From The Winter 2005 Issue of Natural Grocery Buyer

Shoppers Seek Omega-3s for Health

Vicky Uhland

When the Food and Drug Administration allows a manufacturer to stick a label on a package saying that the food inside can actually improve consumers’ health, it’s a big deal.

On Sept. 15, 2004, the FDA approved a qualified health claim for foods and dietary supplements containing the two types of omega-3 fatty acids most commonly found in fish oil, flaxseeds, algae and hemp. Omega-3 fortified foods ranging from eggs to cereal can now carry labels stating “consumption of EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.”

The news has been a boon for grocers, manufacturers and consumers. Companies that already make foods with omega-3s are prominently displaying the FDA OK on their labels. “I’m amazed at how quickly companies are changing their packaging—cereals in particular. It seems like a matter of a month or two before the new label’s on the package,” says David Browne, director of content development for SPINS, a San Francisco-based market research firm.

Other manufacturers are scrambling to develop omega-3-fortified foods. They make breads, cereals, crackers, waffles and baked goods enhanced with omega-3-rich flaxseeds, flax oil or flax meal. Poultry and cattle eat fish meal or flax-enriched feed, resulting in omega-3 fortified eggs, milk, margarine, salad dressings, mayonnaise and yogurt. There’s even omega-3-fortified baby food.

“Since the FDA approval, manufacturers have been spurred to add these substances to various products,” says omega-3 expert Joyce Nettleton of Science Voice Consulting in Denver.

According to figures from SPINS, omega-3-fortified foods sales were soaring even before the FDA announcement. Browne notes the following:

• “Sales of flax and/or hemp breads are growing, in general, faster than the bread category as a whole. Hemp breads, from a few brands are growing two and a half times faster than the subcategory. At this point, there aren’t a lot of large brands, and it seems that this category has lots of room to grow as far as new product entries.”
• “Sales of cold cereals made with flax and/or hemp are growing strong, outpacing the growth of the category as a whole. Makers of flax/hemp/omega-3 cereals, including Nature’s Path and Health Valley, have items growing two to three times faster than the category as a whole.”
• “In naturals supermarkets, sales of DHA eggs now have a 23 percent share of total egg sales, up from 19.9 percent last year. DHA egg sales are growing at a rate of 42.7 percent, nearly twice the rate as compared to non-DHA eggs (23.4 percent).”
• Browne notes that underperforming omega-3 categories include flax and hemp waffles, flax-meal baking supplies and high-fat salad dressings with omega-3s. But omega-3 mayonnaise such as Spectrum Naturals Omega 3 Mayonnaise “is doing very well, with double-digit growth—five times the rate of the entire mayonnaise category,” he says.

At Chino Valley Ranchers in Arcadia, Calif., sales have increased steadily in the nine years since the company began producing omega-3 eggs, says general manager David Will. “Consumers are always looking for more nutrients in eggs,” he notes.

Between the first nine months of 2003 and the first nine months of 2004, sales of Chino Valley’s Veg-A-Fed Omega-3 eggs increased 16 percent. During that same period, Organic Omega-3 egg sales rose 45 percent, Will says.

David Neuman, vice president of sales and marketing for Richmond, British Columbia, Canada-based Nature’s Path, says his company’s cereals, waffles, granola and crackers made with flaxseeds or flax meal are very popular. “Everything we sell that has flax in it is the No. 1 seller in that category.” Sales of Nature’s Path’s Optimum Power Breakfast cereal with flax have increased an average of 47 percent per year since the cereal was introduced in 2000, and the company’s Flax Plus cereal is currently being tested in 350 Wal-Mart Supercenters, Neuman says.

Neuman thinks most people are fully aware of the value of omega-3s in a healthy diet. “Consumers are smarter than people give them credit for. People were taking cod liver oil by the teaspoon 100 years ago. Doctors talk about omega-3s; the media talks about them. The consumer really understands that flax [and other omega-3s are] a selling feature.” He believes that FDA-approved labels on omega-3 fortified foods will increase that awareness. “In Canada we have stricter criteria [for qualified health claim labels] and we can’t encourage sales through packaging. It hurts sales.”

Although research suggests that as little as 250 mg to 500 mg of omega-3s a day can be effective, it’s difficult to eat that much fish or flaxseed, Nettleton points out. Fish or flax oil supplements can be expensive or difficult to take; hence, the popularity of omega-3-fortified foods. “Even a granola bar [with flaxseed] can make a contribution. If you eat one every single day, it’s better than nothing,” she says.

Neuman suggests that retailers capitalize on the skyrocketing popularity of omega-3 foods by offering point-of-sale health claim information in areas where omega-3 foods are prominent, such as in the cereal aisle. Omega-3-fortified foods should also be shelved at eye level, he says, not only to gain consumer attention, but also so staff can easily monitor sell-by dates. Flax and fish oils can quickly become rancid after they’re exposed to air. Consequently, Nature’s Path flax foods have a six-month shelf life. “Once you’ve eaten a bad flax product, you won’t go back,” Neuman says.

Vicky Uhland is a Denver-based free-lance writer.