Empowered consumers drive trusted ingredients in nutraceutical industry’s “new normal”

13 Oct 2021 --- Consumers are taking health more into their own hands as shopping has migrated online in the lingering wake of COVID-19. Trust in supplement brands and on-pack claims have become increasingly important as consumers make purchasing decisions from their home.

NutritionInsight speaks with nutraceutical suppliers Giellepi, Anklam Extrakt, BioCell Technology, PharmaLinea and Lonza on the change in purchasing dynamics within nutraceuticals.

Patterns disrupted 
During COVID-19 lockdowns, consumers went online to buy their supplements, explains Eleonora Folco, marketing manager at supplement and medical device developer Giellepi. 

This contrasts from the established norm, where the pharmacist plays an important role in supplement purchasing decisions. 

“Normally in Italy, if you go to the pharmacy to buy antibiotics, the pharmacist will tell you to take probiotics, and they will choose the probiotic for you,” says Folco. 

Anklam Extrakt is one company investing in science to support its botanical ingredients.With less consumers going to the pharmacy – and less input from pharmacists – consumers relied more on brand names and their own research, she details. 

“People made decisions by choosing brands with a good reputation. They began looking for information about immune support, stress, anxiety and how to manage it naturally without drugs or vaccines.”  

Clinical studies for who? 
As businesses open up again, online ordering is likely to stick, Folco remarks. Well-known brands are less expensive to buy online than in the pharmacy. Consumers are also now more informed and interested in the ingredients to look for.

Building and maintaining trust with consumers is therefore paramount. This is highlighted by Claudia Pühn, managing director at Anklam Extrakt, who emphasizes the importance of using science-based ingredients. 

“If you’re a serious company bringing a product to consumers, you have to be sure that the product works.” 

For example, despite widespread consumer association of elderberry with immune health, Pühn says, the company still invests in research for its elderberry-based immunity ingredient Eldosamb to reassure manufacturers that the product delivers. 

Women’s health has grown steadily over the past ten years, underscores PharmaLinea.Cashing in on claims 
Investing in clinical studies can also yield some lucrative benefits when it comes to the ability to use claims. 

Douglas Jones, global sales and marketing manager at BioCell Technology, explains that some of the company’s customers saw “dramatic increases in sales” following Biocell’s study in 2019 that led to new structure-function claims in the US. 

“We can now support saying ‘reduces facial lines and wrinkles,’ ‘reduces crow’s feet,’ ‘reduces skin dryness,’ and ‘boosts skin collagen and hyaluronic acid.’” Brands that updated their labels with these claims saw increases in sales. 

He adds that working from home and increased teleconferencing have made consumers more cognizant of their facial appearance.  “Work is continuing to happen over Zoom, so consumers are seeing themselves on camera all of the time.”

They are also looking for more in-home solutions, he adds, since some may not feel safe yet to go back to spas and salons. 

Beyond commodities 
With consumers demonstrating more interest in their health, specific positionings are pegged for growth. These may take the form of specific probiotics strains instead of general “gut health” positionings or more unique branded ingredients.  

“In the hottest markets right now – immunity, sleep and stress – we see much more advanced ingredients,” says Matevž Ambrožič, marketing and PR director at Slovenia-based PharmaLinea. 

Lonza’s latest Vcaps Plus HPMC Veggie Brown capsules are made with natural colors.Before, supplements were based on more commodity-type products, he says. "The area of stress and sleep was mainly a couple of herbals, such as melissa, valerian and passionflower. Now we have all these products coming in with branded ingredients, based on clinical studies.” 

Finding the unique selling point
Ambrožič explains that, previously, putting an ingredient on the market that is different from everything else was “a problem.” This is because highly differentiated products require more education, he notes. 

But this is now becoming a strength in highly competitive markets, such as immunity, which is now seeing a decline amid market saturation, reports Ambrožič. 

“Immunity will inevitably remain a topic that is on everyone’s mind as the pandemic rolls on,” adds Lindsey Toth, associate director of global marketing at Lonza Capsules and Health Ingredients. 

Brands can differentiate themselves with advanced dosage forms or technology to make ingredients more bioavailable, such as with lipid multi-particulate technology, she notes.

The technology can also help to tap into clean label trends, offering a “high degree of ingredient stability and functionality,” without the use of solvents. 

Toth says that Lonza has seen interest in clean label products reach an all-time high. “Consumers want recognizable ingredients they can pronounce and understand, meaning foods top the list of desired sources.”

Sustainable packaging can also help differentiate nutraceuticals.In this space, Lonza recently added two new colors to its Vcaps range using food sources, Veggie Green and Veggie Brown. 

“Using colorful food sources like carrot and radishes, the Vcaps capsules deliver a unique appearance in addition to delivering on the food-based trend and consumer lifestyle ideals.”

Looking ahead 
As society returns to its new normal, several suppliers agree that immunity will still play an important role, albeit not as much as in 2020. The other top two trends accelerated by COVID-19 – stress and sleep – are forecast to further develop.  

Other important areas to watch include women’s health and liver health. “Women’s health is the second-highest grower of compound annual growth rates in the past ten years,” details Ambrožič. 

“Whereas some trends may be fleeting, women’s health is here to stay. It’s a stable growing investment and includes everything from pregnancy and lactation to UTIs and fertility.” 

Innovation is also focusing on the liver health arena with Nexira’s latest Hepure ingredient targeting liver protection with natural botanicals. A recently published Aker BioMarine-backed study also investigated the company’s krill ingredient for improved liver health. 

Moreover, Allmicroalgae spotlighted its organic spirulina and chlorella ingredients at Vitafoods 2021 for detox applications. 

Other aspects include more sustainable positionings. For example, Czech supplement manufacturer Vitar recently launched a premium eco-friendly supplements line that does not rely on conventional plastic blister packs. 

By Missy Green

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