THE RISE OF FOOD WITH BENEFITS

The SIAL Insights White Paper is a trend report developed for SIAL Paris to decode the shifts shaping global food and foodservice markets. Its 2026 edition draws on work by Kantar, ProtéinesXTC and Circana, covering consumer behaviour, product innovation and purchasing patterns across French, European and global markets.

Its first insight, “Healthy Food: Fuel for a High-Performance Body”, captures a decisive change in how consumers read the shelf. Health is no longer a background reassurance, a small claim tucked beside flavour or origin. It is becoming a purchase filter in its own right. The report notes that nutritional benefits now rank ahead of food safety among consumer priorities, at 38% versus 35% globally according to Kantar.

From natural to functional

For years, naturalness carried much of the health conversation. Clean labels, recognisable ingredients and minimal processing became shorthand for “better”. That language has not disappeared, but its weight is shifting. According to ProtéinesXTC, naturalness as a product claim fell by 12.5 points in France and 6.5 points globally, while functional food has strengthened as a confirmed trend.

The new consumer question is more direct: what does this product do for the body? Energy, metabolic balance, immunity, digestion and vitality are becoming commercial promises, but also design briefs. Kantar data cited in the report shows that six in ten consumers globally prioritise digestive and metabolic health, energy, immunity and vitality when choosing functional products, compared with five in ten in France.

This is changing the rhythm of product development across food industry sectors. Beverages, snacks, dairy, cereal bars, ready meals and even indulgent categories are being asked to carry a benefit. Pleasure still matters, but it is increasingly expected to arrive with purpose.

Protein moves into the mainstream

Protein has become the most visible expression of this performance-led food culture. Once concentrated around gyms, sports nutrition aisles and specialist powders, it has moved into yoghurts, biscuits, drinks, pasta, desserts and snacking formats. Protein-enriched products have “invaded” shelves and viral communications in 2025 and 2026, reflecting both renewed interest in body culture and a more diversified diet that is also gaining in plant-based options.

For a food innovation show like SIAL Paris, this matters because the protein boom is not only about athletes. It speaks to ageing, active lifestyles, weight management, convenience and satiety. It also opens space for fibres, legumes and hybrid formats, as the digestive health conversation grows alongside the muscle and energy narrative.

GLP-1 and smaller, denser formats

The GLP-1 effect adds another layer. These treatments, associated with appetite regulation and satiety, are already influencing food behaviour in the United States and could shape broader expectations elsewhere. Among people currently or previously using GLP-1 treatments, 54% report reducing food intake, 53% choose more nutrient-rich products and 62% say they are more attentive to what they consume, according to a Circana US study.

For food manufacturers, the implication is not simply smaller portions. It is a possible shift from volume to density. Products may need to deliver more nutrition, clearer benefits and greater satisfaction in more compact formats. Snacks could become meal-adjacent. Drinks could become nutrient carriers. Mini portions may no longer signal restriction, but precision.

This also raises questions around responsibility. Functional claims must remain credible, understandable and compliant. As food becomes more performance-driven, brands will need to avoid drifting into vague medical language while still answering consumers’ desire for control, energy and measurable wellbeing.

Health, pleasure and the body as a market

This explains why functional food is unlikely to retreat into clinical formats. The winning products will not taste like compromise. They will need texture, flavour, portability and emotional appeal, whether they target protein, fibre, energy or vitality. The performance body is not only the athletic body. It is the busy body, the ageing body, the stressed body, the body managing appetite, digestion, fatigue and long days.
For SIAL Paris 2026, this first insight points to a market where health is becoming more personal, more fragmented and more commercial. The next wave of innovation will come from companies able to combine nutritional clarity with pleasure, scientific restraint with creativity, and product benefits with the lived realities of modern consumers. At SIAL Paris, that conversation will move from the white paper to the aisles, where the future of healthy food will be tasted, tested and compared in real time.

Image credits:
Alex Saks - Unsplash