End of year review: Peaked nutrition trends and innovations spotlighted in 2019

20 Dec 2019 --- The nutrition industry has had a busy year, packed with innovation from every corner of the space. The hype surrounding cannabidiol (CBD) came to the fore following the softening of regulations around the world. Other superstar ingredients such as ashwagandha also enjoyed a ballooning popularity, as consumer appetite for functional botanical ingredients rises. In technological advancements, personalized nutrition has been making waves as new innovations allow consumer needs to be tracked and addressed as never before. Formulators are now more keen to ensure that people of all ages are being catered to, with infant nutrition continuing to grow in prominence, alongside healthy aging for senior consumers. Finally, the mainstreaming of sports nutrition means that everyone in between these age groups is also maximizing their active capacities. NutritionInsight takes a closer look at the key themes most heavily spotlighted across 2019.

New highs for hemp and cannabis
Consumer interest in CBD exploded this year, with CBD-infused products proliferating at an astounding pace. A string of regulatory greenlights moved the cannabis plant and cannabis-derived products into an increasingly mainstream track. At the start of the year, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) signaled a softened stance on cannabis-derived products with its move that legalized hemp and CBD derived from hemp.

The regulatory breakthroughs kept coming, with CBD obtained by “synthetic means” being excluded from the US Controlled Substance Act (CSA) regulatory controls, with the condition that it contains no more than 0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the psychoactive component in cannabis. Additionally, UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recently recommended that some cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMP) receive routine reimbursement from NHS England.

As a result, NPD in the space has been proliferating, with Dutch start-up Tranz using the Anuga 2019 show floor to underscore how it bypassed EU regulations on CBD-infused beverages to debut its potentially disruptive drink.

However, whether the cannabis extract has proven its potential as a new consumer staple, or is slated to become another “has-been cure-all in the supplement aisle,” still remains to be seen. Rabobank analysts argued that legal ambiguities and underregulation are the key deterrents for entrants to this new market.

Indeed, the FDA sent a firm reminder to 15 companies of the compound’s non-legal status. The businesses were reprimanded for illegally selling unregistered human and animal food and supplements containing with the compound. In addition, in November CBD was officially denied generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status from the FDA.  

Gut health
2019 was the year that gut health broke out of its stigma, as the conversation around digestive wellbeing reached larger audiences. One major element was fiber, which Innova Market Insights slated as one of its top ten trends of the year. According to a consumer survey from the market researcher in 2018, conducted by the market researcher, 44 percent of US consumers are increasing their consumption of fiber, with 33 percent of UK consumers doing so. At the same time, 21 percent average annual growth has been reported in new product launches carrying a fiber claim.

A study in January this year revealed links in higher intake levels of dietary fiber and whole grains with a lower risk of non-communicable diseases, body weight and cholesterol levels. “We understood fiber to be good for us, but we didn’t realize the extent of how good it truly is for our bodies,” study author, Andrew Reynolds of the University of Otago, New Zealand, told NutritionInsight.

Prior to its groundbreaking merger with IFF, DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences capitalized on the fiber trend with the launch of a flagship dairy enzyme that facilitates a total sugar reduction of 35 percent or more. The enzyme generates prebiotic dietary fiber in situ through the natural conversion of lactose. Probiotics continued to enjoy a popularity on the market, with Danone adding two new flavors to its popular Dannon Activia Probiotic Dailies line, this time fortified with prebiotic fibers. 

Sports nutrition
Sports nutrition is barreling toward the mainstream with its appeal reaching athletes, fitness enthusiasts and active consumers. Whey protein remains a key ingredient, while industry is getting creative with applications that satiate consumer demand for performance-boosting healthy indulgence. Interest in how athletes can thrive without consuming animal-derived foods was piqued this year, while clean label ingredients continue to take center stage within the sports nutrition sector.

The sports nutrition sector is also becoming a more inclusive category, as it expands to comprise occasional sport enthusiasts and “weekend warriors” next to bodybuilders and performance athletes. To adapt to this shift, nutrition ingredient companies are leveraging demands for convenient, functional foods and beverages that complement busy lifestyles, both in and outside of the gym.

Highlighting the achievements of companies active in this space, the first ever European Specialist Sports Nutrition Alliance (ESSNA) awards took place this year, with clean label, artificial intelligence and consumer convenience starring as key trends. NutritionInsight spoke with three of the category winners on the significance of their winning contributions for the sports nutrition sector.

In a similar move, the ESSNA called upon policymakers to aid the sports nutrition industry. The alliance prioritizes achieving good health for an aging population, placing sport and healthy diets at the core of the EU and having safe products for healthy consumers.

Personalized nutrition
Personalized nutrition took off this year, with a growing consensus that previous one-size-fits-all health solutions no longer apply to modern consumers. This trend is bound for technological growth, as recently evidenced by a wealth of novel devices and strategic partnerships between tech-savvy start-ups and larger companies. 

Examples of innovations in this space this year included ingestible gas-sensing capsule technology which monitors key gases produced within the gut in real-time, as well as a wearable digital device which “nudges” shoppers to make healthy choices based on their own DNA. 

Royal DSM strengthened personalized nutrition as its key strategic pillar with the US-based digital health platform AVA acquisition, while FoodMarble, a start-up producing a portable breath test and app collaborated with biotechnology company Carbiotix. To keep the momentum in this space going, five nutrition organizations joined forces to form the American Nutrition Association (ANA). 

As well-established scientific backing is crucial to ensuring accurate information for individual patients, NutritionHub, a B2B platform for nutrition experts, clarifies facts for businesses and consumers eyeing the personalized nutrition platform.

By Katherine Durrell and Anni Schleicher