“Benefits of reduced human activity cannot be ignored”: Nutrition industry spotlights sustainability on Earth Day 2020

22 Apr 2020 --- On the 50th Earth Day, the globe finds itself facing truly unprecedented challenges, with COVID-19 throwing consumers’ impact on the planet into sharp relief. However, the nutrition industry has produced various solutions to the climate conservation challenge from environmentally sustainable ingredient sourcing and saving resources to raising awareness. NutritionInsight speaks to key players in this space to find out how industry is answering the call to what may be the greatest challenge of our time.

“The worldwide crisis of COVID-19 is [spotlighting] consumers’ impact on the planet. Many media sources across the world are showcasing the short-term benefits of human activity reduction on our environment that cannot be ignored. This will certainly lead to an increasing interest in some shifts in practices that have already begun, such as local sourcing, purchasing and consumption considerations,” Nuria Macias, Global Sustainability Manager at Diana Food, tells NutritionInsight.

Macias states that Diana Food has observed growing trends, such as plant-based proteins, move toward producing food that “gives back to the Earth.” 

The plant-based trend makes a conscious effort to “give back to the Earth.” “Diana Food has recently increased its research on the vegan diet, which represents a market segment with still a large room for improvement regarding clean formulations. Climate change and planet protection thereby influence the way we operate our industrial facilities,” she further explains. Ultimately, “the next wave of healthy ingredients will be those that also support the health of the planet,” Macias affirms.

In honor of this year’s Earth Day, Lycored has launched a virtual webcam for increased ingredient traceability of its tomato fields, the key component to its ingredient portfolio. The Lycored Livestream offers a window on the fields where Lycored grows an exotic breed of golden tomatoes.

“We’ve celebrated Earth Day for many years. While we do a lot to respect nature, we’re conscious of the fact that we’re just getting started on our journey. The movement toward sustainability is a lifelong process that depends on a desire to improve constantly. For our team, our hope is to invite our audiences to see our ripening tomatoes – even if only virtually. We want to give anyone, anywhere a moment to watch nature’s beauty carrying on for some serenity now,” Zev Ziegler, Head of Global Brand & Marketing, Health, at Lycored, also shares with NutritionInsight.

Additionally, non-profit Sustainable Herbs Program (SHP) has published a Sustainability and Regenerative Practices Toolkit, consisting of an online collection of practical resources and best practices for the herb and botanical industry to become more socially and environmentally responsible. 

Some of its features include videos, webinars, discussion questions and action steps in each section. Moreover, the kit sheds light on how to enhance sustainability and regeneration in managing supply chains for botanical raw materials, extracts and essential oils.

 “Consumer’s relationship to Earth has grown with each passing year,” Imperato highlights.A changing relationship with the planet
Consumers’ relationship to Earth continues to grow roots as awareness of the fragility of the environment and the importance of its protection for future generations is amplified, Julie Imperato, Marketing Manager at Nexira, tells NutritionInsight. 

“We believe that after this sanitary crisis, consumers will ask more than ever for healthy food and supplements to support their immune system. Last December, we launched our brand inavea, the first premium brand of organic and sustainable ingredients preserving natural resources, supporting local communities and aiming for a carbon-neutral footprint,” Imperato highlights.

The launch further targets UN Sustainable Development (SDG) Goal 15: Life on Land, aiming to protect and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems. Having partnered with NGO SOS Sahel on sustainable development “for many years,” Nexira also taps into SDG Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals, which aims to strengthen implementation initiatives via partnerships for sustainable development.

Sustainability is a top consumer concern, as evidenced in Innova Market Insights’ No. 3 trend “The Sustain Domain.” The market researcher shows that 85 percent of, on average, US and UK consumers expected companies to invest in sustainability in 2019, up from 64 percent in 2018.

Natural ingredients bring out sustainability potential
Consumer demand for natural ingredients moves hand-in-hand with the global trend to be more respectful with the environment and use less processed products, according to Julia Díaz, Head of Marketing at Pharmactive Biotech Solutions. “Natural ingredients are an excellent alternative to support the growing demand of sustainable products, but it is important to dive deep into the production process, from farm to final product, valuing the eco-friendly extraction in the case of botanicals.”

In Pharmactive's ingredient sourcing process, its saffron is handpicked to prevent damage to the fragile flowers.To avoid ultra-processes, Pharmactive developed AFF ON Cool-Tech, an eco-friendly technology that generates low waste as it does not require huge amounts of raw material. The company’s carbon footprint is also minimized due to the extraction process’ cool temperatures. By avoiding the use of power to increase the heat dramatically, fewer energy sources are consumed. 

In the context of sustainably sourced nutritional ingredients, effective storytelling opens an essential avenue for companies to convey information about a product’s traceability and naturality while spotlighting ingredient provenance and boost brand credibility. Notably, “Storytelling: Winning with Words” crowns Innova Market Insights’ Top Ten Trends for 2020. 

Growing with green energy
Having experienced a “craze” for all things human-made in the last century, the world has gone “back to natural roots,” says Dr. Benny Antony, Joint Managing Director from Arjuna Natural. “There is a strong demand to ‘go natural’ and find solutions in replacing synthetic with natural solutions and natural with even sustainable solutions. We strongly believe in initiatives such as sustainable agriculture, green energy initiatives and social responsibility,” he highlights.

Arjuna Naturals notably made a conscious decision to invest not just in human health with its natural product range, but also in planetary health. The company manufactures its BCM-95 turmeric at its in-house facility powered by 100 percent solar energy. Moreover, Arjuna devotes 5 percent of its BCM-95 income to turmeric-centered research and development. Overall, it spends 10 percent of its income on R&D, including patents, clinical studies and formulation advancement. 

More specifically, natural ingredients are increasingly sought by consumers in the healthy aging sector, according to David Tetzlaf, Director of Marketing at Evolva. “We find that when consumers can link specific ingredients found in nature to support their memory, there is a higher level of comfort with taking a dietary supplement. Therefore, new product development teams are often looking for natural ingredients with data to support health claims. 

By Anni Schleicher, with additional reporting by Katherine Durrell