Brain Fuel: a new angle in the cognitive health market

Cognitive health and younger consumers

Cognitive health is a worry for consumers, with 36% of people across the globe citing it as a health concern in 2025, with this being only third to heart health and digestive health. This is because people experience symptoms such as a lack of concentration (39%) and a lack of mental focus (37%) at least occasionally, research in the same year shows. Poor cognitive health is something that can be attributed to various issues, ranging from poor sleeping patterns to stress and uncertainty, to poor dietary habits. The fact that many consumers cite concern about their eye health and report symptoms such as blurred vision, indicate that exposure to blue light and large periods of time spent in front of digital devices is also a key reason. Historically, cognitive health was something more synonymous with older consumers because of the link with age-related problems such as dementia. While it is true that seniors tend to be more worried about cognitive health due to a concern that it can be the start of more serious problems, it is younger people who are more likely to report suffering symptoms such as a lack of concentration and an inability to focus (a total of 50% and 48% of Generation Z reporting this compared to 24% and 28% of Baby Boomers). This shows that younger consumers are a key audience for the cognitive health market, and focus should not be on looking to maintain a good quality of life and maintaining healthy ageing, but instead, how cognitive health should be associated with day-to-day preventative wellness because of issues such as over-exposure to technology. It is worth noting that whilst brands should look to promote messaging around limiting use of technology amongst younger adults and taking regular breaks and protection from blue light, this is less likely to resonate with younger consumers who have grown up in an era of digital dependency and as such, will underestimate the time they spend on such technology and will be more reluctant to give such technology. As such, messages should shift from helping eliminate symptoms to instead, brain optimization and preventing symptoms from being experienced.

Cognitive health and wellness priorities

While cognitive health is a concern, it is not a priority for consumers when it comes to areas of well-being they are looking to improve over the next twelve months. For instance, 2025 research shows that 46% of global consumers are looking to improve their cognitive health over the last twelve months. This is the sixth biggest priority of wellness for consumers over the next twelve months, and lags significantly behind the top two answers of boosting energy levels (63%) and mental well-being (58%). This deficit highlights two issues. Consumers will tend to take a reactive approach to cognitive health and look to address it only when symptoms tend to have a more severe impact on quality of life and secondly, people are focusing on areas of wellness where they feel they can measure improvements relatively instantly. If brands are going to ensure that people take a more proactive approach to their cognitive health, they must look to highlight how poor cognitive health is something that can result in people feeling tired and fatigued, and can also impact on mood as traits such as general forgetfulness and feeling sluggish is something that can impact quality of life. This is something that will increase the relevancy of the cognitive health category amongst consumers, especially younger people, if an axis can be established that these three areas of well-being are interconnected.

The rise of brain fuel

The most effective way of doing this is shifting the emphasis within the cognitive health market and encouraging proactivity by positioning cognitive health as a general wellness issue that consumers should be focusing on. Moreover, emphasis should move away from addressing symptoms such as tiredness and fatigue, or blurred vision, or other symptoms, to brain optimization. The concept of brain fuel is something that can help facilitate this. FMCG Gurus research conducted in 2025 shows that 58% of global consumers say that they are interested in food and drink products that offer a sustained energy specifically for the brain, which keeps them feeling alert and mentally active. Moreover, the level of appeal of such products is relatively consistent amongst Generation Z, Millennials and Generation X, before dropping off amongst Baby Boomers (a trend that is mirrored in the energy-boosting market). The concept of brain fuel is something that allows the cognitive health market to make direct links with the energy boosting market. This is something that is beneficial for two reasons. Firstly, energy is the key area of well-being that consumers are looking to address meaning that logically, it is an area within the wellness market where there is good scope for innovation.

Secondly, it enables cognitive health claims to extend into markets such as sports nutrition and impulse categories such as soft drinks and snack bars. This is important as one of the most popular types of product formats that consumers turn to in order to boost their cognitive health is nutritional supplements. Whilst consumers may benefit from increased dosages, they admit they can struggle to stick to daily intake rituals, which can lead to them giving up supplements completely. Entry into impulse categories means that cognitive health can be given greater consideration when it comes to on-the-go purchasing/consumption.

Energy attitudes and market opportunity

Addressing energy is a priority amongst consumers for two reasons. Firstly, they are prone to feeling tired and fatigued as they look to cram as many activities into the day as possible whilst having their ability to relax and have good sleeping patterns impacted by various worries and concerns that they feel are out of their control. Secondly, consumers are re-evaluating their attitudes towards energy, no longer seeing tiredness and fatigue purely as a reflection of the need to get more rest and sleep, but that it indicates a greater vulnerability to disease and immunity because of a run-down immune system. As such, people are taking a greater interest in foods, drinks, supplements and ingredients associated with offering a safe and sustained energy boost outside of the “traditional” energy boosting market. Given that there has been a proliferation of claims within the energy boosting market in recent years that have included cognitive wellness, it highlights a market opportunity to create an adjacent category within the energy boosting market where the bigger focus is on brain fuel and brain optimization, and this is tied to offering physical energy-based benefits due to feeling more alert and active. When making these claims, science will be needed to validate claims, to enhance credibility and to overcome concerns that the energy boost (be it physical or cognitive) comes from a safe and sustained source. However, whilst the energy market is the obvious opportunity to push and capitalize on the concept of brain fuel, caution must be applied. Indeed, whilst consumers are re-evaluating their attitudes to the concept of energy, they can still be conscious about the use of “traditional” energy boosting products. This is because of the worry that high dosages of certain ingredients can create side-effects. These concerns tend to be higher amongst older consumers, who are also more reluctant to the concept of brain fuel. Whilst the notion of brain fuel is something that should be targeted at younger adults because of the focus on brain optimization and protection because of digital lifestyles, there must be reassurance that the source of ingredients used in products are natural, and do not create the risk of side-effects and can be used as an overall balanced diet and lifestyle.

Generation Alpha and future relevance

Amongst parents with children aged up to 14 years, screen time is the biggest concern that they have, with 61% in 2025 stating that this was deemed a barrier to their children growing up healthily (the biggest answer given). Given that Generation Alpha will be exposed to technology at an even earlier age than Generation Z, and technology is used more to educate and keep these children entertained, it is likely that these will continue the pattern over the next ten years, whereby younger adults are more likely to report symptoms such as an inability to concentrate and focus than their older cohorts, which will further increase the relevancy of brain fuel and optimization and a focus on day-to-day protection over the next decade.