The list includes nutraceuticals that can positively impact the aging process itself as well as those that positively impact aspects of human physiology that tend to decline with age, such as joint health and cognitive health.

Antiaging nutraceutical ingredients: What’s trending?

HerbalGram's 2020 Herb Market Report shows that herbal supplement sales grew a record 17.3% in 2020. 

Herbal supplement sales surpass $10 billion, says HerbalGram

Thursday, September 23, 2021 at 10am EDT | 11am EDT | 1pm EDT | 2pm EDT

Nutritional Outlook’s Fall 2021 Condition-Specific Symposium

 published by the American Botanical Council (Austin, TX), released its 2020 Herb Market Report. Using US retail sales data provided by SPINS and the 

 reports that herbal dietary supplement sales in the U.S. surpassed $10 billion for the first time. This is a record 17.3% increase from sales 

, the segment has not experienced double-digit growth in at least two decades.

According to NBJ data, the mass market channel saw the strongest growth (25.1%), totaling $2.131 billion in 2020. Direct sales, which include online sales, grew 23.7% in 2020, more than twice its sales growth in 2019, to $6.179 billion. The natural, health food, and specialty channel saw the most modest growth at 1.6% in 2020, but its sales ($2.95 billion) have surpassed mass market for at least 15 years.

Based on SPINS data, the 52 weeks ending December 27, 2020, the herbal ingredients driving sales growth in the mainstream retail channels were elderberry, apple cider vinegar, and ashwagandha. In the mainstream multi-outlet channel, elderberry, apple cider vinegar, and ashwagandha sales grew 150.3%, 133.8%, and 185.2%, respectively. Elderberry sales have more than doubled each year since 2018 and in 2020, the herb displaced horehound, which is traditionally used for respiratory support, most recognizably in lozenges such as Ricola. In 2019, elderberry was the third highest selling herb in this channel behind horehound and echinacea, but in 2020 became the top selling herb, dropping horehound to number two. Echinacea fell to number seven, but still experienced 39.3% sales growth, while horehound fell in sales by 11.4%.

Elderberry has become well recognized as an ingredient that supports immune health, which was of particular interest to consumers during the pandemic, while the lozenges that contain horehound are more typically used to manage symptoms such as sore throat 

 illness, which could explain the ingredient’s decline. Elderberry also saw double digit growth in the U.S. natural channel, with a 68.2% increase in sales. In ingredient was the second highest grossing in the natural channel, just behind cannabidiol (CBD).

Despite being the highest grossing ingredient of the natural channel, CBD sales did decline 36.9% in 2020, the only ingredient in that channel to decline more than 30%. This is also the first time CBD has seen a decline in sales since 2017, when the ingredient breached the 40 top-selling ingredient of the natural channel. The ingredient also fell 30% in the mainstream multi-outlet channel. Compare this to its immense 872.3% sales growth in 2019. Despite projections that the ingredient would continue to grow, the pandemic appeared to interrupt its momentum amid shifting priorities. At this year’s 2021 SupplySide East, NBJ’s content and insights director Bill Giebler framed this decline as a potential positive. According to Giebler, CBD may be transitioning from a sensation (or fad) to a standard herbal ingredient (but still a popular one). This means that unlike a fad, CBD has planted its roots in the dietary supplement space, and will continue to be an option for consumers and drive dietary supplement sales.

One ingredient making its first appearance in the 40 top-selling herbal ingredients of the mainstream multi-outlet channel is beta-sitosterol. The ingredient saw the fourth highest sales increase in that channel with 52.3%. The most abundant plant sterol in the human diet, beta-sitosterol can be found in rice, wheat, soy, and peanuts. As a dietary supplement it is largely marketed to support prostate health, cardiovascular health, as well as cholesterol management. Beta-sitosterol products with prostate health claims made up the majority of sales in 2020 for the ingredient, says SPINS. The increase in mainstream sales of beta-sitosterol, says 

, may be due in part to an increased focus on age-related health concerns.

For more insights, the report can be read in full 

Smith T et al. “Herbal Supplement Sales in US Increase by Record-Breaking 17.3% in 2020 Sales of immune health, stress relief, and heart health supplements grow during COVID-19 pandemic.” 

Articles

Alissa Marrapodi is Industry Insights Contributor, Custom Content Editor, MJH Life Sciences.

 Rosella from Lallemand Health Solutions (Mirabel, Canada) for the support of a healthy vaginal microbiome and approved the following claims: 

Helps support a healthy vaginal microflora

“This unique probiotic strain, isolated from a healthy vaginal flora with full mechanistic and clinical evidence, is one of the most documented strains in the world in the women’s health area. It has been studied in over 800 women, in six clinical studies, including two by oral intake. Health Canada just confirmed the strain’s ability to support women’s intimate health while taken orally,” said Solange Henoud, global regulatory affairs director at Lallemand Health Solutions, in a press release. “Women will be enthusiastic to rely on such a natural solution with a convenient route of administration. On a separate note, it is important to notice how Canadian regulators are recognizing terms such as microbiome which at the end will also serve to enlighten consumers, through accurate labelling, on the most modern scientific language used in our field.”

Health Canada recognizes a probiotic from Lallemand Health Solutions for the support of a healthy vaginal microbiome. 

Health Canada approves women’s health claims for Lallemand’s probiotic

While most everyone on the planet breathed a sigh of relief when they flipped the calendar page from December of last year to January of the current one, those in the botanicals industry had at least some reason to feel positive about 2020.

And who can blame them? “The 2020 botanicals market was a landmark year thanks to increased supplement use during the pandemic,” recalls Francesca de Rensis, marketing director, Indena S.p.A. (Milan, Italy).

(NBJ) data indicating that while vitamins and dietary supplements overall grew at a healthy 14.5% rate, “combination herbs and botanicals” not only surpassed that mile marker but nearly doubled it, growing at an even more impressive 24.7% for the year.

In retrospect, the reasons why are clear. As de Rensis says, “The market dynamics shifted to where consumers were proactively managing their health, and botanical supplements became a part of their everyday health routines.”

But will they stay there? If the industry has any say in the matter, they sure will. In fact, botanical brands are already doing everything they can to keep momentum rolling on the demand side, and product at the ready on the supply.

De Rensis is hardly alone in classifying last year as a banner one for botanicals. “The market had a terrific time in 2020 thanks in large part to the pandemic,” agrees Scott Dicker, marketing data analyst, SPINS LLC (Chicago).

But COVID-19 doesn’t deserve all the credit for boosting botanicals’ prospects. As Sabrina DeBlasio, director, communication and branding, OmniActive Health Technologies Inc. (Morristown, NJ), notes, the sector was already situated for strength.

“The herbs and botanicals space is one of the strongest in the supplement industry,” she claims, “with around 20% market share,” per NBJ’s Supplement Business Report 2020. “The category has been on a growth path over the last few years, driven by consumer awareness of the products’ benefits and an increased focus on proactive self-care—which the pandemic only strengthened.”

Even better, botanicals’ “natural, plant-based origins and their established history of use” endear them to contemporary consumers further, especially in an era when “plant-forward” is rising on Innova Market Insights’ 2021 top-10 trends list, DeBlasio adds.

As for which botanical benefits consumers are clamoring for, that brings us back to the pandemic, with shoppers guided by their desires to shore up their defenses against outside invasion and inner angst alike.

Thus, “We saw immune-health ingredients soar as consumers looked to boost their immune system,” Dicker observes. And given the stresses that 2020 leveled upon consumers’ shoulders, he continues, “Botanical ingredients that touted relaxation benefits also really exploded.”

Those impressions check out with DeBlasio, who’s seen projections for strong botanical growth “across all fast-growing health-benefit categories.” That translates into increased attention on formulas that address immunity, sleep support, and brain health, she says, as well as mood and mental wellness.

“NBJ estimates that sales in this category grew 30% in 2020,” she notes, “and will continue to rise through at least 2023, led by ingredients like hemp cannabidiol (CBD), homeopathics, and St. John’s wort, in addition to 5-HTP and magnesium. Consumers increasingly understand the interplay among mood, mental health, stress, sleep, immunity, and wellness, and that will continue to drive strong growth.”

Another winning ingredient is elderberry, which saw growth of nearly 184% in 2020 “on top of 2019’s already-stunning 69% growth driven by immune-support claims,” DeBlasio says, citing data from NBJ’s Supplement Business Report 2020.

“The availability of multiple easy-to-consume formulation types may have contributed to mainstream elderberry sales growth in 2019,” she surmises. “In recent years, consumers increasingly appear to be seeking non-pill supplements such as gummies, liquids, and tinctures, and elderberry, with its familiar sweet fruit flavor, is particularly well suited to these formulation types.”

Araliaceae) have also seen growing success in recent years, she says. In 2019, for instance, both saw sales jumps of 5% and 14%, respectively, in the U.S. mainstream channel relative to 2018, according to data from the American Botanical Council’s 

, thanks largely to marketing around immune and respiratory benefits.

“And Ayurvedic herbs have been on a strong trajectory for years,” DeBlasio continues, “with strong projections coming in for 2020.” Turmeric and its curcuminoid bioactives provided something of a gateway through which mainstream consumers could explore Ayurveda’s potential; now, other Ayurvedic botanicals are surfing its coattails, including ashwagandha.

Dicker says that as concerns around immunity and relaxation ease, consumers are beginning to refocus their interest on ingredients that promote performance, both in mind and body. “Consumer demand, along with growing research, has helped grow botanicals’ use as nootropics and energy products,” he points out. Functional mushrooms offer a case in point, with lion’s mane seeing “excellent growth” on the nootropic end and cordyceps “gaining popularity in the performance space,” he says.

Botanicals’ 2020 performance set a tough act to follow, Dicker concedes, and he wagers that 2021 “almost certainly won’t be able to repeat that success. But the introduction of new consumers and the at-home consistency has kept botanicals top of mind, especially for immune health.”

And that prospect has both upsides and downsides. “The increase in awareness of botanicals has certainly generated immense demand,” notes Ajay Patel, founder and CEO, Verdure Sciences (Noblesville, IN), “but that poses some challenges to keeping up.”

For example, as conscientious consumers dig into the details around botanicals’ origins, composition, sustainability, and supporting science, industry will have to pony up the evidence. “That’s why we see brands formulate with products based on clinically validated and safety-backed science,” Patel says, “which will certainly increase consumer buy-in.”

Moreover, “Botanical supply chains are very complex and, in many cases, multi-tiered,” he continues. COVID-19 only underscored that, increasing demand as lockdowns, logistical bottlenecks, and longer lead times—on top of increasingly extreme and unpredictable weather—hampered access, lifted costs, and rendered the entire sector a prime candidate for supply-chain mitigation.

“Being headquartered in Italy,” de Rensis notes, “where COVID was a problem early, we planned and adapted quickly to maintain our supply chain. We communicated with our botanical growers and suppliers as soon as possible to limit any disruptions. And even though the past 18 months have been challenging, our great long-term supply relationships helped us witness very few problems. Many were related simply to securing timely materials transportation.”

Such efforts, Patel believes, will pay off in the future—particularly as concerns about environmental sustainability and transparency take on more weight. “The botanical supply chain will continue to evolve,” he says, “and the need for traceable, sustainable, and equitable sourcing will become the norm.”

Verdure began investing in traceability early, establishing a manufacturing facility and partnerships with botanical-growing communities in India. “To continue growing resources along with demand over the years, we’ve expanded that footprint to include multiple sourcing locations, and we’ve built further long-term partnerships with growers and harvesters,” he adds.

One key aim involves ensuring biodiversity by exploring new production techniques and promoting regenerative-agricultural practices like superior seed selection, the use of soil-booster mixes, intercropping, and crop rotation. “Further, we’ve worked diligently to continue growing our supply chain in a number of ways, including planting 2,000 

 tree saplings and finding eco-friendly ways to supply bioactives,” he says.

While the industry’s supply chain is in better shape than it was during the depths of the pandemic, “there’s still a long way to go before things can get back to some sort of pre-pandemic normalcy,” Patel admits. Nevertheless, he continues, “We see limitless possibilities. The increased demand over the past year and a half has rejuvenated a very resilient category, and we see it headed in the right direction. As consumers gravitate toward transparent, clean-label products across all categories, botanicals continue to meet their needs. It’s a good place to be.”

US sales of herbal supplements increase by 8.6% in 2019

2020 U.S. herbal supplements market report

Botanical brands are already doing everything they can to keep momentum rolling on the demand side, and product at the ready on the supply.

Let the good times last: Can the botanicals market maintain momentum through 2021 and beyond?

Representatives John Curtis (R-Utah) and Josh Gottheimer (D-New Jersey) introduced a new bill (

) that would “amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permit expenditures from health savings accounts, flexible spending arrangements, and health reimbursements arrangements for dietary supplements.” More specifically the law amends the code to treat amounts paid for dietary supplements as amounts paid for medical care, and therefore allow dietary supplements to qualify for reimbursements from flexible spending arrangements and health reimbursement arrangements. A similar bill was introduced in the Senate in May (

) by Senator Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota), but has made no additional progress.

Industry groups have applauded the newly introduced bill, having long 

 for the recognition of dietary supplements as medical expenses eligible for health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts. “Expanding access to supplements benefits everyone,” said Daniel Fabricant, PhD, president and CEO of The Natural Products Association (NPA; Washington, D.C.), in a press release. “It is clear that we are not out of this pandemic yet, and this is a commonsense solution. We urge our members to contact their elected officials in Washington and let them know how important expanding access to dietary supplements is to the health of their constituents. We would also like to thank Reps. Curtis and Gottheimer and their staffs for their support and wanting to expand choices for hundreds of millions of Americans who use supplements to stay healthy in this challenging time.”

NPA has also advocated for the inclusion of dietary supplements under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). In addition to HSA and FSA coverage offering cost savings to consumers, SNAP and WIC coverage would expand access to dietary supplements to some of the country’s more underserved people, and offer nutritional support where access to nutritional food options is scarce.

“We believe in incentivizing healthy behaviors and empowering consumer choice,” stated the Council for Responsible Nutrition’s (CRN; Washington, D.C.) president and CEO Steve Mister, in a press release. “Dietary supplements are cost-effective measures to manage and improve health and wellness that can save taxpayers hundreds of millions—and in some cases billions—of dollars in healthcare costs.”

“Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers were becoming increasingly health conscious and began adopting a more proactive approach to prevention and wellness. In fact, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports nearly 60 percent of Americans take dietary supplements each month," explained Scott Melville, president and CEO of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA; Washington, D.C.). "Extending FSA/HSA eligibility to dietary supplements would save consumers money on the products that many are already purchasing to meet their healthcare needs and help promote smart self-care behavior."

According to CRN’s 2020 Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements, more than 170 million U.S. consumers already take dietary supplements as an easy and cost-effective way to manage their health and wellness. Since the pandemic started, consumers have recognized the value of dietary supplements as a tool in their arsenal to maintain their health and wellness. While they are cost-effective compared to medical expenses, dietary supplements are by no means inexpensive, which can still be a barrier to entry for some people.

“Millions of consumers already utilize FSAs and HSAs to save money on their healthcare expenses,” added Melville. “As consumers are increasingly turning to affordable self-care options that support their overall health and wellness, expanding FSA/HSA eligibility to include dietary supplements is a smart way to provide additional savings."

New bill to expand HSA and FSA coverage to include dietary supplements as a medical expense.

Bipartisan legislation seeks to expand dietary supplement access through HSA and FSA coverage

FDA and FTC sent warning letters to 10 companies for illegally selling dietary supplements that claim to cure, treat, mitigate, or prevent diabetes: Live Good Inc.; Pharmaganics LLC; Lysulin Inc.; Nuturna International LLC; Phytage Labs; Ar-Rahmah Pharm LLC; Metamune Inc.; Holistic Healer & Wellness Center Inc.; Radhanite LLC; and Aceva LLC. 

"More than 34 million Americans— just over one in 10 people— are living with diabetes. Dietary supplements that make fraudulent claims to treat diabetes are unapproved new drugs that could potentially harm consumers who use these products instead of seeking safe and effective FDA-approved treatments,” said Cara Welch, PhD, acting director of the Office of Dietary Supplement Programs in FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, in a press release. “The FDA is committed to protecting U.S. consumers from products and companies that make unlawful claims to treat or prevent diabetes, and we’ll continue to hold companies accountable by alerting the public about products that place consumers at risk.”

. FDA has requested responses from the companies within 15 working days stating how they will address these issues or provide their reasoning and supporting information as to why they think the products are not in violation of the law. Failure to correct violations promptly may result in legal action, including product seizure and/or injunction.

FDA and FTC sent warning letters to ten companies. 

 FTC, FDA issue warning letters to supplement companies claiming to treat diabetes

Blue California (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA), a commercial partner of Conagen (Bedford, MA), expanded its health ingredient portfolio by scaling up and commercializing Conagen’s hydroxytyrosol, a phenylethanoid ingredient found in olives and wine with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

“Hydroxytyrosol is derived from one of our four small-molecule platforms,” said Casey Lippmeier, PhD, vice president of innovation at Conagen, in a press release. “The flexibility of our phenolics platform has enabled us to rapidly scale and commercialize hydroxytyrosol and other novel ingredients, highlighting our productive innovation engine and reliability as a strategic service partner.”

Conagen’s hydroxytyrosol is colorless and odorless and is produced by using a cost-effective, sustainable natural fermentation process that has led to the filing of several patent applications.

“The Mediterranean diet is consistently rated as one of the healthiest diets, partially attributed to the use of olives,” said Blue California’s research, science and innovation officer Linda May-Zhang, PhD. “Hydroxytyrosol is one of the most potent antioxidants in olives, and research suggests the great promise of this molecule in healthy aging and potential immune support applications.”

Blue California, a commercial partner of Conagen, expanded its health ingredient portfolio by scaling up and commercializing Conagen’s hydroxytyrosol

Conagen, Blue California scale up hydroxytyrosol production and commercialization

Jennifer Grebow is the editor-in-chief of 

, an award-winning media-content provider in the dietary supplement and natural products market. 

, an MJH Life Sciences brand, provides insights and industry updates critical to manufacturers of dietary supplements, healthy foods, and nutritious beverages. 

 keeps industry abreast of current market trends, research updates, news, and regulatory developments. 

goes beyond the 24-hour news cycle and provides in-depth analysis to help industry players navigate the challenges and changes in the near- and long-term. 

, the largest privately held, independent, full-service medical media company in North America, dedicated to delivering trusted health care news across multiple channels.

Probiotics are poised for growing consumer buy-in, but future changes are needed to strengthen the case linking them with proven health benefits. Those changes include the need for increased label transparency, strain specificity, and research, said two probiotic experts who spoke at a September 9 webcast during last week’s Consumer Healthcare Products Association’s (CHPA; Washington, DC) virtual 

2021 Regulatory, Scientific & Quality Conference

There’s still a lot researchers don’t know about how precisely probiotics change the actual structure of human microbiota, or their mechanism of action, said webcast speaker Mary Ellen Sanders, PhD, consultant for Dairy & Food Culture Technologies. In fact, she said, we don’t even know for sure what a healthy microbiota composition ideally should look like.

“[E]xperts have not been successful in defining the composition of a 

microbiota, so that means that even if we could use probiotics to change the microbiota, we don’t really know what the target for the healthy microbiota really is,” she said. “We don’t necessarily understand what we would want to turn that microbiota into to provide a healthier expression in a human.”

 observe is changes probiotics have on microbiota 

, she said. “[R]esearchers are now starting to emphasize a little less the composition of the microbes and focusing more on the microbiota function and what the 

of the microbes might mean. And so, studies on probiotics and their impact on microbiota 

 very well likely may be more important and potentially more fruitful in understanding the ability of probiotics to have an overall impact on the microbiota.”

In other words, “the evidence of the health benefit is probably more important than demonstrating the microbiota-mediated mechanism for a probiotic intervention, because it’s going to be more important to understand that probiotics can do something for the health of a person than to understand the mechanisms behind it,” she stated.

In the research realm, there’s still a need for more well-conducted, randomized controlled trials. Researchers also need to understand the reasons why some individuals respond one way to a probiotic intervention and others respond differently. “We don’t have a very good sense right now of what drives responders and non-responders to probiotics,” Sanders said. Individual characteristics may impact the effect of a probiotic supplement, including host genetics, diet, baseline microbiota state, and a person’s current physiology, not to mention the unique properties of the supplement itself, including its delivery vehicle and manufacturing conditions.

Dosage and strain are obviously unique determinants of how a probiotic will impact an individual. The same dosage is not right for everyone, and there is a wide range of product dosages on the market, Sanders said. At the least, the dosage should match the dose that was studied in the clinical trial showing a health benefit.

All of these things need to improve to make the evidence backing probiotics’ benefits stronger, she said.

In addition, said Sanders, “We need to have a better sense of what specific strains and doses are best for what conditions...” Part of what will help is if probiotic product makers are more transparent about which microbial strains are in their products and at what dose. Consumers need that information to understand if a product’s composition matches what was studied in a proven trial. All this will boost the category’s credibility. After all, if a consumer believes a certain product will help their health condition when in fact the strain in the product is ineffective for that target, they won’t be pleased.

Unfortunately, said Sanders, the product labels on the market “sometimes don’t provide sufficient information.” In fact, she said, two surveys she helped conduct of commercial probiotic products on the market found “that fewer than half of the dietary supplement products that were on the market could be linked to any evidence of a health benefit. And, in most cases, that was because about half of these products or fewer than that actually don’t provide strain designations—and, as I mentioned, without a strain designation, you cannot track down the particular papers that have been published that document health effects.”

Moreover, she noted, “the products not only didn’t include strain designations, but in this case, half the products did not list colony-forming units at the end of shelf life; many were labeled as ‘at time of manufacture.’ And so those were real deficiencies in probiotic supplement labels.”

Sanders urged, industry wide, that manufacturers include information such as the genus and species and strain, the product’s potency (the colony-forming units, or CFUs, present through the end of shelf life, not simply at the time of manufacture), an explanation (when possible) of a health benefit, as well as storage and other conditions for use.

Interestingly, she noted, the labels for probiotic 

on the market fared slightly better in the market study she helped conduct, which found that out of 45 probiotic foods, 22 listed strain designations and unit-dose listings in CFUs. “What it showed, too, was that of the 22 products that did list strain designations, they could all be linked to evidence,” Sanders said. “That suggests that the probiotic foods that are on the market in the U.S., that if you find one that has a strain designation on it, chances are you’re looking at a product that also has papers published to show that it has some health benefit.”

Continuing education is key to teaching consumers and healthcare practitioners about the benefits linked to probiotics, said webcast speaker George Paraskevakos, executive director of the International Probiotics Association (IPA). Last year, his organization conducted an extensive media outreach campaign and continues to create probiotic-information resources for healthcare professionals and consumers. The association also recently created what it says is the first-ever probiotics university course in the U.S., with more details to be shared soon.

Within the industry, IPA also continues educating about probiotics, including on global regulations and best practices for manufacturing and labeling. IPA has also taken an active role in petitioning FDA to make CFUs the official unit of measure for probiotic labels in the U.S. and to specify probiotics in the legal definition of a dietary ingredient.

IPA also promotes harmonizing probiotic definitions around the world to overcome “regulatory divergence,” which will reduce confusion and create a smoother path for probiotics. For instance, the official definition of a probiotic established by the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, while accepted by many countries, has “been interpreted by different government agencies around the world in a very different way.” Paraskevakos said that “depending on which country you are in or which country you want to commercialize in, probiotics can be in foods, probiotics can be supplements, they can be medical devices, they can be drugs. The benefits that can be reported are either generic or very specific or therapeutic.”

On a global scale, it will also be important for countries to address quality factors like safety, enumeration, and reproducibility, he said. “These are all things that are very important to a government to be able to regulate these types of products, including probiotics in their country.”

Addressing global industry gaps will be important in ensuring the probiotics market continues to thrive. More consumers are interested in probiotics, and probiotic sales grew during the COVID-19 pandemic, Paraskevakos pointed out. He noted statistics showing that the global probiotics dietary supplement market alone grew 10% last year, with the overall global probiotics market (including supplements, food, and yogurt/milks) logging $47.4 billion in retail sales in 2020. Top markets include the U.S. and China. More millennials and men are purchasing probiotic products than ever before, meaning the audience has a lot of room to grow. Online, probiotics, by revenue rank, are the top-selling vitamin/mineral/supplement category on Amazon.com.

“Probiotics are growing at a very nice rate,” Paraskevakos said. “They’re still trending upwards—maybe not the fastest top-growing market, but it is a very high growth rate just the same.”

Looking forward, Sanders pointed to emerging probiotic research areas that seem promising. These include brain health (for stress, anxiety, and symptoms of depression), metabolic health (including reducing body weight, managing blood pressure, and managing blood lipids and glycemic levels), skin and vaginal health, and oral health.

“The take-home message here is that probiotics have some compelling health benefits, and I think there’s a really bright future for probiotics; however, there is a need for improved labels on probiotic products” to drive those benefits home, she concluded.

More labeling transparency, strain specificity, and research is needed to strengthen the evidence linking probiotics with health benefits, said two experts at the Consumer Healthcare Products Association’s Regulatory, Scientific & Quality Conference last week.

Growing probiotic market credibility requires more transparency and specificity, experts say

Ingredion Inc. (Westchester, IL) and S&W Seed Company (Longmont, CO) entered into an exclusive U.S. stevia pilot production supply agreement in which S&W will leverage its proprietary stevia plant portfolio and production techniques to supply Ingredion and its subsidiary PureCircle by Ingredion with U.S.-sourced stevia plants.

“S&W has developed unique, non-GMO, all-natural stevia varieties over the past ten years utilizing our proprietary plant breeding program. Recently, we have made what we believe is a significant leap forward by validating efficacy of stevia production in the southeastern United State,” said Mark Wong, CEO of S&W Seed Company. “By leveraging a unique seed-to-plant process and mechanical harvesting system, we expect to dramatically reduce overall production costs. Importantly, this method is intended to allow the stevia to function as a green cover crop, helping to sequester carbon. We are excited to enter into this pilot production supply agreement with the world’s largest stevia ingredient producer, PureCircle by Ingredion, to further validate and expand upon our capabilities to date.”

Jeremy Xu, senior vice president and chief innovation officer at Ingredion, said: “This agreement strengthens our ability to provide sugar reduction solutions for our customers by diversifying our supply of sustainably sourced stevia in the United States. This agreement with S&W will allow us to evaluate the long-term opportunity to produce large quantities of stevia in the U.S. effectively.”

S&W will leverage its proprietary stevia plant portfolio and production techniques to supply Ingredion and its subsidiary PureCircle by Ingredion with U.S.-grown stevia plants.

Ingredion, S&W Seed enter into a U.S. pilot production supply agreement for stevia 

During this year’s 2021 Regulatory, Scientific, and Quality Conference hosted by the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA; Washington, DC), John Whyte, MD, chief medical officer of WebMD, spoke about the consumerization of healthcare and how dietary supplements play a role in this emerging model.

Whyte explained how healthcare is moving from a marketplace focused on providers to one focused on consumers. Consumers now have more authority over their healthcare and take more of a do-it-yourself approach to their wellbeing thanks to expanded access to the internet and its wealth of information, as well as advances in technology, such as wearable technology, remote video communication, and applications that monitor health and provide advice.

These tools became all the more important since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because the pandemic physically separated patients from their healthcare providers and other resources, consumers found it necessary to seize control of their healthcare. In turn, practitioners had to adapt and employ new methods to treat patients. For example, during the pandemic, 30% of doctor visits employed telehealth methods compared to 2% prior to the pandemic.

As technology sheds new and up-to-the-minute health insights for consumers, health practitioners play the important role of contextualizing and interpreting this information for them. This is an opportunity for practitioners to communicate with patients, answer questions and concerns that health-monitoring technology may spark, and encourage further investigation. Practitioners and consumers must also remain wary about online misinformation. The danger of misinformation when it comes to healthcare has become particularly apparent during the pandemic, engendering distrust and antipathy for state, including federal authorities as well as health professionals.

The challenge for healthcare practitioners now becomes: how does one develop closer relationships with patients who are becoming increasingly more independent?

Another important factor in the consumerization of healthcare is the use of dietary supplements. Dietary supplement 

 during the pandemic as consumers sought ways to bolster their immune health and manage their stress. This has been incredibly positive for the dietary supplement industry despite the supply chain challenges the pandemic introduced. However, consumers should not construe the benefits of dietary supplements as an alternative to modern medicine and regular health checkups.

Furthermore, Whyte pointed out, there appears to be a lack of congruity between the dietary supplement space and healthcare practitioners. While there are brands of supplements marketed to practitioners, when it comes to practitioners more broadly there is a lack of interest in and even dismissiveness towards dietary supplements, he said.

According to Whyte, consumers rarely communicate with their healthcare providers about the types of dietary supplements they are taking, and doctors rarely inquire about what supplements their patients may be taking. With dietary supplement usage on the rise, there should be a campaign to change the attitudes of healthcare providers by educating them in the ways supplements can complement their practice, as well as to encourage consumers to openly communicate with their healthcare providers about their supplement regimen. This could help consumers cut through the noise and make educated decisions about what supplements to take. Informed practitioners can ensure that their patients buy good-quality products. In the end, this could help the reputation of dietary supplements by filtering out bad actors who prey on ignorance and deception.

Whyte raised important questions that practitioners and the supplements industry will need to grapple with as healthcare becomes increasingly consumerized. With the advent of personalized nutrition services such as Persona Nutrition or Care/Of, technology is also playing a greater role in dietary supplements sales and usage. So, how can technology be employed to better educate consumers and practitioners, as well as increase communication between the two parties on the value of dietary supplement usage? For that matter, how can technology be employed to help brands increase visibility in a saturated marketplace both online and in-store? These are important questions to consider as the internet of things continues to dominate our daily lives.

What is the consumerization of healthcare, and what does this mean for dietary supplements?

The consumerization of healthcare and the opportunity for dietary supplements

Vincent Tricarico is the executive vice president of 

 (Farmingdale, NY). With over 20 years of direct-to-consumer and business-to-business experience, Tricarico is a respected executive in the dietary supplement industry and is well known for his ability to consistently build and grow successful teams that produce results. Over the years, he has been featured in numerous publications, including 

Industry observers looking at the sports nutrition category today most likely don’t know that the entire segment evolved out of the clean living and physical culture movements of the 19

One of the most famous early popularizers of exercise and nutrition was Jack LaLanne. In 1936, LaLanne opened what many considered the country’s first health and fitness club in Oakland, California. Even in those early years, LaLanne believed that processed foods were the reason for many health problems and that daily nutritional supplementation was important.

During this time, our nation’s first health food stores emerged, and along with them, the very first “sports nutrition” products. Two examples, both introduced in 1938, were low-carb, high-protein bread (“Proteo Bread”) and bulk nut flours.

While initially inspired by these early pioneers and product entrants, the current sports nutrition market has expanded and skyrocketed over the last 83-plus years.

Today, sports nutrition plays a crucial role in maximizing the effects of physical activity for consumers exercising to improve physical health. According to industry market data published between 2019 and 2020, the value of the global sports nutrition market declined by 32.1%. The primary reason for this decline was the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, the global market value is $15.6 billion, and experts expect it to grow at a CAGR of 8.9% from 2020 to 2027.

The market data suggest that today’s consumers are more likely to make dietary changes that support healthy aging than to make changes only based on athletic performance. More than 20% of consumers seek performance products that offer value-adds, such as anti-inflammatory effects or support for cognitive, vision, or bone and joint health.

The importance of leading an active lifestyle is fueling the sports-nutrition marketplace. A 2021 report

 from the Physical Activity Council shows that high percentages of Americans aged six and above are involved in fitness sports (67%), individual sports (43.3%), and outdoor sports (52.9%), with a healthy number participating in team sports (22.1%).

Consumers are becoming more aware of the value of optimal nutrition and healthier lifestyles, all of which positively impact the sport-nutrition supplement market.

Current trends in sports nutrition reveal that:

There is an increasing emphasis on clean-label statements, including—but not limited to—”No banned substances,” “No artificial sweeteners,” and “No GMOs.” Clean-label sports nutrition finished products are customarily priced 25% above the category average.

Consumer and manufacturer demand for plant proteins, like pea and soy, is rising as interest in animal-protein alternatives expands.

Pre-workout formulations are becoming very popular on social media. Note the ubiquity of the “#preworkout” hashtag, which recently amassed 4 million posts on Instagram.

Popular Sports Nutrition Ingredients and Products

Today, the market is flush with various sports-nutrition supplements, including plant- and animal-based protein powders, tablets, capsules, tablets, and more.

Among the most popular offerings are branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), B vitamins, caffeine, and creatine, not to mention the plethora of hydration and sports drinks. Then there are protein supplements. Protein products are a virtual market unto itself comprising protein powders, protein bars, and energy bars.

The nutritional drinks segment shows one of the strongest growth lines in the category, as this space easily allows companies to highlight health benefits for athletes and non-athletes alike.

According to a report from Mintel, “Sports Nutrition and Performance Drinks—US, March 2019,”

 consumers are looking for more “functionality from beverages in a growing number of categories, which will continue to put pressure on sports, performance, and nutrition drinks.” The report also highlights a blurring of lines between nutritional, performance, and weight-loss drinks.

In addition, Mintel’s data suggest that most consumers between the ages of 18 and 54 believe that performance and nutrition drinks contain “too many artificial ingredients.” That is bad news for mainstream brands that still feature artificial flavors and artificial sweeteners, like sucralose—not to mention high-fructose corn syrup—but good news for “clean label” natural brands, as noted above.

Mintel’s “Better for You Eating Trends–US, August 2018” report cited by Mintel in 2019 showed that protein content is a vital purchasing factor for 43% of consumers seeking healthy foods and beverages. Additionally, 52% of consumers who buy sports, nutrition, and performance drinks are looking for high protein content, making protein the primary health benefit driving the growth of this category.

 In a survey of 1,168 internet users aged 18+ who purchased any sports nutrition product in the preceding three months, 81% stated they purchased protein powders and 77% bought protein drinks.

Another noteworthy finding of the Mintel report was that consumers are looking for a healthy mix of dairy and plant-based protein options. Brands that offer a range of formulations are likely to have the broadest appeal.

Collagen continues gaining traction in the beauty segment. Consumers are looking for natural, simple formulations that can enhance appearance—and more—from the inside out. Since collagen is excellent for skin appearance, having high-quality collagen in your product offering will be imperative. In recent years, collagen has grown to be an integral ingredient in beauty-from-within supplements and related products. As recently as 2020, consumers in the United States spent an estimated $293 million on collagen products.

One of the reasons why collagen is becoming such a popular ingredient and standalone finished product in sports nutrition is its versatility. For example, collagen supplementation can help promote joint comfort and flexibility, including knee joint discomfort in athletes. In addition, collagen studies show that a combination of collagen supplementation plus resistance training can increase muscle strength in older adults experiencing muscle mass loss or sarcopenia.

The global collagen supplement market is strong and is estimated to reach $795 million by 2025 with a CAGR of 5.8%.

Aside from these benefits, as noted above, a growing body of research indicates that collagen promotes beauty from within and supports cardiovascular health.

Brand owners are encouraged to think about dose forms, unique packaging, and mixability as ways to stand out in this very crowded but lucrative space.

Although Delta variant cases continue to climb, the overwhelming majority of U.S.-based businesses have reopened their doors to both employees and customers.

In particular, indicators are that people are feeling comfortable enough to return to the gym. As a result, these consumers are going to be looking for high-quality pre-, intra-, and post-workout powders.

We should expect to see an increase in demand for amino acids and hydration supplements.

Consumers are also looking to shed the “pandemic pounds” they may have packed on over the last year; therefore, brand owners should be thinking about creating weight-management supplements.

Use alternative sources of protein (e.g., plant-based protein) and formulate products that don’t contain high levels of caffeine and artificial stimulants.

Offer a whey-protein product and a plant-protein product as part of your sports nutrition lineup.

Offer different flavors so that your customers have options and can alternate products.

Work with a contract manufacturer that has a strong track record of flavoring plan-protein products. Make sure that the contract manufacturer has a certified food scientist on board who has extensive experience flavoring dietary supplement products.

Greens continue to gain momentum as part of the daily routine of many consumers. Enhancing your greens with probiotics is a great way to add value to the typical greens formula.

Advancements in blending techniques and improvements in flavoring options have made the consumption of these beverages more mainstream—and tolerable!

Though newer to the protein powder game, pea protein has proven to be an alternative to people who want a plant-based, soy-free option. Research also shows that pea protein is equally satiating when compared to whey protein. It also contains all nine essential amino acids that the body requires (as does soy).

Mushrooms are an emerging category that brand owners would be wise to watch closely. The latest research published on mushrooms indicates that they can also safely support cognitive function. Brand owners are currently positioning their mushroom powders as replacements for morning coffees and tea.

Well, compounds in medicinal mushrooms support the blood cells’ ability to carry and enhance energy production in muscles. In addition, these constituents reduce lactic acid accumulation within muscles and accelerate its clearance from the body, which results in the increased capacity of an athlete to train effectively—and longer—with less fatigue.

Medicinal mushrooms, like shiitake, also may support healthy cholesterol levels already in a normal range, and arterial health. Medicinal mushrooms are additionally packed with nutrition and fiber and are low in sodium and calories. They provide essential nutrients while supporting satiety and reducing snack cravings. The feeling of being full helps consumers taking these products to manage their weight effectively.

Importance of Flavors in Sports Nutrition

Gone are the days of poor-tasting powders, drinks, and bars. Today, the flavor of a product plays an all-important role. According to surveys carried out by Mintel

, more than 75% of consumers are influenced by the flavor of a sports nutrition product when purchasing it.

Consumers today demand excitement and innovation and are greatly influenced by new flavors. In addition, innovative flavors help your supplements stand out in a field of competitive products.

There is absolutely no doubt that the sports nutrition category has grown up.

 (Farmingdale, NY). With over 20 years of direct-to-consumer and business-to-business experience, Tricarico is a respected executive in the dietary supplement industry and is well known for his ability to consistently build and grow successful teams that produce results. Over the years, he has been featured in numerous publications, including 

Health Foods Retailing. 1938–1939 [bound volume]. Chicago, Illinois.

Sports, Nutrition and Performance Drinks US, March 2019 — Executive Summary

Sports Nutrition Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product Type (Sports Drink, Sports Supplements, Sports Food), By Distribution Channel (E-commerce, Brick and Mortar), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2021 – 2028

2021 Physical Activity Council’s Overview Report on U.S. Participation

Today’s market is flush with various sports-nutrition supplements, including plant- and animal-based protein powders, tablets, capsules, tablets, and more.

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