This launch is using another staple, ice cubes, to deliver probiotics to consumers. Credit: Olga_Shestakova via Shutterstock.

Health has a significant influence on Singaporeans’ food and drink choices, and the COVID-19 crisis has only accentuated this emphasis on healthy eating. Indeed, according to a GlobalData survey, 39% of respondents stated that, since the start of the pandemic, ‘positive impact on health’ is now more important, or their top priority, when purchasing food/drinks*. Consequently, more consumers have turned to products that are thought to help build immunity against the disease. This resonates with recent GlobalData research, wherein 83% of respondents stated that they find ‘immunity-boosting’ claims to be somewhat or very appealing in food and beverages (F&B)*.

Given this consumer inclination for health-enhancing products, food and drinks producers in Singapore are focusing on launching innovative products with functional attributes. Accordingly, Singapore-based Uni-Tat Ice & Marketing Pte. Ltd. (Iceman) has introduced Probiotic Ice Cubes, which enable consumers to benefit from probiotics each time they use ice cubes beverages or meals. Made from only two ingredients, filtered water and a probiotic bacteria called Bifidobacterium lactis, the product is sold in a 144g plastic tray holding six ice cubes. According to the brand, the ice cubes contain more than 15 billion active probiotics that ‘provide immunity support, restore natural gut bacterial balance, prevent constipation and diarrhoea, protect against flu and other respiratory diseases, reduce the incidence and severity of cavities and tooth decay, decrease overall cholesterol count, and increase HDL cholesterol’.

Just as iodized salt serves as a medium to ensure adequate intake of iodine, this launch is using another staple, ice cubes, to deliver probiotics to consumers. The ice cubes do not alter the taste of the product they are used with, thus requiring no change to consumers’ eating or drinking habits. Familiarity, convenience, and the increasing desire for gut health and immunity boosters will likely benefit this innovative launch. Aligned with both the ‘personalization’ and ‘added functionality’ trends in GlobalData’s TrendSights, Iceman’s Probiotic Ice Cubes should appeal to the 77% of Singaporeans who find the claim ‘contains probiotics’ to be somewhat or very appealing in food and drinks*.

Convenient and natural solutions such as Iceman’s fortified ice cubes, which allow consumers to easily and effectively tailor their nutritional intake to their needs without the fuss of extensive meal plans have much promise in the F&B sector. This innovations main appeal is its versatility, as it can be incorporated into smoothies that require ice-blend mixes, to cocktails to add a health kick to a traditionally indulgent beverage. Overall, the outlook is bright for probiotic-fortified food and beverage products, including Iceman’s Probiotic Ice Cubes.

Source:

*GlobalData 2020 Market Pulse Survey Results – Singapore published in September 2020

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