In Nutritional Outlook's 2019 Best of the Industry Awards, we are recognizing individuals, groups, and companies whose initiatives today may help shape, for the better, the state of the dietary supplement and food and beverage industries for years to come.
“Lead, not follow” are words that exemplify all four of Nutritional Outlook’s 2019 Best of the Industry award winners. The individuals and companies we’re recognizing this year are at the helm, whether of an entire segment of the market they represent or as stewards of a new ingredient.
Our industry leader is Michael McGuffin of the American Herbal Products Association who this year celebrates his 20th anniversary as association president. Under Michael’s tenure-and even before that, when he served on the association’s board of trustees-AHPA has been a leading influence and guiding hand in shaping the safe, responsible, and prosperous herb commerce market that so many consumers rely on today. With Michael at the lead, AHPA’s influence extends beyond the herbal community; AHPA has been promoting the interests of the entire dietary supplement industry for decades.
OmegaQuant has likewise served as a key advocate for the omega-3 industry. The company and its leader, William Harris, PhD, have been key messengers about the importance of the Omega-3 Index, a measure of a person’s omega-3 status that serves as a risk indicator for developing cardiovascular disease. Harris and his colleagues were not only the earliest proponents of the Omega-3 Index, which is increasingly recognized by researchers as a reliable metric, but OmegaQuant’s Omega-3 Index test kits have given consumers a tangible, practical way to test their own Omega-3 levels and have helped spread awareness about low omega-3 intake and the importance of supplementation. For this reason, we’ve selected OmegaQuant as this year’s retail brand/product leader.
Two of our other company winners are ingredient suppliers embarking on new ground. The first is ChromaDex, who is creating a market for its Niagen nicotinamide riboside ingredient, which in November the European Commission approved as a novel food. Perfect Day is another ingredient supplier, one that has created an innovative non-animal, flora-based dairy protein that offers the best of both worlds: the enjoyment of a dairy product without sustainability drawbacks attached.
Congratulations to all of Nutritional Outlook’s 2019 Best of the Industry award winners!
Jennifer Grebow
Editor-in-Chief
2019 Award Winners
Industry Leader: Michael McGuffin
Retail Brand/Product: OmegaQuant