Joint health industry eyes post-pandemic market opportunities amid broadening consumer demands

30 Jun 2021 --- Consumer appreciation for physical exercise has risen and is putting focus on joint health concerns. As social restrictions on movement and exercise patterns begin to change, industry has a unique opportunity to capitalize on the high level of consumer awareness. 

NutritionInsight discusses the future of the joint health industry with experts from Bioiberica, BioCell Technology and Gelita. 

They highlight the importance of scientific data and holistic approaches to joint health as an ever younger and more sophisticated stratum of consumers look for support through supplementation. 

Higher awareness means greater demands 
Oliver Wolf, Gelita’s head of global B2B marketing, says there has been a noticeable change in attitudes toward joint health – something not solely caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“More and more people are interested in doing something for their health and are prepared to invest in preventive products as well as treatments. This is even more in times when they had to stay at home watching their body becoming more and more flabby and losing performance.” 

“Overall, there has been a marked increase in health awareness. At the same time, consumers have become more demanding. As a result, it’s no longer good enough for a product to be satisfactory on one level.”

With easing lockdown restrictions, Reguant says these trends will likely continue as more and more people get out to exercise. 

“Over a third of consumers globally plan to improve their bone and joint health in the next 12 months. Although the numbers remain high for older demographics, a growing proportion of young adults – 25 to 34-year-olds and 35 to 44-year-olds – are making bone and joint health a priority.” 

Younger consumers are increasingly well-informed and demand a high level of scientific backing in products, says Gelita.Holistic approaches rise
Consumers increasingly understand the holistic nature of joint health, impacting overall health and lifestyle becoming ever more apparent. 

Jaume Reguant, healthcare director at Bioiberica, says this reality is a central cause of the rise in popularity of products that target all aspects of joint health. Reguant notes that manufacturers are combining ingredients that provide a broader array of benefits. For example, products targeted toward mobility may contain protein for muscle health, hyaluronic acid and native type II collagen for joints and cartilage, as well as calcium or boron for bone health.

Wolf also emphasizes the importance of recognizing the way joints work together with other parts of the body, something Gelita tailors its products toward. 

“It is not only about joints. In fact, the entire musculoskeletal system has to be considered. Muscles, bones, fascia, ligaments and tendons all work together with the joints,” Wolf says. 

“Only if all these components work perfectly together will we be able to move. The failure of only one of them causes considerable problems for the entire system. Specific collagen peptides can exactly target each of these different components and support them to do their job and keep us healthy and mobile.”

Mobility across the lifespan
Wolf asserts that healthy aging is relevant to all consumers – independent of age. As the teenagers become more aware of their own physiology, they often turn to sports and higher physical activity levels, he says.

Suhail Ishaq, president of BioCell Technology, expects the joint health market to continue expanding, “particularly as millennials start entering the market as they move into their thirties.”

“Also throughout adulthood – as we start to show the first signs of aging between 35-40 years old, aches and pains creep in and wrinkles begin to appear. Here, we become more health aware and self-conscious as we juggle the many lifestyle issues of healthy nutrition, physical activity and finding balance,” adds Wolf. 

“The world will soon have more elderly people than children, and more people living into older ages than ever before. As a result, seniors are more devoted to staying healthy, active, mobile and independent than ever before.”

Dietary supplements continue to dominate 
Holistic products targeting muscle, bone and joint health are on the rise.According to Innova Market Insights, 85 percent of joint health products launched in 2020 were dietary supplements – including capsules, tablets and sachets. 

“Capsules remain a firm favorite amongst joint health manufacturers, as they enable the safe containment of a wide range of ingredients, making them ideal for new comprehensive mobility solutions where formulation challenges may hamper functional foods,” says Reguant. 

Efforts to improve supplement formats for joint health are ongoing. For example, Lonza recently released an organic addition to its line of UC-II undenatured collagen ingredients in once-a-day doses, answering what it says are consumer compliance challenges in the market. 

Scientific backing is essential 
Consumers are becoming more sensitive regarding the ingredients included in their daily diets and demanding products that address an increasingly wide range of health concerns. However, this is not always possible, according to Wolf.

“They want it all, and they want it now. The truth is, not all consumer demands are compatible with each other, and the food and supplement industry must find ways to satisfy as many of them as they can while compromising others as little as possible.”

“Convincing concepts are required here to overcome this conflict,” he asserts. 

In order to better communicate effective joint health supplement use, scientific data is essential. Supplement brands must be able to prove the positive effects their products promise for supporting the health of end users, Wolf continues.

Ishaq further asserts that people search for clinically studied ingredients in their purchasing products. 

“Consumers are very sophisticated and demanding regarding dietary supplements products.” 

“We offer them a solution with BioCell Collagen because it is patented and substantiated by multiple clinical trials that prove its efficacy. Consumers are more likely to purchase a dietary supplement with clinical evidence to support its claims than one that does not.” 

BioCell Collagen is designed to mirror human articular cartilage for comprehensive maintenance of healthy joint function, he explains. The product’s differentiated properties provide broader, more complete, and superior nutritional support.

According to a 12-week human clinical study, a double daily supplementation with 2 g of BioCell Collagen enhanced joint comfort and mobility in 80 subjects. 

By Louis Gore-Langton