Foods with Function Claims

Zen International Patents and Trademark

More than 2 years has passed since the system of “Foods with Function Claims” was introduced in Japan. The purpose of the system is to make more products available clearly labeled with certain nutritional or health functions and to enable consumers to make more informed choices.

The market of “Foods with Function Claims” has been growing.  According to the report by Fuji Keizai, Japanese marketing research & consulting group, the market in 2015 was 30 billion yen, and in 2017 it is expected to reach 131 billion yen.

It is reported that the sales of the Kagome's (Kagome Co., Ltd.) tomato juice with label stating Function Claims that “lycopene increases blood HDL (good) cholesterol” was 173% over the previous year.

Kagome Tomato Juice

To make function claims under the system, certain procedures are required.  In Japan, “Foods with Function Claims” has become a hot topic among health care products and food industry.
Also, the number of patent applications related to “Foods with Function Claims” has been increasing.

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