Biofach 2024 live: GSE Natural Ingredients innovates with certified organic supplements

14 Feb 2024 --- As the demand for clean-label and natural ingredients continues to grow, the Germany-based supplier of plant-based supplements and component supplier, GSE Natural Ingredients is showcasing its certified organic solutions at the Biofach 2024 trade show in Nuremberg, Germany (February 13-16).

Innova Market Insights’ data suggests that the health and wellness industry is increasingly influenced by consumer demand for clean labels, leading to a rise in product launches that utilize natural ingredients for health benefits. This trend is evident in the supplement and sports nutrition sectors, where natural preservative ingredients experienced a growth of +13% CAGR from 2018 to 2022.

Nutrition Insight sits down with Markus Koske, the company’s head of marketing at booth #7A-531, to discuss its latest innovations and the market trends they speak to.

What we are offering is organic, plant-based supplements and our two newest products we have here at Biofach are the Beauty Boos for skin, hair and nails and ProBioPlus which is our probiotic offering,” he reveals. “At the moment, I think we are at the best place in the market because our products are all organic, vegan and easy to consume.

“It’s all about beauty and the gut.”

Innovating plant-based supplements
Koske points out that the company employs the same strategy for their new products as they have for years — focusing on plant-based, organic, vegan and soy-free options.

He notes that the company does this by gathering feedback from clients and retailers to understand market needs and consumer demands, which informs the development and concept of their product offerings.

“The ingredients are all plant based, which makes sense to us and makes sense to our consumers,” he underscores. “Plant based is the best way to take supplements and to refresh your body.”

Speaking of the consumer demand driving the market, he says: “The drive is the same drive it was five years ago and ten years ago, but the mindset of people has changed. The drive now is not just, ‘I want to be beautiful.’ The drive is, ‘I want to have a better feeling of myself.’”

Meeting the changing market demands
According to Koske, consumers seek a better sense of self-awareness and recognize that their daily dietary habits may not fully meet their body’s needs. Therefore, they seek out supplements to fill these nutritional gaps.

However, he states that many consumers express concern about the synthetic and chemical nature of many of the products available and often indicate a preference for more natural and less chemically-derived supplementation options.

“So the question now is, ‘does it make more sense to do it another way?’” he emphasizes. “To use products that are organic and not synthetic.”

“The thinking behind this is that mankind has used natural ingredients for tens of thousands of years and this is what we are used to — natural and organic supplements. So, we use natural shiitake mushrooms, basil, citrus, guava and so on.”Markus Koske, head of marketing at GSE Natural Ingredients

Utilizing vitamin complexes
The company’s ProBioPlus capsules are a plant-based food supplement that contains 6 billion active lactic acid bacteria made up of a combination of 15 bacterial strains. It also contains natural fiber from organic acacia. Its Beauty, Skin, Hair and Nail boost contains complexes of vitamins, something Koske says the company specializes in.

He also states that the most sought-after supplements include a vitamin B complex, covering vitamins B2, B3, B4 and B12. Moreover, he says that the company sources iron from curry leaves, a method not commonly used by others.

“This is unique because no one does it in this way,” he affirms. ”Iron normally is iron gluconate and it tastes like biting into a nail or something. It’s not very tasteful and it's not very good for your stomach, but the curry leaf helps you digest it.”

“Next we are going to innovate more with probiotics, and we will innovate more with our beauty range,” he concludes.

By William Bradford Nichols with additional reporting by Inga de Jong, live at Biofach