Consumer demand for healthy lifestyle (HLS) and proper nutrition products is demonstrating steady growth, definitively moving beyond the confines of niche specialty stores. As data from major retail players show, the HLS category has firmly established itself in the mass segment and is becoming one of the key sales drivers in the convenience store format.

Statistics and Demand Dynamics

At the end of 2025, the federal retail chain Pyaterochka recorded an explosive surge in customer interest in the healthy food category. The turnover of proper nutrition products in physical volume increased sevenfold compared to the previous year. During this period, the chain sold over 100 million units of specialized products. According to internal analytics, every seventh store visitor purchased goods from this category at least once.

The data correlates with broader market estimates: according to the Association of Retail Companies (AKORT), demand for HLS products in federal retail grew by an average of 15–30% across the market, while in certain chains, the growth reached 40%.

Who Buys HLS Products: From Simple Ingredients to Functionality

Sales analytics reveal that the understanding of "healthy eating" varies significantly depending on the age of consumers, yet it encompasses all demographic groups.

• The older generation generates foundational demand. For this audience, the key criteria are simple, understandable ingredients and product safety. They cook at home more often and therefore choose "right" foundational ingredients without artificial additives.
• Millennials and Gen Z act as the primary growth drivers for the "functional food" subcategory. For them, food becomes a tool for solving specific tasks: they actively purchase products enriched with protein (to maintain physical fitness) and enzymes (for comfortable digestion), as well as healthy sweets for quick energy recovery.

Shelf Transformation

Adapting to the changing habits of Russians, retailers are actively scaling their HLS assortments. The product matrix in stores is expanding with gluten-free and lactose-free products, plant-based milk, vegan desserts, and products with alternative sweeteners (stevia, Jerusalem artichoke syrup). Within just one retail chain, the healthy food matrix was expanded from 20 to over 100 SKUs, and a dedicated HLS shelf is now implemented in thousands of stores across the country.

The transition of the HLS assortment from a niche to the mass segment of federal retail chains indicates a fundamental shift in the consumer behavior of Russians. Healthy eating has become a conscious choice for a wide range of consumers — from young people seeking functionality to the older generation valuing clean ingredients. For the B2B market and food manufacturers, this opens up significant opportunities. Suppliers capable of adapting their recipes, eliminating artificial additives, and offering high-quality products to retailers in an accessible price segment gain the chance for long-term contracts and rapid scaling of supply volumes.