Inner well-being as “symbiotic relationship” of gut, brain and beauty-from-within spaces

01 Sep 2020 --- Inner well-being is a multifaceted sector in the nutrition industry, encompassing topics from gut and brain health to beauty-from-within. This blend of major industry trends makes it more challenging to pinpoint the market applicability. A coherent definition of “well-being” would also facilitate making its relevance much clearer to consumers. NutritionInsight speaks with experts from NZMP, Sensus and SternLife to unveil the most influential trends in the inner well-being space and how it could transform in the future.

“Feeling good on the inside leads to feeling good on the outside as well. This goal is reached by taking care of your inside – meditation, cognitive training, positive thinking – through the right nutrition, behavior and mindset,” says Lüder Holsten, Product Manager at SternLife. This is what he calls a “symbiotic relationship.”

Similarly, inner well-being varies from person to person, according to Rob Lilly, Head of Global Marketing & Communications, Sport & Active Lifestyles from NZMP. “What one person thinks is their perfect state of well-being may be completely different from another person.” 

Gut health is receiving increased attention as a significant factor in immune, brain and skin health.NZMP understands the primary barriers consumers face to finding inner well-being as falling into the emotional, intellectual and physical health categories. Emotional health comprises the ability to stay positive amid the obstacles life and work bring. While intellectual health means maintaining an optimal cognition to process learning and decision making, keeping up physical health impacts sleep, immunity and mobility.

At Sensus, the Netherlands-headquartered company mainly defines inner well-being as having a healthy digestive system. “Key to the gut system is the gut microbiome. A central approach to maintaining inner well-being is to ensure the number of beneficial bacteria in the gut is in sufficient abundance,” says Dr. Veerle Dam, the company’s Science and Regulatory Affairs Specialist.

Quantifying inner well-being
Measuring “inner well-being” may not be as straightforward as heart health or weight loss. “It’s difficult to quantify the success of inner well-being strategies. It’s more about the general feeling and health perception of the consumer, rather than any measurable number. In general, ‘holistic health’ concepts, as well as natural and organic ingredients, are promising approaches,” says Astrid Pomrehn, R&D at SternLife.

Meanwhile, Lilly affirms that measuring inner well-being is determined by the aspect being investigated. “When we conduct clinical studies into areas such as cognitive performance, we typically take a range of measures such as mood, anxiety and depression measures. These are determined by observing what measures are typically used in existing research.” 

Here, he highlights that aspects of inner health are not independent of physical health. “Often, these are related. For example, stress can affect sleep, which can impact weight change, which can influence emotion.”  

Taking this quantitative approach in the gut health space, Sensus calculates inner well-being by the number of bifidobacteria or improved outcomes related to a healthy gut, such as stool frequency and stool consistency. “The number of bifidobacteria can be measured using different methodological approaches, from traditional plate counting of bifidobacteria colonies to more novel high throughput 16S rRNA-based approaches,” Dr. Dam maintains. 

Lilly adds that the communication of such scientific results is critical to improving consumer education. “When it comes to communicating results, it is about translating scientific findings into something meaningful to a consumer and their quality of life. Trying to say that X ingredient changes Y hormone doesn’t mean anything to most people. But if you can say ‘X ingredient helped everyday people like you to achieve ABC,’ then it becomes a more compelling story.”

Gut health and immunity booming in inner well-being
Within the inner well-being space, gut health is top of mind for Jolanda Vermulst, Manager Marketing Intelligence at Sensus. “The gut microbiome has become a touchpoint for all aspects of health and wellness. Over the last decade, it has become clear that the health of our digestive system plays a role in overall health.” 

SternLife’s range of organic and vegan products address the inner well-being trend.Besides the gut health trend, Holsten also sees the beauty-from-within sector as increasingly associated with inner well-being. “Creams and lotions will never go away, but more consumers are looking for foods that improve their skin, hair, nails and appearance from the inside through targeted nutrition,” he details.

Moreover, interest in brain health is bringing mood enhancers and cognitive function boosters to the fore. “Formerly assumed to be purely psychological or emotion-driven, moods and feelings are now seen as also being linked to nutrition,” Holsten adds. 

Within these two subsectors, there appear to be no signs of decelerating consumer interest in natural solutions. “Antioxidants and superfoods have been in the public eye for many years now,” adds Pomrehn of SternLife. “Together with plant extracts, adaptogens, new plant-based proteins and more, these are ingredients that consumers look for on labels and will [be rewarded] by purchasing those products.” 

Spotting future trends
The future of the inner well-being trend is bound to continue to branch out in different directions. According to Vermulst at Sensus, the naturality trend is maturing consumer preferences for clean label products and macronutrient reductions. “Sugar, fat, calories and the total number of ingredients in food applications must be reduced. Consumer demands have assured this,” she says. 

Communicating research findings in a way that consumers understand is key to nuancing the inner well-being trend.“The clean label movement helped lead us to this place, where featuring simpler and more wholesome ingredient statements is the primary touchpoint of the entire product development process. This could lead indirectly to nutritional product reformulations with less calories,” Vermulst predicts.

NZMP expects to see more products targeting stress management in the coming few years. Moreover, the company is observing how NPD isn’t always about new ingredients per se. “Sometimes, it is about repositioning familiar foods and ingredients as new research comes to light. As the market around mental health products explodes, we expect to see increasing scrutiny from consumers.”

Also, Lilly observes two contrasting behaviors from consumers. “Some fall back to ensuring their basic nutrition is sound, so are seeking out foods with high-quality proteins and all-natural ingredients. Others look for sophisticated and specialized ingredients like nutraceuticals, probiotics and prebiotics.”

Ultimately, both Holsten and Pomrehn at SternLife predict immunity, gut health and adaptogens will continue to boom. Beauty-from-within and brain health are expected to follow as “still popular” trends.

By Anni Schleicher