Scope
FOSHU are products officially approved to claim their physiological effects, and it is under an individual approval system.

After rapid expansion over a decade, the market growth slowed down in 2007.

The biggest three product categories are gut health, neutral fats and body fat, and dental care.

Sales routes of FOSHU products changed slightly over the years, and the internet is the most frequently used marketing media.

Report Highlights
FOSHU (food for specified health use) are foods and drinks that have received government permission to make approved health claims. Under the current system, FOSHU approval includes standardized FOSHU, qualified FOSHU and reduction of disease risk FOSHU.

The market value of FOSHU products is estimated to have reached JPY 679.82 billion, showing a 7.92% growth compared with 2005. The total number of products with FOSHU approval at the end of 2007 was 755, with the largest growth of approved products during one year since 1993.

Products related to gut health category continued to dominate the market; lactic acid bacteria remained as the major sector, with the value of JPY 324.9 billion (47.8% of market value) in 2007. Products related to lipids (neutral fats, body fat) and dental care are the second and third largest category respectively.

Reasons to Purchase
This brief covers market value trends of FOSHU market in Japan over the years.

It contains analysis of product categories including gut health, lipids, blood sugar, dental care, bones and minerals, blood pressure and cholesterol.

It also covers key product developments in 2006 / 2007 in each category, plus analysis of sales routes and marketing media.