The Rise of Functional Food: What Investors Need to Know

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers are looking for new ways to use food as medicine in a bid to help protect them against disease. As a result, the functional food market is booming.

But is it just the buzzword du jour, or a growth market that investors should seriously consider?

The infographic above from Billy Goat Brands (CSE: GOAT) (“GOAT”) breaks down the key points that investors need to know about how the market is structured.

Functional Food: The Basics

To start, let’s explain what functional food means.

Functional food is an umbrella term that describes food that has a positive impact on your health, beyond its basic nutritional value.

Take oatmeal for example. It contains soluble fiber that can help lower cholesterol levels and reduce inflammation. Therefore it is considered to be a food that is functional. Benefits of these foods may include things like:

• Protecting against disease
• Preventing nutrient deficiencies
• Promoting growth and development

Some foods also have nutrients added to them to enhance their nutritional profile, such as milk with added Vitamin D, and therefore provide the same benefits to consumers.

While there is much debate around the official definition of the term functional food, the most important thing to remember is that they are foods that have added benefits—either natural superfoods, or enhanced during the production process.

Let’s dive into the market on a (Read more...)