Functional food: Supply and demand in a modern society

Abstract

Functional food represents a group of foodstuffs which satisfies not only basic, but also additional physiological needs, improves health and reduces the risk of disease. The subject of this paper is functional food from the aspect of supply and demand in hospitality facilities, as a modern trend in nutrition. The aim of the research is to provide answers to the following questions, which refer to the hospitality sector: Are hospitality workers familiar with characteristics of functional food? Do hospitality workers face demand of functional food? Is there an option of preparing functional food in restaurants where the respondents work? Are guests willing to pay extra for preparation of food which is beneficial to their health? The survey included respondents (n= 105) in restaurants in Novi Sad (AP Vojvodina, Serbia). Based on the conducted survey, we came to a conclusion that workers are acquainted with the term of functional food. Visitors of hospitality facilities (guests) often demand such food, and restaurants have an option of preparing food which is beneficial to health, but consumers are not completely prepared to compensate on food taste for health benefits.