Time for Europe to take Japanese lessons

摘要

Unilever's decision to launch a blood pressure-lowering dairy drink in Europe, using an active ingredient sourced from Japan, reminds us that it was Japan that gave birth to the whole concept of functional foods, almost 20 years ago. Today the Japanese market for functional foods and beverages is far more developed than that of Europe or the US and as such there are some very clear lessons for the dairy industry from the Japanese experience. The story of Calpis' Ameal S, the brand whose launch back in 1997 gave birth to the blood pressure lowering category in Japan, provides some useful pointers for the future of functional foods in Europe.