New business opportunities

: disruption in the food supplement industry? : gummies as a driver of market transformation and consumer behaviour change

Abstract

With functional gummies, a new category of products has emerged in the context of the growing global interest in nutrition and health products. These predominantly act as a challenger for traditional capsule and tablet products. According to innovation theory, there is a significant risk in failing to distinguish between different types of innovation and therewith fail to adapt to market developments sufficiently in time. A clear distinction is crucial to understand and strategically utilise market dynamics to ensure long-term market participation and potentially generate competitive advantages. The purpose of this paper is to help categorise the innovation and therefore anticipate its potential behaviour and impact on the German market. This was answered based on interviews with industry experts and analysis of survey data. In this regard, several key factors influencing the adoption of functional gummies were identified. The importance of hedonic values for the consumption of functional gummies is a key finding of this paper. The "fun component" and flavour enhances the consumption experience and contribute significantly to consumers' positive attitude towards functional gummies. This clearly distinguishes functional gummies from traditional food supplements such as capsules and tablets, which tend to centre on utilitarian values. Furthermore, this paper examines market diffusion and consumer behaviour using the theory of planned behaviour. In this context, social norms, intention and attitudes prove to be significant influencing factors for the consumption of functional gummies. In addition, the findings emphasise the importance of trust, knowledge transfer and the perception of product quality for market penetration.

Date of Award	24 Jun 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Rute Xavier (Supervisor)