Interest in food and drinks carrying gut or digestive health claims appears to be continuing unabated, at least as far as food and drinks companies are concerned, despite a number of adverse influences, including the economic downturn, consumer confusion over the range of products and ingredients available and their benefits, and difficulties over claims validation in Europe. Innova Market Insights tracked more than 4000 launches globally marketed on a gut or digestive health platform in 2009, up from about 2000 just five years previously. The gut/digestive health sector was the first in the international functional foods market to come to the fore, starting to rise to prominence in the 1980s outside Asia, although significant sales were not achieved in the west until well into the next decade. It remains the leading sector in terms of market size and activity in most countries, with the notable exception of the U.S., and even there rapid growth over the past five years has boosted the market considerably. Estimates now put the global market for gut health foods and drinks at more than $10 billion a year. The emergence of new-style dairy products, most notably probiotic yogurts and dairy drinks, has moved the market forward since their move out of Asia and into the mainstream western markets in the 1990s. Dairy products accounted for more than 40% of the gut/digestive health launches recorded by Innova Market Insights in 2009, although this share was down slightly over 2008, reflecting the wider range of products appearing on the market.