“Keeping the spirit alive”: Vitafoods Digital Week stars ingredient innovation despite event postponement

11 May 2020 --- Starting from today, Vitafoods Digital Week is serving as an industry networking and innovation exhibition platform in the wake of Vitafoods Europe’s postponement to early September due to the COVID-19 crisis. Until May 15, event exhibitors are showcasing their product and ingredient innovations via webinars, podcasts and white papers. NutritionInsight speaks to industry players from the virtual floor to see how they will make use of this unprecedented opportunity to communicate their brands’ developments with both established and prospective customers.

“Most of all, by participating in the Vitafoods Digital Week, we want to contribute to keeping the Vitafoods spirit alive, as well as its yearly knowledge sharing and business interaction that has taken place for so many years at Palexpo Geneva,” Miguel Martinho, Marketing Manager, Kemin Human Nutrition and Health Europe, tells NutritionInsight.

Kemin is highlighting its water-extracted natural Neumentix ingredient in the New Ingredient Showcase. The ingredient can help support sustained attention and improve physical choice-reaction performance. “These health aspects are much related to focus, attention or reaction time in a range of daily activities, either professional, academic or during our leisure time of sports and gaming. We know our customers are searching for solutions to address those consumer needs and interests,” Martinho affirms.

Peptan collagen peptides target the growing sports nutrition market.Kemin Human Nutrition and Health is furthermore making use of Vitafoods’ platforms to present its “Superior nutrition for gamers” infographic available on May 13. “In this infographic, we will share which key abilities videogamers and e-sports athletes want to remain at their peak for top performance and inspire our customers to bring innovative solutions to market,” Martinho states.

Caroline Brochard-Garnier, Global Communications Manager, at Rousselot also tells NutritionInsight how the Vitafoods Digital Week offers her company a useful platform to present its science-backed solutions, such as Peptan collagen peptides, and continue discussions with food and nutraceutical companies. 

“Participating in the Vitafoods Digital Week allows us to not only answer these questions collectively, but also assure our partners, customers and stakeholders that we are continuing to support them during these difficult times by supplying innovative collagen solutions and providing inspiring updates about the latest industry news and developments,” she affirms.

Besides highlighting Peptan’s potential for joint and bone health, healthy aging and nutricosmetic applications in the New Ingredient Showcase, Rousselot is also hosting a podcast on collagen for sports nutrition. Frank Engel, Global Market Development Manager, Health & Nutrition, Rousselot will explore growing categories within the sports performance nutrition market and how collagen peptides can help producers meet these needs by accelerating sports recovery, promoting joint health and facilitating protein enrichment. 

Physical contact important in the long-term
The Vitafoods Digital Week is France-based Biolie’s first endeavor into the virtual event arena, predicting it can provide greater outreach than traditional physical events. “We’ve joined this event to enhance visibility. When you [exhibit] at Vitafoods, you can interact with 100 people through meetings, but this kind of tool can potentially reach more than 1,000 people. It’s a much stronger communication tool and we are happier with this kind of networking,” Fayçal Ounnas, R&D Manager at Biolie, also tells NutritionInsight. 

Biolie's beta-carotene supplements are available as capsules, gummies, shots and tablets.Despite this amplified exposure, Ounnas is aware that this is a short-term alternative. “It’s interesting to have this solution, but in the long-term, it’s really important to have physical interaction with customers. [That way,] we can rapidly know if a product matches customer demand. Physical contact is really important in the long-term and it is the best way to exchange with customers,” he flags.

At Vitafoods’ New Ingredient Zone, Biolie is exhibiting its Biocaro10 ingredient, an organic source of vitamin A obtained from otherwise thrown away French carrots. Specialized in enzymatic distraction, Biolie now launches “the first and only” organic beta-carotene extract on the market. As a vegan, palm-free, gluten-free food supplement, the company’s flagship ingredient targets the growing organic market for immune, skin and eye health.        

“This event is really interesting for us to show our range of organic ingredients to show to our customers who are looking for natural ingredients. We are here to answer this demand,” Ounnas explains.

Both Kemin’s and Biolie’s ingredient innovations are examples of how Vitafoods’ New Ingredient platforms can help nutrition companies in promoting their latest developments. Other showcased innovations cover core health categories such as sleep and stress, pain relief, weight loss, healthy aging, cognitive performance and diabetes.

The Vitafoods Digital Week aims to network industry experts in a similar way a brick-and-mortar trade show would.A range of digital features
In addition to the ingredient platforms, the first day of Vitafoods Digital Week also offered attendees access to features including BASF’s infographic regarding understanding human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs). It shows how critical HMOs are in the first 1,000 days of life as they promote the growth of beneficial bacteria, normalize gut movements and support the immune system. 

Last month, Stefan Rüdenauer, Global Director of Human Nutrition Research and Development at BASF, told NutritionInsight that HMOs are showing great potential in personalized solutions for all ages. 

Meanwhile, Pharmlinea has released a white paper on iron as part of Vitafoods Digital Week. It casts light on how supplements in this space achieved a number one position in the market during the post-2008 crisis period. The paper examines the market, its flaws and case studies of successful launches. Back in March, PharmaLinea Chairman and Founder, Blaž Gorjup, had told NutritionInsight that industry could expect to see growth in global consumer demand for supplements amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Notably, Innova Market Insights is also presenting a webinar on sports nutrition. As reported last month, the market researcher is explaining how plant-powered products, clean label innovation and greater personalization have emerged as key trends.

Stay tuned for more Vitafoods Digital Week coverage in the next upcoming days, as NutritionInsight reports on industry innovations in this week’s event’s upcoming webinars, podcasts and infographics.

By Anni Schleicher and Katherine Durrell

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