Demographic changes in contemporary societies has promoted sectors of consumers aware of the food they buy for health reasons, as functional foods, whose demand has grown in diverse countries as Mexico, recognized as one of the emergent market with the highest consumption of these products in Latin America. However, there is little knowledge on the attitudes of Mexican consumers toward functional foods. The objective was to explore the perception of functional foods by Mexican urban consumers using the free word association technique. A total of 610 persons were asked the three first words that came to their minds with the stimulus “functional food.” Twenty‐three categories were grouped in nine dimensions, the most important were: Health, Nutrition, and Foods and Nutrients. Differences due to age and schooling level were found in dimensions and categories. Consumers have a clear idea of “functional food” that explains growth in this market. The promotion of functional foods should take into consideration the demands that specific groups of consumers have for these products. Practical applications This work is a first approach on the study of the perception of Mexican urban consumers toward functional foods, with results that may be useful for public or private entities. As mentioned in works conducted in other areas of the world, demographic and socio‐economic characteristics are identified as significant determinants; the perception toward functional foods is positively associated with educational achievement, age and women. Taking into consideration the diabetes and overweight problems of the Mexican population, research results indicate an opportunity for producers of functional foods for an adequate development, improvement, and promotion of these products to meet specific perceptions of each target group of consumers.