Enjoyable delivery forms remain top demand in children’s supplements

25 Apr 2019 --- Balanced nutrition is essential for children’s healthy growth and development. Although a perfectly balanced diet should theoretically cover all needs, it may prove challenging for an average adult, let alone a child, to achieve it. Targeting the nutritional needs of their children is a priority for parents globally and supplements manufacturers are catering to these specific nutritional needs by formulating supplementation accordingly. Enjoyable delivery methods, alongside clean label and sustainability claims, continue to be top drivers in this space.

“The early stage of a child’s life is incredibly important for physical growth, cognitive development and the prevention of future diseases. The transition from infant nutrition to table food can be challenging. Children may be picky eaters or have food intolerances, while busy family lifestyles and inappropriate food choices can all influence the quality of nutrition a child receives,” Lay Kwan Goh, Head of Global Marketing BASF Human Nutrition tells NutritionInsight. 

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, most children do not get enough iron and calcium from their diets. Other vitamins of concern are vitamin D, A and K, and the B vitamins. Supplementation may, therefore, a viable option to support children’s nutrition. 

“The declining nutrient content of food and increasing consumption of processed foods are contributing to deficiencies and certain children are prone to them genetically. The cases where supplementation is necessary for healthy development are many and rising. Simultaneously rises the need for quality products that actually resolve issues,” Blaž Gorjup, Chairman and Founder of PharmaLinea, tells NutritionInsight. 

“While nutraceutical supplements should never be considered a replacement for a balanced diet, they do offer parents the reassurance of providing their children with the extra nutrients to ensure they are always maintaining their recommended daily guidelines,” Rui Yang, Chief Strategy Officer, Sirio Pharma, tells NutritionInsight.

“Enjoyable” delivery
Children can be very particular about the foods they consume, which is why the need for enjoyable delivery methods is emphasized in this space. From flavor to shape and color, delivery forms can “make or break” a supplement’s popularity. Innova Market Insights reports that the average annual growth in functional fruit gums from 2014-2018, was up by 12 percent CAGR over this period. For chewable tablets, an average annual growth of 7 percent was reported over this period, while for gummies it was up 15 percent. A lot of inspiration to create supplements with an appealing format for younger generations can be taken from the children’s sector. 

“Generally, supplements with ‘fun’ factors are more enjoyable for children and entice picky eaters to consume supplements beneficial for their development. For example, supplements in powder form, which can be sprinkled into their meals and tasty supplements, such as gummies, are well received,” notes Goh. 

Delivery method is crucial to children, according to Yang. Essentially, the dosage form and flavor of supplements must be appealing to children. Chewable products are more suitable for children, such as gummy and chewable tablets. 

“This is evidenced by the increase in demand of gummy formulations across US, Europe and Asia – creating new nutraceutical dosage forms and flavor combinations will help us expand the growth potential across the market,” Yang notes.

While softgels offer an easy route to consuming supplementary vitamins, minerals and omega 3, chewable products offer an attractive alternative by providing the same benefits while masking the advantages under a blend of textures and flavors that is more desirable.

“Although preferences vary to some extent with geography, we are seeing with our partners on markets globally that demand for liquids and gummies is rising,” notes Gorjup. 

Gummies, however, may confuse children as they are associated with candy, says Gorjup who advocates for syrup forms that are just as tasty, but are a non-food formulation. “Keeping a certain barrier between food and food supplement forms can be beneficial in case of children. Also popular are liquid drops that can be easily masked into other food or drinks and convenient sachets for on-the-go use,” he adds.

“When we do focus groups with younger consumers, they are all over stick packs and powder delivery and other forms that they can just consume with a food item during the day,” Jeff Hilton, Partner and Co-Founder of US-based brand consultancy BrandHive told NutritionInsight in an interview discussing the Millennial demographic’s supplementation demands.

Innovation in supplementation and challenges
When factoring in the tastes of young consumers, the supplements space allows for much experimentation and innovation in flavors, and most importantly, in delivery. Prolonged shelf life, stability in formulation and clean label claims are other industry-wide goals that influence the children’s supplements space as well.

According to Gorjup, an interesting area of PharmaLinea’s innovation is preservative-free liquid products. Achieving stability in liquid form is challenging as it is, but removing preservatives takes it a step further. We have developed several preservative-free liquid drops and demand for them is substantial, especially for the youngest, most sensitive users,” he notes.

To accelerate innovation, BASF has four global application labs that are constantly experimenting with new formulations, formats and combinations relevant to young consumers. At Sirio, the company pays great attention to the stability and quality of its products, from the selection of raw materials and formula development to dosage form production.

Regulatory and/or registration requirements, especially for supplements aimed at young children, can be very strict and this may prove a challenge for developers. 

Other challenges, according to Yang, include post-manufacturing difficulties related to the quality of products, such as aspects of stability and shelf-life over the course of the expected consumer availability. “Stability testing enables us to predict an appropriate shelf-life for the product; ensuring consumers’ expectations of quality are met throughout the products shelf-life.”

The next big thing in children’s supplementation
Continuous innovation means predicting trends and consumer needs and acting accordingly. The supplementation space is vivid with nutritional and health trends that are bound to influence future NPD. Prevention is taking the lead in supplement purchasing drivers, according to Gorjup. 

Another area of pressing concern is exposure to screens. Existing eye health products are mostly targeted to seniors, excluding the population that is actually regularly using tablets and smartphones at an alarming rate, early in life. 

“Supporting children’s vision with prevention in mind is another opportunity and future trend that will soon be impossible to overlook. Developing clinically substantiated solutions in child-friendly form is the newest challenge,” Gorjup says.

While it is easy to get hooked on trendy buzzwords within the industry, the main reason that supplementation exists should not be slighted. Solving existing or rising children’s needs is the key focus and driver. “The next big trends we see are in preventive solutions for challenges of modern days,” Gorjup concludes.

By Kristiana Lalou