LAS VEGAS—Yesterday’s Food and Beverage Education track at SupplySide West 2011 offered insight into a number of important issues, including building a beverage brand, marketing solutions for an aging demographic, and global market for health-oriented foods and drinks.

Wednesday’s food and beverage sessions kicked off with a lively discussion on “How and When Does Product Development, Ingredient and Marketing Converge in Building a Beverage brand?” moderated by marketing expert, James S. Tonkin. The panel included David Del Pozo, manager at The Coca-Cola Company’s North American Product Development team and Michael Hammer with Physic Ventures, representing PepsiCo. According to Tonkin, rethinking the business and fostering innovation is key in today’s market. He cautioned, “Just because you have a great idea, you can’t expect success. You have to get the system behind it,” as well as have the right expectations.

For positioning innovative new products in the health and wellness beverage market, Del Pozo explained three essential factors: Companies must clearly understand the science, which includes researching the evidence and understanding the position of the associated scientific bodies, such as the FDA. Product developers must know the stability of the bioactives in a finished product, including their effect on taste and appearance. They also need to understand the GRAS status of the ingredients.

During the Q&A portion of the presentation, Hammer said innovation can come from within the company as long as the people have expertise, but for development in a new area, it might be necessary to find that expertise on the outside. When asked about the status of beverage sweeteners, he said that Coca-Cola is actively looking at more-natural sweeteners, such as luo han guo and stevia, but pointed out “taste trumps all.”

Next up was “How to Better Market Solutions for Aging,” presented by Steven Walton, general manager, Health Focus International. Walton said that the rapidly growing aging population will change everything, not just in the United States, but in many countries throughout the world. About 31% of consumers are looking for future good health from nutrition, and this driver increases with age. But instead of treating aging as a “battlefield” he said savvy marketers will address the positives that resonate with the consumer, tapping into the current mindset of: “One life stage is not better than the other, just different.” That includes developing positive approaches to aging, such as addressing performance, for aging consumers that want to be the best they can be and feel good when they perform, or wellbeing, where nutrition interconnects with the physical, spiritual, social and emotional worlds.

Finishing off the food and beverages track on Wednesday was Ewa Hudson, head of global health and wellness research at Euromonitor with a look into the global market for health-oriented foods and drinks. She pointed out that most industrialized countries around the world share a common situation: a large percentage of individuals approaching advanced age that are consuming way too many calories on a daily basis. These folks are generally well educated and, therefore, tend to seek foods and beverages that can help them maintain or improve their health in this stage of life. The global market for “better-for-you” foods is at $160 billion, and Euromonitor projects that the market will grow by 28.4% through 2015. She tapped several product categories that are poised for growth, including: fortified waters, gaining a diversified edge with the addition of vitamin D and calcium for bone and joint health; digestive health beverages, notably yogurt drinks, featuring probiotics and fiber possibly branching into “beauty-from-within” territory; and digestive health gums, mints and chews perhaps receiving a boost with energy-oriented ingredients.