Australia embraces digestive health movement

The success of marketing probiotic yogurt products such as Yoplait and Yakult means that Australian consumers are more aware of the importance of digestive health issues.

“This is good news for the millions of Australians who suffer from digestive complaints such as heartburn and irritable bowel syndrome”, says Mark Whalley consumer markets analyst with Datamonitor.

In 2008, nearly three and a half million people complained of heartburn, and this figure expected to rise past four million by 2013 (amounting to nearly a 20% of the population).

Similarly, around 2.7 million people suffered from IBS in 2008, with a predicted increase to 3.2 million by 2013.

The real success of these products has been the way in which consumers have adopted them for a ‘daily dosing’ routine.

The daily consumption of a probiotic yogurt allows people to feel that they are combining a healthy boost with a delicious treat.

“However, the industry faces a tough challenge justifying prices at a time when consumers are looking to save pennies”, adds London-based Mark Whalley.

Trust also continues to be an issue for Australians, with only a quarter (27.5%) telling Datamonitor that they firmly believed the claims that these products make.

In other Asia Pacific countries such as Japan, the idea of drinking a daily Yakult is a far more normal and accepted part of life.

As time goes on, the same culture is expected to develop across Europe and North America.

Manufacturers are responding to interest by incorporating probiotics into more foods that people eat every day, including desserts such as ice creams and even tomato ketchup.

Prebiotics, the lesser-known cousin of probiotics, are also finding their way into a number of products, including breakfast cereals.

It is this ease of consumption that is making digestive health regimes appealing.

“People find these products appealing and, more importantly, they like how they taste. Digestive health has strong links with immunity health, which means that consumers feel better after eating their probiotic yogurts. This is what keeps them coming back for more. It’s therefore likely that, looking forwards, digestive health products will go from strength to strength,” concludes Whalley.