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Communicating about gut health to the consumer: presenting the BENEO® Programme

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

P. A. A. Coussement
P. A. A. Coussement*
Affiliation:
Sales & Marketing/Regulatory Affairs, ORAFTI Active Food Ingredients, Aandorenstraat 1, 3300 Tienen, Belgium
*
*Corresponding author: Dr P. A. A. Coussement, tel +32 16 801 301, email paul.coussement@orafti.com
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Abstract

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Providing sufficient scientific data to be able to make ‘health related claims’ on foods is quite a challenge. But bringing these claims successfully to the consumer is perhaps an even bigger challenge. Especially when the claims are based on the function of the intestinal tract, as this is a subject that not everybody communicates easily about. In our consumer research, we have focused on how the new consumer thinks and talks about gut health. We found out that he is aware of the existence and the importance of gut microflora. He believes that foods can influence his own flora. At the same time, our research has tested the efficiency of several ways to communicate about these aspects. The consumer reacts quite differently on different marketing concepts. He accepts that natural ingredients can help his gut flora and expects to find such active ingredients in common everyday foods and also in diet supplements. Based on this research, we have condensed the ‘prebiotic’ message about inulin and oligofructose into a number of simple communications. The best of these were selected for further consumer product testing. The results of this effort form the basis of the BENEO® Programme: a communication platform created by ORAFTI that allows the food industry, in partnership with ORAFTI, to bring a uniform and clear message to the consumer about the health benefits of inulin and oligofructose.

Keywords

Health claimsScientific substantiationGut well-being
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 87 , Issue S2 , May 2002 , pp. S301 - S303
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2002

References

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