Industry points to scientific and technological advances to stand out in crowded immune health market

26 Sep 2023 --- Industry professionals highlight that the market for immune-supporting nutrition is increasingly competitive and warrants scientific backing to stand out. Although consumer demand stays strong, people look for high-value and clinically proven ingredients.

Nutrition Insight continues its conversation on immune health developments with Chr. Hansen, Ingredients by Nature, Kerry, TriNutra and Blue California, diving into the growing role of scientific evidence and technology in the sector. 

Last week, industry professionals highlighted a continued consumer interest in immune-supporting nutrition and demand for immunity-plus ingredients and products. 

“A poor immune system is associated with being easily susceptible to day-to-day illnesses, such as catching a cold, by consumers across all the different regions,” Meilissa Hosen, commercial industry manager of human health at Chr. Hansen tells us. 

“The fact that consumers are not overly confident toward their immune health while seeing a direct link between having a good immune system and overall good health is something that will result in consumers looking to address this over the next couple of years,” she predicts. 

Rob Brewster, president of Ingredients by Nature, echoes this trend, noting that consumers continuously use dietary supplements for immune support. 

“Vitamins, minerals, probiotics, herbal ingredients and antioxidants lead the immune health supplement category. People are also altering their lifestyles to focus on improving gut health, sleep, mindfulness and staying active to improve their immune health.”  

Brewster also highlights that technology allows manufacturers to fortify products with dietary supplement ingredients and improve functionality and bioavailability. “Adding a clinically studied immune health ingredient to a product that a consumer will likely buy is highly appealing and a great to-go market strategy.” 

Advances through scienceNiamh Hunt from Kerry says that providing novel, scientifically validated ingredients will captivate consumers. 
Although consumers are taking a more proactive approach to seeking products that boost health and immunity, Hosen sees they are still skeptical toward nutritional supplements and have concerns regarding their safety and benefits. 

“Therefore, it is necessary that such immune health ingredients can demonstrate that they will deliver safety, fully researched and evidence-based benefits.”  

Adam Baker, science director of human health at Chr. Hansen shares technological advances that help build an understanding of some complex relationships between the microbiome and the immune system, a link consumers are increasingly aware of. 

“We can now study the microbiome through sequencing and even transfer one through fecal transplants and see how this affects immune status. We have more sensitive methods for measuring immune responses and we have started to use wearable technology and be able to track new and novel activities and biomarkers that can give us new readings on our health status.”

Niamh Hunt, senior global marketing manager of immune and joint health, Kerry, tells us that offering innovative, clinically researched ingredients and new delivery formats will keep consumers engaged in this competitive market. 

“It’s also worth noting that consumers are being more careful with how they spend their money, leading them to actively seek high-value ingredients – for 60%, this means those that are science-backed.” 

“Where immune health is concerned, this rises to 78%, while ‘clinically proven’ is the most sought-after claim for more than 80% of consumers. This echoes Kerry’s research, which has found that 79% of consumers research ingredients for themselves.” 

Hunt urges manufacturers to offer consumers well-researched, scientifically substantiated immune-supporting ingredients.

Standing out in the crowdIngredients by Nature highlights that consumers continuously use dietary supplements for immunity support.
Looking to the future, Ingredients by Nature’s Brewster predicts the immune supplement health market to grow by product type and in various sales channels. 

“However, as great as the market can be, it will eventually even out. If consumers aren’t finding the desired results, they will stop using the product, so it’s critical to provide consumers with the dosage tested in its clinical research.” 

“Immune health is something that most people think about daily and, more than likely, they turn to dietary supplementation to help maintain and support their immunity,” Morris Zelkah, CEO at TriNutra, tells us.

He explains that some of the most popular ingredients are vitamins, minerals and botanical ingredients, including elderberry, ginger, turmeric and mushrooms. 

“One challenge in the immune health market is the number of products available. It is now more important than ever to develop a standout immune health product that resonates with consumers and offers benefits consumers can feel,” continues Zelkah.

“This is not to say that consumers won’t care about their immune health, but more so that the products and product innovation may become too crowded and over-promise results. We must work together as an industry to ensure quality products with strong scientific data.”

He underscores that technology plays a vital role in the market, from the initial extraction of an ingredient to the finished product and its applications, adding that products must be bioavailable and offered in an attractive format.

Overcoming challenges with technology
Linda May-Zhang, Ph.D., VP of innovation at Blue California, sees that advances in biotechnology can help remedy some of the challenges in the immune health market, especially regarding natural ingredients. 

“Precision fermentation technology facilitates more sustainable and high-yield production of nature-identical compounds, answering the dual call for natural ingredients and environmental responsibility.” 

“A notable example is the Rhodiola rosea plant, now at risk of becoming endangered. Through these technologies, we can offer high-purity salidroside, one of its primary bioactives, sidestepping the need for traditional botanical extraction.” 

She adds that through biotechnology, ingredients such as human lactoferrin become more easily accessible, which “transcends the market standard” – bovine lactoferrin sourced from cow’s milk. 

Blue California uses biotechnology to develop nature-inspired ingredients that foster immunity and overall health. For example, Taxifolin BC-DHQ – traditionally sourced from larch trees – has displayed potential benefits in modulating inflammation during conditions, such as COVID-19. May-Zhang notes that a clinical trial is underway to evaluate its effectiveness in immune function. 

Scientific support for upcoming ingredients
Although vitamins and minerals lead the charge in immune health, May-Zhang sees that botanicals, especially mushrooms, experience strong growth. 

“They contain significant bioactives, notably ergothioneine and emerging studies suggest potential cognitive and immune health benefits.”Chr. Hansen says it is important that immune health ingredients have demonstrated safety and evidence-based benefits.  

She adds that HMOs (human milk oligosaccharides) and lactoferrin are gaining prominence as immune-supporting ingredients across all ages, from infants to adults.

Kerry’s Hunt sees an increasing awareness of the role some beta-glucans – fibers found in various foods, yeasts and fungi – can play in immune support. 

The company’s beta 1,3/1,6 glucan Wellmune is clinically validated for its immune support benefits, supported by over a dozen peer-reviewed, published clinical research, highlights Hunt. 

“These studies provide robust evidence of Wellmune’s role in helping support the innate immune response by training specific immune cells (leukocytes) to find and destroy pathogens more quickly. This translates to reduced risk and shorter duration of upper respiratory tract infections such as the common cold in a broad range of populations, from children to adults, marathon runners and stressed people.” 

Moreover, Hunt notes that probiotics have been demonstrated to support immune health in several ways.  

“Kerry’s patented probiotic BC30 (Bacillus coagulans, GBI-30, 6086) is backed by over 25 published papers demonstrating its benefits for immune and gut health. LC40 (Lactobacillus fermentum CECT5716), our patented probiotic strain isolated from women’s breast milk, has been shown to reduce gastrointestinal infections by up to 73% in babies delivered by cesarean section.” 

By Jolanda van Hal