Although the ad slogan, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste,” was developed in 1972 for the United Negro College Fund, it has since become part of the American vernacular. As consumers increasingly strive to improve their cognition and overall health and well-being, more products are being launched that target consumers’ need for improved memory, focus, concentration and mood, experts say.

They note that the human brain is a complex organ, and, as a result, consumers from all walks of life, including millennials, baby boomers and Generation Z, increasingly are looking for functional beverages to help maintain or boost healthy cognitive function and stave off memory-robbing diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Two main driving forces are contributing to the rise in cognitive health ingredients: food as medicine and a rise in diseases that lead to cognitive impairment, notes Ilana Orlofsky, marketing coordinator at Imbibe, Niles, Ill.

“Consumers, especially millennials and Gen Z, look to food to treat or prevent ailments because they have increased awareness and access to information on preventive healthcare,” she explains. “The baby boomers, who are now approaching 71, seek out cognitive health ingredients to help maintain healthy cognitive function and to stave off diseases, like Alzheimer’s, which affects one in nine people age 65 and older.”

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