Intermittent fasting is no longer an emerging trend, it’s not even an increasingly popular trend, it’s a mega trend. In fact, it is the most popular diet, according to a recent survey by the International Food Information Council Foundation.
What’s more, stats from Instagram show the term ‘intermittent fasting’ is tagged an average of 52 times per hour, and it remains the most Googled diet-related term in the world, according to VitalityPro.
So what are the reasons for its popularity and what opportunities does it create for food and beverage manufacturers?
Why is intermittent fasting so popular with consumers?
Despite the potential negatives associated with intermittent fasting, including an increased risk of cancer, and a change in metabolic behaviour, its strong links to weight loss have made it a global phenomenon. This is helped, in no small part, by advocates, including Jennifer Aniston, Chris Hemsworth and the late Dr Michael Mosley, championing it.
“I was overweight, I had hypertension, I had high blood sugar, and I was told I was type 2 diabetic,” said Dr Mosely. “I was introduced to the idea of intermittent fasting by a world-leading neuroscientist – I lost nine kilos, my blood sugar went back to normal, my blood cholesterol went down, my blood fats went down, and my blood pressure went down. And all of this contributed to turning my life around.”
However, Dr Mosely, was also quick to highlight that, “it matters what you eat as much as it matters when you eat,” and this is where the food and beverage industry comes in.
What F&B NPD opportunities are out there?
The intermittent fasting market is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 15.7% over the next decade. This is in comparison to the overall weight management market, which is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.7% during the same period.
“With celebrities, fitness brands, professionals and health experts all promoting the benefits of intermittent fasting, we can expect to see an increase in this diet regimen,” says Jade Mihalicz, a medical researcher at supplement brand, VitalityPro. “The increase in apps will also spur further growth, as will social media influencers.”
Food and beverage brands have the opportunity to create meal plans for adopters of intermittent fasting, particularly those on the 5:2 diet, which involves careful calorie counting on the fasting days.
Additionally, there’s a great opportunity for brands to develop new products, which provide the correct levels of essential nutrients, required by adopters of the diet, to maintain a healthy and balanced diet.
“When you’re not fasting, it’s important to eat a healthy and varied diet that’s good for your body,” says Christina Vetter of gut health brand, Zoe. “High-quality sources of fibre and protein can help to feel fuller for longer.”
And some smaller brands have already invested heavily in the trend’s success.
Diet brand, ProLon, has launched a whole range of foods and drinks to assist fasting diets, with snack bars, soups, shakes and spreads, just some of the options available.
And even diet brands, such as Slim Fast, which are heavily associated with a specific style of weight loss (“a shake for breakfast, one for lunch and a proper dinner”), have pivoted to benefit from the success of intermittent fasting.
“We saw a need for nationally distributed, accessible products that offer solutions to help people before, during and after their fast,” said Sarah Lombard, senior brand director of SlimFast. “These new products will meet people exactly where they are and give them simple, smart and satisfying solutions to successfully practice intermittent fasting.”
In short, and to loosely quote the famous saying, the best time for food and beverage brands to invest in intermittent fasting was yesterday, the second-best time is now!
Types of intermittent fasting
- Time-restricted eating: This involves fasting every day for 12 hours or longer and eating in the remaining hours. A popular example is the 16:8 method, which includes a daily 16-hour fast and an 8-hour eating window.
- The 5:2 diet: This entails eating as normal 5 days of the week and then restricting calorie intake to 500–600 on the remaining 2 days.
- Eat Stop Eat: This requires a 24-hour fast once or twice a week.
- Alternate-day fasting: The goal for this diet is to fast every other day.
- The Warrior Diet: The aim of this diet is to eat small amounts of raw fruits and vegetables during the day and then eat one large meal at night.
