2020 Japanese Functional Food Market Insights

Japanese health foods are divided into health functional foods and special-purpose health products. Among them, health functional foods include nutritional functional foods, functional foods (FFCs) and foods for specific health use (FOSHU).

Japan was the first country to put forward “functional foods” and implemented a functional labeling food system in 2015, which provided clear definitions for functional foods and relaxed review and supervision. Japan ushered in the rapid development of functional foods.

The main content of the "functional food labeling system":


One
Record management
The new regulations stipulate that there is no need for human testing, and manufacturers only need to submit scientific evidence consistent with their claimed functions to the Consumer Affairs Agency for filing 60 days before the market is on the market, and they can be marketed, especially ordinary foods except alcohol.

two
Wide coverage
The new regulations cover foods other than alcohol products, including existing nutritional functional foods, processed foods and fresh foods. For example: lycopene foods extracted through processing and special tomatoes planted with rich lycopene content can be marked "can help improve blood vessel function" on the package.

three
Can indicate that the function acts on human organs
It can specifically mark the parts of the organs that act on the human body, such as "good for protecting the eyes", "good for improving joint discomfort", etc. For manufacturers, it can improve the efficiency of publicity, and for consumers, they can quickly understand the characteristics of the product. And buy the products you need.

four
Suitable for new functional occasions with known ingredients
Approved products can be labeled "Immune-improving fermented milk", "Fat-decomposing beverages", "Hangover-preventing food constituents with ingredient A as an active ingredient", etc., functionally labeled foods other than fresh foods and This policy applies to processed foods such as specific health foods.



The functional food market will exceed 300 billion yen
According to market research firm Fuji Keizai, the market size of FFCs this year will exceed 300 billion yen (US$2.8 billion), an increase of 38.6% from 2018. On the other hand, the FOSHU market is expected to reach 340 billion yen (3.18 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue, down 5.5% from 2018. Since the implementation of the functional labeling food system in April 2015, 646 of the 2951 FFCs filed have multiple health claims.

Another FFC food (functionally labeled food) analysis report released by the Japanese health food and cosmetics consulting company Smooth Link. In 2020, more and more products claiming multiple health claims will be launched from April to June this year. Among the 221 FFCs, more than a quarter (61) of FFCs have multiple health claims, and the number is expected to exceed 300 in 2020. From March 2019 to March 2020, nearly 200 such products have been launched. In 2018, this number was slightly higher than 150, and in 2017 it was less than 100.

Products with multiple health claims are more attractive
According to a previous study on FFCs, between 2015 and 2018, many FFCs containing multiple biologically active ingredients only made one health claim, and based on the ingredients of their products, they can make more claims. The report pointed out that the problem with making only one claim is that consumers may end up using a similar product but with different claims to supplement their nutritional needs in different areas.
Smooth Link said that this trend is based on more and more scientific evidence of specific functional ingredients. Products with more health claims are more attractive to consumers than products with similar formulations but containing only one health claim. Therefore, in order to make finished products more attractive to consumers, it has become a trend that products have more health claims. This is also a differentiated marketing theory.
Most FFCs claiming a variety of health contain indigestible dextrin and GABA. For example, a soft drink product produced by Mannan Life contains indigestible dextrin and GABA extracted from pumpkin. The product has three health claims, including 1) inhibiting the increase in neutral fat after meals, 2) inhibiting the increase in blood sugar after meals, and 3) maintaining a healthy stomach.

Information from Plusaid (an online database that tracks FFC releases) shows that Lutein UQ Plus launched by Unikiss is a product case with multiple health claims. The product was registered on April 15th and contains lutein and zeaxanthin, claiming to 1) increase and maintain the amount of macular pigment in the eyes, support contrast sensitivity and glare recovery; 2) reduce temporary mental stress and light stress such as blue light .
Meta Barrier Premium supplement from Fujiflim Coporation. The product contains Salacinol, gallocatechin gallate, brown algae polyphenols and Monoglucosyl Rutin, which claim to inhibit the absorption of dietary fat, reduce high BMI index and abdominal fat, and inhibit the absorption of sugar.

Reducing neutral fat is the most common health claim
The most common claim of functional labelled foods is to reduce neutral fat, with 489 types of FFCs. The second is the suppression of blood sugar levels. There are 424 FFCs claiming to have this effect. Other popular products include improving the intestinal environment (352 types), reducing body fat (329 types), lowering blood pressure (279 types), moisturizing the skin (234 types), supporting eye function (228 types), and relieving stress and tension (189 species).

Among these claims, further health claims can be made in more detail. For example, reducing body fat can be seen as a group that includes detailed claims, such as preventing postprandial blood sugar and blood triglyceride levels, helping fat metabolism, and reducing the higher BMI of belly fat.
In addition, there are new FFCs that have made new health claims, such as reducing the frequency of urination in women and maintaining a healthy immune system. It can be expected that more FFCs will launch new health claims.
 
Scientific basis for health claims
According to data from March 2020, most FFCs (2742) made health claims based on systematic review evidence; 194 FFCs made health claims based on randomized controlled trials (RCT); there is another method Based on the RCT evidence of the product and the systematic review of the functional substances used, 14 companies have made health claims based on this method.
Manufacturers should pay attention to the Drugs and Medical Devices Act (PMD Act) when making health claims, because violation of the Act may result in the withdrawal of FFC products. A classic example is the Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) ordering several companies to remove FFCs containing HMB because it claims to improve walking ability. This is a health claim for medical devices prescribed by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW).
 
The most popular functional ingredients
The main application ingredients in Japanese functional labelling foods, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), indigestible dextrin and DHA are the three most commonly used functional declaration ingredients in Japanese foods. The data is also based on the in-depth analysis report of the FFC food status released by the Japanese health food and cosmetics consulting company Smooth Link.

Among FFCs products, GABA as a neurotransmitter is the most commonly used active ingredient in FFCs. Among FFCs containing only one active ingredient, 306 contain GABA. Next is the indigestible dextrin, which is the source of dietary fiber and the key ingredient of 304 FFCs.

The most popular product formula
When it comes to FFCs containing multiple active ingredients, the most common formulations are EPA and DHA Omega-3, and there are 169 products containing this ingredient. The next common formula is flavonoid glycosides and terpene lactones in ginkgo biloba leaves. These two components are related to improving cognitive health. There are 109 products produced according to this formula.
Ranked third is the combination of the flavonoid hyperoside extracted from Apocynum venetum and isoquercetin. Both of these ingredients have antioxidant properties, and 24 FFCs contain this formula. The common ingredient types in FFCs reflect the types of issues that consumers generally care about. In recent years, lifestyle-related diseases, such as weight loss and fat loss, have been some of the most popular consumer needs.

Common sources of functional ingredients
Both GABA and indigestible dextrin are derived from plants, which makes plants an important source of raw materials. In total, about 1/2 (57.1%) of FFCs contain plant ingredients. This is followed by microorganisms (15.3%), marine (9.4%), mixtures of different sources (8.2%), animals (5.1%) and synthetic chemicals (4.8%).

Main dosage forms of listed products
As of June 30, there are 1373 FFCs on the market. Among them, there are 727 kinds of dietary supplements (including tablets, capsules, powders, etc.), 609 kinds of processed foods (such as yogurt, condiments), and 37 kinds of fresh foods (vegetables and fruits, etc.).