Fibre claims growing

Fibre, while not technically a ‘nutrient’, is an important part of a healthy diet.

The recent boom in consumer interest in health, nutrition and functionality has heavily focused on protein, which is necessary but shouldn’t be the sole focus of nutritionally complete eating habits.

However, the times they are a-changing. According to Innova Market Insights, fibre claims are ratcheting up across Europe and consumers are paying more attention to the healthy carb.

What is dietary fibre?

Dietary fibre is a carbohydrate, often found in plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, wholegrains, pulses and seeds.

Fibre improves digestive health, as well as lowering the risk of heart disease, stroke, bowel cancer and type-2 diabetes, according to the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). Furthermore, a high fibre diet can also increase satiety.

Are ‘high fibre’ claims rising?

As consumers have become more interested in the nuts and bolts of healthy eating, certain health claims have become more prominent. High-protein claims, for example, now dominate Europe.

Claims of ‘high in fibre’ have grown significantly over the past five years. According to Innova Market Insights, CAGR growth for the claims increased by 5.4% between May 2020 and May 2025.

Yet recently, the rate has been even greater, with product launches making adoption widen in the past 12 months.

Why do consumers want high fibre?

Consumer interest in fibre is high. In fact, it is stronger than interest in the much vaunted probiotics, according to Innova. In 2023, 39% of European consumers were ‘very or extremely interested’ in fibre, compared to just 24% for probiotics.

According to NIQ, 78% of consumers in Western Europe and 77% of consumers in Eastern Europe have a positive perception of high fibre foods, compared to 61% and 58% respectively for high protein plant-based foods. Furthermore, 40% of Western Europeans and 39% of Eastern Europeans said that they planned to buy more high fibre foods, compared with 30% and 25% respectively for high protein plant-based foods.

Although fibre has, in many consumers’ minds, been traditionally linked to gut health, this is changing, according to Mimi Bonnett, senior director at Innova Market Insights.

Also read → The high-protein craze continues

“The narrative is changing because of trendy innovation designed for younger adults such as probiotic soft drinks or meat alternatives.

“Fibre naturally ticks a lot of boxes that address not only health concerns but also the functionalities that European consumers seek in food and drink; like weight management, heart health and even blood sugar control. These represent opportunities for brands to contribute to a refreshed image for fibre.”

Another potential catalyst for the increase in fibre claims is the rapid rise of GLP-1 weight loss drugs, such as Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound. Consumers want to find nutrient-dense foods that can provide them with the fibre and other nutrients they need, and may otherwise be missing out on due to lower food consumption.

“Protein and fibre are sought after nutrients for consumers using these drugs and brands are responding with specific claims that target these users. Nestlé is among the leading brands in launches with fibre claims, largely tied to their Vital Pursuit line targeted to GLP-1 users.”

However, compared to health claims like low fat and low sugar, fibre is getting comparatively little attention from consumers, according to Emma Schofield, associate director for global food science at Mintel.

According to Mintel data, only 12% of Finnish, 15% of French, 15% of German and 19% of UK consumers consider fibre an important factor when shopping for food.

Is fortification leading the way?

Fibre naturally occurs in abundance in a great many products. But with fortification growing (the food fortifying agents market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.1% from 2024 to 2030, according to Grand View Research), fibre-fortified foods could also feed consumer needs.

Truthfully, high-fibre claims target “a little of both,” according to Bonnett.

Fibre claims on fruit and vegetables, which are natural sources of fibre, are growing at 15% CAGR versus 2020, according to Innova. Yet other categories where fibre isn’t necessarily naturally occurring, such as meat substitutes (16% CAGR) and even ice-cream and desserts (15% CAGR), are also driving growth.

Stacked sources of fibre – products that contain more than one fibre type – are also proliferating. The fastest growing fibre types are rice fibre (127% in past 12 months) and flaxseed fibre (77% CAGR in the past 5 years).

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