daily health as well as targeted emotional needs. They also share how they are talking to consumers about the benefits of Daily GEM’s bites while remaining safely within FDA guardrails, and where they see room for ongoing innovation to help consumers manage their emotional wellbeing.

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Consumers embrace emotional wellness as key health metric​

According to The Hartman Group’s Health Benefits 2024 report emotional health is one of the hardest aspects for consumers to manage, and while they “intuitively sense that diet and nutrition can influence emotional health, the connection is less clear than with other aspects of health.”

But, according to Melissa Abbott, the vice president of Syndicated Studies at The Hartman Group, these connections are becoming somewhat clearer, as more companies launch functional foods, beverages and supplements touting stress-supporting and calming benefits of ingredients like botanicals, adaptogens, medicinal mushrooms and THC and CBD.

She explained that tea is by far the most commonly used platform within food and beverage to deliver emotional health benefits. Half of consumers surveyed by The Hartman Group said they use hot tea and 36% use ready-to-drink tea for emotional health benefits. Chocolate or other candy bars are also up there with 35% of consumers saying they use them for emotional support. While other food formats, like chips, crackers and snack mixes are much lower down the list with between 21% and 24% of consumers reaching for them for emotional support. Abbott noted 63% of survey participants are very or extremely interested in finding new functional foods to support emotional health.

According to Luttrull, Daily GEM sees similar trends in its consumer research.

“In our most recent survey of almost 300 consumers, supporting mood health was the second top health concern,” behind healthy aging, and it reflects how consumers are thinking more holistically about their health, she said.

One way Luttrull said Daily GEM is meeting consumer need for more holistic health care and emotional support is through its portfolio of Bites, which are small squares of nutrient-dense foods selected for their ability to fill dietary gaps and the benefits they deliver.

She and Watkins explain Daily GEM offers a Daily Bite for foundational health and several “add-on Bites” for extra targeted support, including for energy, relaxation and sleep.

All of the Bites are made with plant-based ingredients and “real food,” Luttrull said.

The GEM Bite includes 20+ vitamins, minerals, probiotics and prebiotics and is designed to be eaten daily and behave like a “real food multivitamin,” she explained. The nutrients come from dates, turmeric, curcumin, pumpkin seeds and other ingredients.

The company’s Add-On Bites, combine ingredients that support a dedicated health benefit, including Deep Sleep, Chill-Out and Energy.

The company’s scientific advisory board of doctors, herbalists and neuroscientists worked together with the company’s pastry chef to create morsels of food that fill specific common micronutrient gaps in the American diet but which also taste good so that consumers look forward to eating the Bites when they need them.

Where is there unmet need for ‘mood food’?​

While Daily GEM remains focused on Bites as a platform, Watkins and Luttrull see significant room for ongoing innovation in the food as mood space and is exploring what other need states it might address.

These include recovery, which might be from a workout or a stressful event, eyesight and mental capacity.

Daily GEM’s consumer research also revealed interest in cognitive support, which The Hartman Group also examines in its Health Benefits report.

Abbott explains that cognition is lower on the list of priorities for consumers that The Hartman Group surveyed with 38% of consumers saying they are taking steps to improve or prevent future problems related to it. For reference, this is about 10 percentage points lower than emotional health.

Of those taking steps to improve or prevent problems related to cognition, 23% used foods or beverages and 21% used functional foods and beverages compared to 9% who used OTC drugs and 14% who used prescription medication.

Ready-to-drink energy beverages and hot tea were the most frequently cited type of food or beverage consumed for cognitive benefits, followed by ready-to-drink enhanced water, according to The Hartman Group. Farther down the list were instant powdered drink mixes, shot-sized juices/smoothies/shakes and snack mix.

The Hartman Group also found 62% of respondents are very or extremely interested in finding new functional foods that support cognition, and the most important factors consumers look for when selecting such a product is whether it is affordable enough to use daily over a long period, if it has demonstrated clinical results or is recommended by a resource they trust.