SupplySide Global Panel Weighs Purpose, Transparency, and Affordability in Nutrition

A panel at SupplySide Global 2026 discussed purpose, transparency, and affordability as some of the main pressures shaping product development in health and nutrition. The session, titled “State of the Industry: Health and Nutrition in 2026,” was moderated by Cassie Smith, senior director of editorial content at SupplySide, and featured Lynn Dornblaser, director of innovation and insight at Mintel; Tim Avila, founder and president of Systems Bioscience, and Kantha Shelke, PhD, founder of Corvus Blue LLC.

Is Protein Still Driving Product Development?

Dornblaser presented 10 Mintel trends, including the growth of protein. Protein claims on food and beverage launches have risen steadily, but she said each product needs a clear job to do, citing protein Pop-Tarts and Doritos as examples that raise questions. She expects protein introductions to plateau and then decline, without a sharp drop, as consumers learn which products meet their needs. Avila said the category may be near a limit and noted that FDA language on overfortification signals regulatory attention. Fiber claims are also rising, partly because of GLP-1 use.

How Are Product Formats Changing?

Mintel data shown by Dornblaser indicated that tablets and capsules account for a slightly smaller share of supplement launches, while gummies and chews are growing, led by Gen X and baby boomers who find them easier to take consistently. Avila described the field as bioactive nutrition, with ingredients moving across supplements, foods, beverages, and confectionery. He and Dornblaser said capsules and tablets will remain, partly because they cost less, Dornblaser noted. Avila pointed to enabling technologies that improve solubility and stability as the next area of development. Shelke highlighted that foods such as cookies and cereals have been stripped of nutrients and fortified as an afterthought, and food science should restore function, delivering food as it was intended.

What Does Clean Label Mean for Formulators?

Dornblaser said US clean-label interest dates to about 2012 to 2013, and that the Make America Healthy movement raised its visibility rather than creating it. She also named cost as the main constraint for mainstream consumers. Shelke stated that clean-label positioning has little value if the product isn’t safe, and that companies removing an ingredient should be able to explain the change and stand behind its safety. Avila added that extreme clean positioning mainly serves enthusiast markets, while most consumers want sound nutrition at an affordable price.

How Do AI, Supply Chains, and Personalization Factor In?

Avila said AI speeds concept development and prototyping, moving fast-following brands toward trend-driven launches. Because most bioactive ingredients are made outside North America, tariffs and supply risk remain concerns; he said some companies buy directly from producers, and distributors are still remaining active. Shelke noted that formulators should understand each ingredient's function so sources could change without altering the label.

On personalized nutrition, Avila favors grouping consumers by phenotype over individualized products: "clusterization trumps individualization." He said that if a formulation’s responders are well defined, even smaller studies in a phenotype group might show significant benefit, which could translate into strong repeat purchases.

What Should Companies Do Next?

Shelke listed four priorities for the food industry to be future ready: understand ingredients, build resilience and transparency into formulas, communicate with evidence, and use plain language. Dornblaser cited a Clorox cleaning line whose website listed each ingredient, its source, and its purpose, a practice she said food companies lack for its products to demystify ingredients in consumers’ minds. Avila called for linking analytical chemistry to clinical studies of specific preparations, lower-cost basic nutrients, and evidence methods beyond randomized controlled trials.

In closing, Shelke stated, "food can help keep you away from medicine, but food can never be medicine," while Dornblaser said the industry must aim to reach consumers who want to feel healthy without chasing trends.