Expo West 2026: Nuritas to showcase PeptiStrong functional yogurt for muscle health

Nuritas will feature its fava-bean peptide PeptiStrong in a drinkable yogurt at the upcoming Natural Products Expo West 2026 trade show (Mar 3–6) in Anaheim, California, US. The ingredient is backed by three clinical studies supporting improvements in muscle strength, energy, and recovery. 

Visitors can sample the prototype at the show and test their grip strength, which the company notes helps to connect muscle wellness with everyday vitality and healthy aging. Nuritas has designed this experience to show how targeted nutrition can support tangible health outcomes. 

Dr. Nora Khaldi, founder and CEO of Nuritas, tells Nutrition Insight that PeptiStrong’s yogurt application “unifies protein trends and consumer desire for convenient, wholesome nutrition.”

“PeptiStrong signals cells to support the body in building and maintaining strength, speeding up recovery and keeping you energized,” she details.

“We will also be showcasing PeptiSleep, a peptide ingredient discovered in brown rice. PeptiSleep enables brands to address a root cause of poor sleep: elevated cortisol. At the show, we will unveil compelling clinical research about how PeptiSleep is changing the sleep game.”

Both ingredients were developed through the company’s proprietary AI platform, Magnifier, adds Khaldi. She notes that the platform enables Nuritas to discover and optimize the power of cell-signaling peptides, natural, highly targeted bioactives from plants.

Powered by AI

As it sits at the center of the supplement, functional food, and beverage industries, Khaldi notes that Natural Products Expo West 2026 allows Nuritas to connect with brands and strategic partners interested in creating safer, healthier, and greener products.

The company’s Magnifier platform is crucial to advancing its ingredient development. “Traditional ingredient discovery is like searching for a needle in a haystack, except the haystack contains over a billion potential peptides from plants alone,” Khaldi illustrates. 

At last year’s Expo West, we spoke with Nuritas’ chief medical and innovation officer about PeptiSleep’s biological mechanisms and sleep benefits.She explains that compared to traditional methods, the Magnifier platform offers 600 times greater accuracy than traditional methods, as it is trained on a large database of plant peptides. It also speeds up the identification process by ten times.

“Magnifier enables Nuritas to identify, not single peptides, but entire networks of synergistic peptides working together to deliver different health benefits.”

In addition, the platform can pinpoint peptides that meet necessary criteria, such as food-grade, generally recognized as safe status, or bioavailability. “This enables greater efficiencies in bringing these ingredients to market,” she highlights.

Nutrition Insight previously spoke with Khaldi on the potential of AI to develop innovative nutrition solutions. She told us she expects AI to become a critical part of food, beverage, and supplement innovations, driving ingredient discovery for specific consumer needs.

Multifunctional products

Khaldi urges the nutrition and nutraceutical industries to focus on multifunctional products to meet consumer demand for added benefits in a single package.

Moreover, she suggests that brands can drive innovation by moving beyond go-to ingredients for need states, such as sleep. “Promoting a good night’s rest encompasses more than melatonin, opening the path for enhanced formulations built on the latest science.”

“Branded ingredients also continue to deliver value for consumers invested in their health,” continues Khaldi. “They’re a mark of assurance for consumers increasingly scrutinizing labels.”

She underscores that consumers are increasingly aware of the ingredients in their products and the benefits they provide. They are looking for solutions that support their specific needs and expect products to do more.

“With the increased awareness of ingredients, brands need to ensure they’re bringing new, relevant products to market. Nuritas provides ingredients that are clinically backed, naturally derived, and meet key consumer needs like sleep and sports nutrition,” she concludes.