“Functional Food” is an unfolding trend that is taking our understanding of food and turning it into something that we don’t just eat, but serves a larger part of our wellbeing.
Because of this, innovation in the healthy snack category is increasingly demonstrating consumers preference around functional or, rather, good for you ingredients that not only taste good but perhaps also serve as your daily intake of protein, fiber or added nootropics and adaptogens to relieve stress, promote cell regeneration and improve heart health.
The FDA currently regulates ingredients in packaged food based off of the nutritional component, not what the ingredients may or may not do for you. This forces functional food to walk a thin line between what the FDA considers food and what they deem a supplement. By FDA standards a brand cannot label the “effects” of the food, but rather the nutritional composition of the food. Whereas, when it comes to supplements brands have a wider range of how they can advertise the affects an ingredient may have on your energy levels, mental ability, or health outcome.
To understand the difference better. Nutritional components of foods are things like protein, total fat, saturated fat, total carbs, sugars and sodiums. We see these types of nutrition panels listed on the back of any packaged food we pick up at the grocery store.