In focus: DSM
Balance has been the biggest driver of behavior change over the past 12 months, with 35% of consumers agreed that they heavily changed their behavior with regards to their health. During COVID-19, food became an emotional stimulus and health a holistic focus that extends from body to mind.
The permanent change of pandemic waves and regulations generated stress and challenges.
As a result, people were actively seeking solutions to ease their minds and felt that they needed to regain control fostering a stronger focus on both physical and mental health.
Key behaviors 2021
Source: GfK
More than one third of Europeans (EU-7) – in Denmark, as many as 51% – regularly took vitamins or supplements to improve their personal health.
Whereas 43% moderated “bad food” and drinks, another 29% frequently used food and drinks as a mood booster.
Looking ahead, consumers definitely want to revert this behavior, but continuous restrictions have the potential of straining body and mind even further.
What will stick in 2022
There is a strong trend towards a greater focus on natural, healthy beauty coupled with a sense for energetic, fresh renovation of the self, an aspiration to leave the pandemic behind.
(Source: GfK)
Consumers feel the desire for moderation and preventative self-care, the need to take care of their health in a holistic sense, balancing physical and mental health.
The pandemic spiked “food as a drug” to cheer up. Now, food as a drug will take a different meaning, not as a soul booster but to boost health and balance.
The interview on the next page describes, how companies like DSM are addressing the increased demand of consumers for food that is at the same time healthy, tasty and sustainable.
Source: GfK ad hoc study Behavior Change
Royal DSM specializes in Nutrition, Health & Sustainable Living. The NYSE Euronext listed company delivers solutions for human nutrition, animal nutrition, personal care and aroma, medical devices, green products and applications, and new mobility and connectivity.
Based on 150 years of fermentation and biotechnology expertise, “Brighter Science. Brighter Living.” describes the mission to use scientific and innovation power to tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges, creating value for customers, shareholders, employees and the society at large.
In the interview with GfK, Elisabeth Hirschbichler, Vice President Strategy, Innovation and Marketing at DSM, describes the company’s purpose to bring together taste, texture and health in sustainable products.
During the pandemic, health has become a top priority for consumers and this behavior change will persist, with consumers looking for foods that are healthy and at the same time tasty. In addition, sustainability has become increasingly relevant.
Pressure is on the product value chain to continuously innovate while reducing the time to market, pushing collaboration along the value chain.
Based on its long-term expertise in nutritional science and biotechnology, DSM is addressing the challenges of more sustainable food from different angles: One objective is to make the food a last longer, for example by blending in ingredients such as enzymes, to help reduce the huge volumes of food worldwide being lost or wasted.
Innovative ingredients will also help to ensure the nutrition of a growing population with sustainable, tasty and healthy food.
Source: GfK WCWD report 2021
As consumers are looking to make the “protein transition”, DSM is addressing this major concern in an effort to make animal-based products more sustainable and plant-based products more healthy and tasty.
Hirschbichler says "We at DSM are looking to make plant-based products more tasty, also adding vitamins and minerals to ensure that plant-based alternatives deliver the same nutritional value as animal-based products.”
Another excellent example of DSM’s innovation for more sustainability along the value chain is the product Bovaer, which recently received first market authorization. A quarter of a teaspoon of this feed additive per day reduces the cow’s methane emissions by 30% – a big gamer changer for farming and greenhouse gas emissions.
Watch the full interview
