Market and marketing of functional food in Europe

In the paper an overview is given about the market situation of Functional Food in Europe. The global market of Functional Food is estimated up to 33 billion US$, the respective market estimations for Europe exceed 2 billion US$, representing less than 1% of the European food market. Functional dairy products are the key product sector accounting for sales of around 1.35 billion US$ in 1999 in Europe. Mostly multinational food companies as well as international suppliers profit from the market growth of Functional Food. A limited number of small and medium-sized companies is active in market niches or offer "me-too" products. Specific efforts in nutritional research, product development and marketing are necessary to realise long-lasting market success of Functional Food products. Therefore the market is characterised by a high rate of product failures. General success factors for the marketing of food (like tasty products, convenience, variety) play a crucial role in Functional Food as well.