By Bill Peters
Big companies are rushing to cash in on fiber treats and 'functional snacking' - but experts warn about overestimating the health benefits
Fiber, once a staple of some cereals, has gone mainstream, as food companies infuse it into more snacks and drinks.
Have you been &#34;fibermaxxing&#34; lately? If so, the nation's biggest food companies have fiber-infused soda, popcorn and candy bars that they want to sell you.
Search for fibermaxxing on social media and you'll see any number of recipes for chia pudding and bean salad, as well as influencers talking up the benefits of a high-fiber diet. In turn, older consumer-goods mainstays like Kraft Heinz (KHC) and PepsiCo (PEP) are trying to keep up - rolling out fiber-loaded takes on some of their biggest household-name brands, or outright buying their way into the space.
The heightened attention to the substance comes as wellness intersects more deeply with health, and as GLP-1 weight-loss medications alter the way Americans eat. However, the broader &#34;functional&#34; food-and-drink industry - think fiber sodas and protein-boosted waffles - has become more competitive in recent months, with signs of oversaturation.
And while researchers say increased attention to fiber can bring benefits, they warn about snacks whose other ingredients might interfere with fiber's effects. Some also say Americans - as in the case of previous health fads - run the risk of overdoing it.
&#34;Obviously, I would prefer people get fiber from plants, fruits, vegetables, whole grains,&#34; said Joanne Slavin, a food-science and nutrition professor at the University of Minnesota. &#34;But I'm also a practical person and realize that for a lot of people, we have to meet them where they are.&#34;
New products and acquisitions
To meet customers where they are, brands aren't necessarily doubling down on fiber-bomb staples like Kellogg's All-Bran cereal, but rather looking to drinks and snacks.
For instance, PepsiCo has its own namesake prebiotic cola with fiber, which it made available nationwide in February. Citing the fibermaxxing trend - which, simply put, calls for eating more fiber - the company in March announced the launch of Smartfood popcorn and Sun Chips that both contain fiber. And last year, Pepsi acquired Poppi, which makes soda with prebiotic fiber in it, for $1.95 billion.
Meanwhile, Unilever (UL) last month agreed to buy Gruns, whose gummies also contain prebiotic fiber. Also last month, Kraft Heinz rolled out a new version of fiber-infused Mac &amp; Cheese to big retailers. Beyond Meat (BYND) in recent months has launched meat substitutes and drinks with more fiber, and Hershey (HSY) in March called out its fiber-heavy One bar as part of its &#34;robust innovation road map.&#34;
Elsewhere, spice maker McCormick &amp; Co. (MKC) recently noted that it adds ingredients like protein and fiber to its products. Conagra Brands (CAG) has said its &#34;fiber-forward snacks and meals&#34; would help it draw younger consumers. And Oreo maker Mondelez International (MDLZ), on its earnings call last month, also said it was focused on the trend.
&#34;We have really leaned into mainstream premium benefits such as protein and fiber,&#34; Dana McNabb, group president of the North America retail and pet segments at General Mills (GIS), said during the company's earnings call in March, highlighting upcoming items like Annie's fruit snacks and Larabar snack bars with fiber and protein. &#34;That is resonating really well.&#34;
'Sneaky healthy'
Unlike protein - the other major trend the food industry is trying to cash in on - Americans generally don't get enough fiber, which can aid digestive health and help cut cholesterol. Processed foods that line supermarket shelves are among the main reasons why.
Estimates put the average amount of fiber that Americans eat at around 15 grams per day or less. That's much lower than the 21 to 38 grams recommended for adults, according to the Mayo Clinic. Only 5% of men and 9% of women get enough fiber, according to the American Society for Nutrition.
Slavin said that in years past, research on fiber would be filed away in a library and forgotten. Social media, she noted, had helped revive interest in the ways the gut and the brain work together. GLP-1 users, she added, have also gravitated toward fiber to help deal with constipation, a common side effect of those medications.
Fiber-drink concoctions of years past were lumpy or chalky and generally tasted awful, even if they managed to deliver more fiber itself. Stephen Ellsworth, Poppi's co-founder, said manufacturers who focus a bit more on taste, as well as making a product easy to incorporate into a daily routine, would ultimately emerge as winners in the industry.
&#34;We always wanted to be 'sneaky healthy,' where we could slip in three grams of fiber,&#34; he said.
Ellsworth, who is no longer involved in Poppi's day-to-day operations, noted that people generally have more than one soda per day. Some of Poppi's rivals, meanwhile, sell drinks with as much as nine grams of fiber. &#34;Think about consuming 18 grams of fiber at lunch,&#34; he said.
Indeed, Slavin said one of the risks of rushing head-on into a fully fibermaxxed diet is the potential for bloating and other stomach trouble, which could make people give up on longer-term consumption habits. Starting more slowly, with lots of water and variety in your diet, is a smarter approach.
Fibermaxxed out?
Kantha Shelke, a food scientist and senior lecturer at Johns Hopkins University, also noted that different types of fiber do different things - and deliver varying degrees of benefits, depending on the form.
Soluble fiber - found in things like oats and lentils - dissolves in water, slows digestion and helps lower some cholesterol, Shelke said. Insoluble fiber - found in foods like whole wheat and wheat bran - helps clear out the gut, and is not digested. Prebiotic fiber, from sources like legumes, fortifies the good bacteria in your digestive system and, in turn, benefits your metabolism and immune system.
Moreover, the foods that naturally carry certain types of fiber, thanks to moisture levels or other characteristics, often make for the best delivery systems for that fiber. Removing that fiber from its natural habitat and putting it in a potato chip, for instance, can reduce the health benefits.
Shelke also observed that a fortified snack with, say, six grams of fiber but 15 grams of added sugar can't be called a health food.
&#34;If it is a snack or a food product that has six grams of fiber, but it also comes with added sugar or salt, that fiber is no longer redeeming the product,&#34; she said. &#34;It's a decoration, because your system has to now fight the sugar while it's trying to digest it.&#34;
The functional-food industry broadly has also shown signs of getting crowded. BellRing Brands (BRBR), which makes Premier Protein drinks, said last week that rivals were piling into the industry and cutting prices.
Ellsworth noted that at a recent conference for natural brands, protein products were everywhere - in chips, dips and sauces. He added that diets involving &#34;maxxing&#34; are often shortcuts made in place of more balanced habits.
&#34;Fibermaxxing - 'maxxing' of whatever - typically falls out of favor pretty quickly because it's simply not sustainable,&#34; he said.
Still, Slavin suggested the future of fiber consumption is unlikely to look the way it did for generations past, as people get more comfortable talking about digestive health.
&#34;People say, 'Oh, once these All-Bran consumers die, how will we get young people to eat All-Bran?'&#34; Slavin said. The answer, she added: &#34;I don't think we will.&#34;
-Bill Peters
This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones &amp; Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-10-26 1100ET

FTXG

PEPS

The trend of 'fibermaxxing' has led major food companies like PepsiCo and Kraft Heinz to launch fiber-infused products, including sodas and snacks. Experts caution against overestimating the health benefits, emphasizing that while fiber can aid digestion, many new products may contain ingredients that counteract its effects. The average American consumes only about 15 grams of fiber daily, well below the recommended intake. As the market for functional foods grows, brands are focusing on taste and convenience to attract consumers, with social media playing a significant role in promoting fiber's benefits.

Dow Jones

PepsiCo

Kraft Heinz

Invesco Food & Beverage ETF

SPDR FD Consumer Staples

VG Consumer Stap

First Trust NASDAQ Food & Beverage

Parametric Equity Plus ETF

iShares US Consumer Staples ETF

Unilever

Unilever PLC

Beyond Meat

Hershey

Mccormick

Conagra Brands

Mondelez

General Mills

Kraft Heinz Company

McCormick & Co MD

'Fibermaxxing' has spurred the launch of fiber sodas and gummies. Is the craze going too far?