Webinar preview: Lubrizol Life Science’s data-driven and consumer-centric approach to supplement innovation

31 Aug 2023 --- Consumers are increasingly drawn to products that feature scientifically validated ingredients with proven advantages that cater to their emotional and sensory needs. According to Lubrizol Life Science, this evolving perspective illustrates one of the intricate challenges of modern nutrition and presents opportunities for innovation.

Ahead of Lubrizol Life Science’s webinar titled, “Connecting the dots: Guiding supplement manufacturers through the consumer mind,” on September 7 (16:00 CEST), Nutrition Insight sits down with Isabel Gómez, the company’s global marketing manager for nutraceuticals and speaker at the webinar about how its AI-powered market insights enable it to deliver solutions that offer sensory gratification and clinically proven benefits to meet evolving consumer expectations.

One example Gómez intends to highlight is the introduction of Lipofer iron-enriched, pectin-based gummies, which showcase how indulgence can seamlessly be integrated with necessary nutrients, like iron, in a singular product.

Additionally, she will discuss how customers can use the company’s innovations and advancements along with its continuously updated AI-powered data to make consumer preference-based decisions on everything from delivery format to taste to the inclusion of science-backed ingredients.

How does Lubrizol’s data-driven and consumer-led approach connect the dots between sensory experiences, clinical benefits and evolving consumer demands in the supplement industry?
Gómez: Uncovering consumers’ unmet needs through our proprietary market research gave us deeper insights into consumer perceptions, ingredients, products, formats, needs, and concerns regarding nutraceutical products.Isabel Gómez, Lubrizol Life Science’s global marketing manager for nutraceuticals and speaker at the company’s upcoming webinar.

We used these actionable insights to reinforce the value proposition of our portfolio of insight-based solutions of science-backed ingredients so that they can provide both indulgence and proven benefits in a single product.

Our new consumer-centric portfolio consists of an extensive portfolio of branded microencapsulated minerals and botanicals to enable innovation in sensory-appealing formats with easy product development while enhancing consumer health with supporting clinical evidence.

How can Lubrizol’s proprietary AI-driven market research and consumer behavior analysis contribute to the development of products that cater to the scientific and emotional aspects of consumer preferences?
Gómez: Our key findings when decoding consumers’ desires show that to appeal to them, nutraceutical manufacturers need to satisfy both the logical and the emotional sides of the mind. Consumers are seeking products that not only contain science-backed, clinically substantiated ingredients with proven benefits, but also those that offer sensory appeal to satisfy their more intangible, emotional side.

This research is reflected in the nutraceutical portfolio of Lubrizol, which offers science-backed ingredients with proven benefits designed for a wide range of products such as syrups, gummies, and sticks, providing key sensory benefits such as taste, mouthfeel, and visual appeal.

What are some of the specific challenges the supplement industry faces in meeting consumers’ holistic wellness expectations and how does Lubrizol’s approach address these challenges?
Gómez: A couple of interesting insights we learned is that consumers place more emphasis on the beneficial ingredients/components of supplements and less on the brand or retailer. They also prioritize recognizable ingredients such as specific vitamins, minerals, and/or herbal supplements included in products that offer sensory appeal and convenience.

Finally, post-purchasing experiences influence consumer loyalty, which is a factor that’s especially critical when it comes to supplements. For example, a bad-tasting supplement or associated side effects and negative outcomes result in compensating behaviors and impact people’s willingness to continue to use or advocate a product.

To connect with the consumer´s logical side of the mind, Lubrizol provides science-backed ingredients that ensure absorption, ease of digestion, and minimal side effects. To satisfy the consumer´s emotional side, and with the importance of sensory appeal and convenience to the end consumer, Lubrizol’s branded ingredients can also be formulated in on-the-go delivery formats such as gummies or portable powder sticks, which have been growing in popularity.Lubrizol Life Science states that nutraceutical producers need to consider the logical and emotional sides of the consumer mind.

How does the concept of Lipofer iron-fortified and pectin-based gummies connect sensory indulgence with clinical benefits?
Gómez: Our proprietary consumer insights led to the development of our world-renowned Lipofer iron solution into fortified, pectin-based gummies, which, unlike traditional iron gummies, offer enhanced stability without the metallic taste.

With the Lipofer iron gummies, you can clearly see how the considerations from the left side of the brain – the science side, if you like – combine with the right side, based more on the senses and the emotions. 

The consumer understands the science, which explains the health benefits – in this case of iron – across different demographics. The format and presentation of the product, on the other hand, satisfies those non-science-based criteria, which also need to be met. 

How does Lubrizol’s approach address the growing demand for holistic solutions that meet the physical and emotional aspects of well-being?
Gómez: For us, it is about taking the same strategic consumer-centric approach and applying it, not just to a single ingredient or a single product, but to the bigger picture. This means addressing the full spectrum of consumer needs by providing a multifunctional proactive approach to different areas of well-being around the clock holistically.

In other words, we provide an extensive product line that puts consumer needs first and help manufacturers to align with end-user insights and goals when it comes to holistic health. To support that, we have our bioavailable, microencapsulated, scientifically supported ingredients –  Lipofer iron, Zincnova zinc, Magshape magnesium and Newcaff caffeine. 

We have our consumer research: the right-brain side of the innovation equation. We have been tracking, for example, the importance that increasing numbers of consumers attach to immune health and physical activity and the importance of mitigating exposure to digital devices, as well as managing stress and sleep.

By accelerating innovative holistic bundle solutions that address the full spectrum of consumer needs, we can offer brands and consumers a multifunctional route to addressing these and other nutritional and health needs throughout the day, potentially extending this approach to a whole product range.Lipofer iron-enriched, pectin-based gummies showcase how indulgence can be integrated with nutrients. (Image Credit: Lubrizol Life Science)

Finally, can you provide a couple of examples of other potential products or areas within the supplement industry where Lubrizol’s approach could be applied to create a similar impact?
Gómez: From a cognitive health perspective, more consumers have resorted to nutritional supplementation through caffeine. In hopes of having an extended, slower release effect over regular caffeine, consumers want to boost alertness and maximize their cognitive function and performance on physical and mental tasks without experiencing any energy crash.

To improve overall sleep, consumers continue using melatonin but have also resorted to magnesium, which improves muscle relaxation for more restful sleep. Magnesium has also been shown to facilitate the hormone balance, enzyme activity and neurotransmitter function that regulate mood and support stress relief; however, magnesium has been shown to impart a metallic unpleasant taste. Furthermore, a high daily amount is recommended to experience magnesium benefits, which leads to a significant amount of product quantity per day to get the full dose.

Lubrizol provides solutions with branded ingredients to support those unmet needs with Newcaff microencapsulated caffeine that provides a sustained release with a clean, non-bitter taste and Magshape microencapsulated magnesium, a highly concentrated source to support an active lifestyle with less product.

Furthermore, as the impact of the pandemic continues to linger, consumers continue to demonstrate a heightened level of concern about their immune health. A high volume of conversations mentions consumers are looking for immune-supporting ingredients such as vitamin C, vitamin D and zinc in their supplements when discussing immunity support. 

In the case of Vitamin C, for example, it is highly sensitive and therefore unstable, which makes the on-the-go formats, such as gummies or liquid supplements, more challenging to formulate. Overdosing with it is a common practice to maintain the label levels during the shelf life of the products, which is not an ideal practice. 

Lubrizol is currently addressing this, and we look forward to providing a microencapsulated source of vitamin C that can also provide health benefits in a sensory-enforcing format very soon.

By William Bradford Nichols