Ingredient Focus – Hemp in packaged food and beverages

Contents

• Introduction
• Hemp product launch analysis
  • Product launch by ingredient
  • Product launch by category
  • Product launch by region
  • Product launch by claim
  • Product launch by company
• For more information
• Resources

Introduction

According to Euromonitor, hemp is widely becoming recognized as a superfood with its high nutritious content of protein, vitamins, minerals, fibre, and fatty acids. It is a plant-based ingredient that is a nutritious source for omega and protein. Hemp can be eaten raw or be used as a functional ingredient in packaged foods and beverages. Hemp ingredients such as hemp seeds are considered to have the ideal ratio of essential fatty acids, Omega-6 and Omega-3, required for the human body. They can be eaten raw and hemp seeds and their valuable oil can also be integrated into bread, cakes, biscuits, breakfast cereals, pasta, cakes, dairy products, and juices. They are an ideal ingredient for a superfood snack (Euromonitor, 2015).

The rising incidence of people suffering from food allergies and intolerances is creating opportunities for manufacturers of hemp foods (Euromonitor, 2008). Dairy-free is a growing trend, and increasingly consumers are also trying to avoid soy. Hemp provides a highly nutritious alternative for these consumer groups, as hemp can be processed into a milk substance.

Hemp product launch analysis

From January 2008 to November 2017, there were 452 launches of products containing hemp around the world. Most of these occurred in the food category with 293 products launches, 141 product launches were in the drinks category, and 18 were in the pets category. Over 88% of hemp-containing products launched were new product introductions, while 12% were relaunches. Of the products that were new introductions, 28% were a range/variety extension to an existing product line/brand.

The European region experienced the most hemp-containing product launches in the world during the ten year review period, with a total of 273 products, and 78.8% of products launched were in the food category. North America had the second-largest launches of hemp-containing products with a total of 148 products. Together, these regions made up 93% of hemp-containing product launches.

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2008	5
2009	8
2010	12
2011	20
2012	15
2013	45
2014	33
2015	83
2016	126
2017	105

Source: Mintel, 2017.

*Note: Partial data available from January to mid November 2017.

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New product	271
New variety/range extension	125
New packaging	29
Relaunch	20
New formulation	7

Source: Mintel, 2017.

*Note: Partial data available from January to mid November 2017.

Product launch by hemp ingredients

Over half of the hemp-containing products launched used hemp protein as an ingredient. The subcategories with the most of hemp protein were snack/cereal/energy bars (105 products), meal replacements and other drinks (87), beverage mixes (18), and cold cereals (11). Other hemp ingredients used were hemp seed oil, hemp flour, and hemp juice.

Product launch by category

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Food	65%
Drink	31%
Pet food	4%

Source: Mintel, 2017.

*Note: Partial data available from January to mid November 2017.

Food

From January 2008 to November 2017, 293 food products containing hemp ingredients were launched in the world. This category represented 65% of the total hemp-containing product launched in the ten year review period (2008 to 2017).

The subcategories likely to have hemp were snacks (such as energy bars) with a total of 118 products, followed by sauces and seasonings, bakery, desserts and ice cream, and dairy. The food category experienced a 40% growth rate from 2008 to 2017, with an average of 8 products per year between 2008 to 2012 to an average of 50 products per year between 2013 to 2017.

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Snacks	48%
Sauces and seasonings	20%
Bakery	13%
Desserts and ice cream	10%
Dairy	9%

Source: Mintel, 2017.

*Note: Partial data available from January to mid November 2017.

Drink

From January 2008 to November 2017, 141 drink products containing hemp were launched in the world. The drink category represented 31% of the hemp-containing product launches. The top drink subcategories likely to have hemp were meal replacements and other drinks, hot beverages such as tea, and energy drinks. The drink category experienced a 49% growth rate increase from 2008 to 2017, with an average of 4 product launches per year in the first half of the review period (2008 to 2012) to 24 product launches per year in the final years of the review period from 2013 to 2017.

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Other beverages	79%
Hot beverages	7%
Sports and energy drinks	6%
Ready-to-drinks	4%
Juice drinks	4%

Source: Mintel, 2017.

*Note: Partial data available from January to mid November 2017.

Pet food

From January 2008 to November 2017, 18 pet food products containing hemp were launched in the world. Most of these product launches occurred in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the Czech Republic. The wet dog food subcategory witnessed the most product launches containing hemp which made up 39% of pet food launches. Followed by cat snacks and treats with a 22% representation. During the review period, there was an average of 4 product launches per year.

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Wet dog food	39%
Cat snacks & treats	22%
Dog snacks & treats	22%
Wet cat food	17%

Source: Mintel & Euromonitor, 2017.

*Note: Partial data available from January to mid November 2017.

Product launch by region

Europe

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2008	0
2009	5
2010	5
2011	9
2012	8
2013	15
2014	19
2015	54
2016	84
2017	74

Source: Mintel & Euromonitor, 2017.

*Note: Partial data available from January to mid November 2017.

The European region is the most dynamic region for hemp-containing products. During the ten-year review period (2008 to 2017), the region launched the most hemp-containing products in the world and experienced the second-highest retail sales for health and wellness products in the world.

From 2008 to 2017, there were 273 hemp-containing products launched in the region, which accounted for 60.4% of the hemp-containing products launched in the world. Most of the product launches were new introductions, while 9.2% were relaunches. The last three years of the review period made up 78% of the product launches from 2008 to 2017. This indicates a growing trend for functional ingredients that contain nutritious elements.

The retail sales of health and wellness packaged foods and beverages in Europe are estimated to be worth US$188.3 billion in 2017. The sector saw a compound annual growth rate of 3.2% from 2013 to 2017 and accounted for 26.4% of the world’s retail sales of health and wellness products. Retail sales in Western Europe, are up 83.2% of the region’s retail sales, while those in Eastern Europe made up 16.8% of the health and wellness sector.

The countries to report the most retail sales of health and wellness products in 2017 are Germany, the United Kingdom, and France. Together these countries made up 45% of the region’s overall health and wellness retail sales. In addition, they were a part of the top ten countries in the region to launch the most hemp containing products, with 80 hemp-containing products launched in Germany, 36 products in the United Kingdom, and 23 products in France from 2008 to 2017.

In 2022, the region’s forecasted retail sale of health and wellness products is expected to rise to US$233.5 billion, at a compound annual growth rate of 4.4% from 2018 to 2022.

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Germany	27,747
United Kingdom	27,255
France	21,239
Italy	16,246
Spain	15,104
Russia	14,890
Netherlands	7,011
Turkey	6,055
Poland	5,696
Sweden	4,913

Source: Mintel & Euromonitor, 2017.

*Note: Partial data available from January to mid November 2017.

E: Estimate.

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Germany	80
UK	43
Finland	25
Czech Republic	24
France	23
Netherlands	10
Denmark	9
Italy	9
Norway	7
Spain	6

Source: Mintel & Euromonitor, 2017.

*Note: Partial data available from January to mid November 2017.

North America

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2008	4
2009	3
2010	6
2011	10
2012	7
2013	29
2014	12
2015	27
2016	24
2017	26

Source: Mintel & Euromonitor, 2017.

*Note: Partial data available from January to mid November 2017.

The North American region is the second-largest to see the most hemp-containing products launched and the third-largest retail sales market for health and wellness products. From 2008 to 2017, there were 148 product launches, most of which were new product introductions.

In 2017, North America's health and wellness sector estimated retail sales amounted to US$186 billion at a compound annual growth rate of 1.6% (2013 to 2017). The region’s health and wellness sales made up 26.1% of the world’s health and wellness sales. Retail sales are expected to increase to US$210 billion by 2022, at a compound annual growth rate of 2.3% from 2018 to 2022.

Fortified and functional foods and beverages (with added health ingredients) represented 34.5% of the health and wellness sales in 2017, followed by naturally healthy products which represented 26.1% of the health and wellness sales in North America. The dominance of these two health and wellness types, indicates a preference for food and beverages that contain ingredients that provides health benefits beyond the product’s basic nutritional value, rather than other health and wellness types such as free from.

Within the region, the United States saw the most hemp-containing product launches and reported the most retail sales of health and wellness products worth US$168.1 billion, which made up 23.6% of the worlds retail sales. The top subcategories to likely see hemp-containing products launched were meal replacements and other drinks, snacks/cereals/energy bars, and beverage mixes. Of the products that indicated an import status, 9% of the hemp-containing products launched in the United States were imported from Canada such as Vega’s Tropical Tango Protein Smoothie, Nutiva’s Hemp Protein Organic Superfood, and Manitoba Harvest’s Mixed Berry Flavor Hemp Protein Smoothie Drink Mix.

In Canada, there were 41 hemp-containing products launched during the ten year review period from 2008 to 2017. In 2017, Canada is estimated to reach a US$18 billion in health and wellness retail sales at a compound annual growth rate of 2.5% from 2013 to 2017. During the review period, Canada imported three of the hemp-containing products from the United States which are Vegan Way Nutrition’s Vanilla All in One Nutritional Shake, Sequel Naturals’ Chocolate Flavoured Shake, and Sequel Naturals’ Vanilla Flavoured Protein Shake.

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USA	168,037
Canada	18,005

Source: Mintel & Euromonitor, 2017.

*Note: Partial data available from January to mid November 2017.

E: Estimate.

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USA	107
Canada	41

Source: Mintel & Euromonitor, 2017.

*Note: Partial data available from January to mid November 2017.

Latin America

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2008	0
2009	0
2010	0
2011	0
2012	0
2013	0
2014	0
2015	1
2016	10
2017	2

Source: Mintel & Euromonitor, 2017.

*Note: Partial data available from January to mid November 2017.

Latin America ranks third in terms of the most hemp-containing products launched in the world. However, this region was ranked fourth in the world based on retail sales of health and wellness products.

From 2008 to 2017, there were 13 hemp-containing products launched, most of which were new products and range/variety extensions. All of these were launched in Mexico within the last three years of the review period. Mexico imported 8 hemp-containing products from the United States and 1 from Canada. The imported products from the United States were: Hemp Health’s Mango and Macadamia Bar, Vigilant Eats USA’s Sweet Potato, Rosemary & Thyme Oat Cereal, and Be Hemp’s Maca Double Chocolate Cereal. The product imported from Canada came was Just Hemp Foods’ Help Seed Oil.

The retail sales of hemp-containing products in the region were worth US$72.7 billion in 2017 and witnessed the highest compound annual growth rate of 10.5% from 2013 to 2017. Latin America accounted for 10.2% of the world’s retail sales of health and wellness products. In 2021, the region’s forecasted retail sales are expected to reach US$108.6 billion at a compound annual growth rate of 8.3% from 2018 to 2022.

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Brazil	28,320
Mexico	16,939
Argentina	7,748
Colombia	3,733
Chile	3,303
Paraguay	2,075
Venezuela	1,862
Peru	1,805
Puerto Rico	1,544
Ecuador	1,299

Source: Mintel & Euromonitor, 2017.

*Note: Partial data available from January to mid November 2017.

E: Estimate.

Middle East and Africa

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2008	0
2009	0
2010	0
2011	0
2012	0
2013	1
2014	1
2015	1
2016	7
2017	2

Source: Mintel, 2017.

*Note: Partial data available from January to mid November 2017.

From 2008 to 2017, the Middle East and Africa saw 12 hemp-containing product launches, most of which occurred in the last five years of the ten-year review period. The retail sales of health and wellness products in this region was worth US$29.7 billion in 2017, with a compound annual growth rate of 8.7% from 2013 to 2017. The region is expected to see high retail sales growth with a compound annual growth rate of 10.1% from 2018 to 2022, with retail sales forecasted to reach US$52.4 billion by 2022.

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Saudi Arabia	4,998
South Africa	4,980
Israel	2,863
United Arab Emirates	1,736
Morocco	1,592
Iraq	1,257
Angola	1,029
Syria	1,028
Libya	869
Kuwait	790

Source: Mintel & Euromonitor, 2017.

E: Estimate.

Asia Pacific

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2008	1
2009	0
2010	1
2011	1
2012	0
2013	0
2014	1
2015	0
2016	1
2017	1

Source: Mintel & Euromonitor, 2017.

*Note: Partial data available from January to mid November 2017.

The Asia Pacific region saw the lowest amount of hemp-containing product launches and the largest in terms of most health and wellness sales in the world. From 2008 to 2017, there were 6 products launched, all of which were new product launches.

The retail sales of health and wellness products amounted to US$236.2 billion in 2017 at a compound annual growth rate of 5.7% from 2013 to 2017. The region's health and wellness sales made up 33% of the world’s retail sales of health and wellness products. Retail sales are forecasted to increase to US$321.3 billion by 2022 at a compound annual growth rate of 6.4% from 2018 to 2022.

China is the second-largest retail market for health and wellness products in the world, after the United States. In 2017, China’s health and wellness retail sales was estimated to reach US$108.4 billion, which made up 15.2% of the world’s health and wellness sales and 45.9% of the Asia Pacific region’s total sales. During the ten year review period from 2008 to 2017, there were two hemp-containing products launched in China. These products were launched in 2010 and 2011, since then, there have not been any new hemp-contacting products launched. China is a dynamic market, with a rising middle-class, creating a great opportunity to launch more hemp-containing products that meet the Chinese market demand for functional/fortified and naturally health foods and beverages.

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China	108,387
Japan	49,651
India	14,412
Australia	12,494
Indonesia	9,361
South Korea	7,015
Vietnam	5,366
Thailand	5,348
Philippines	4,395
Hong Kong	4,153

Source: Mintel & Euromonitor, 2017.

*Note: Partial data available from January to mid November 2017.

E: Estimate.

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Hong Kong	2
China	2
Singapore	1
South Korea	1

Source: Mintel & Euromonitor, 2017.

*Note: Partial data available from January to mid November 2017.

Product launch by claim

The top claims for hemp-containing products revolve around having no additives/preservatives, followed by reduced sugar, gluten free, vegan, and organic.

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Organic	294
Low/No/Reduced Allergen	291
Vegan	283
No Animal Ingredients	279
Gluten Free	258
GMO Free	162
Low/No/Reduced Sugar	141
High/Added Protein	134
No Additives/Preservatives	113
Social Media	89

Source: Mintel & Euromonitor, 2017.

*Note: Partial data available from January to mid November 2017.

Product launch by company

Sequel Naturals launched the most hemp-containing products with a total of 27 products in the review period (2008 to 2017). Over 81.5% of the company’s hemp-containing products were new product introductions and brand variety/extensions, while 18.5% were relaunches. All of the company’s product launches occurred in North America, with 18 product launches in the United States and 9 in Canada. Most of the company’s products were within the other beverages category (with drinks such as protein smoothies and shakes) and the remaining launched in the snack subcategory.

Super Foods launched the second-largest number of hemp-containing products, with a total of 19 products launched in the ten-year review period (2008 to 2017). Super foods products launched were entirely new product introductions. The company products were launched in the United Kingdom (10), Germany (8), and France (1). All of the products launched were within the snack’s subcategory, most of which a variation of energy bars.

Triballat Noyal ranks third in terms of the most hemp-containing products launched, with a total of 18 products. Most of Triballat Noyal hemp-containing product launches occurred in 2009 (38%) and 2013 (20%). Over 61.1% of its hemp-containing products were a new product introductions, 38.9% were relaunches. All of the Triballat Noyal’s hemp-containing product launches occurred in Europe. Germany made up most of the product launches with total product amount of 6, followed by France with 5 products, and Czech Republic with 1 product.

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Sequel Naturals	27
Super Foods	19
Triballat Noyal	18
Braham & Murray	13
Nutriops	13
Planet Organic	9
Manitoba Harvest	9
Raw Health	8
Kurabiinica	8
Hemp Health	8

Source: Mintel, 2017.

*Note: Partial data available from January to mid November 2017.

For more information

International Trade Commissioners can provide Canadian industry with on-the-ground expertise regarding market potential, current conditions and local business contacts, and are an excellent point of contact for export advice.

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For additional intelligence on this and other markets, the complete library of Global Analysis reports can be found on the International Market Intelligence page, arranged by region.

Resources

• Euromonitor, 2017.
• Euromonitor, 2015. Hemp as Source of Omega Fatty Acids: Expanding Opportunities in Food and Beauty Care.
• Euromonitor, 2008. Why hemp is destined for a breakthrough.
• Mintel Global New Products Database, 2017.

Ingredient Focus - Hemp in in Packaged Food and Beverages
Global Analysis Report

Prepared by: Ranna Bernard, Market Analyst

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