Vitafoods Europe 2025: Nexira’s acacia gum program wins sustainability award

Nexira exhibited a host of innovations aligned with trends for natural weight management, women’s health, beauty-from-within, and the fast-growing microbiome segment at the recently concluded Vitafoods Europe 2025 in Barcelona, Spain (May 20–22).

On the showroom floor, Nutrition Insight caught up with Julie Imperato, marketing and communication manager at Nexira, to discuss the company’s Vitafoods Innovation Award for Sustainability, which recognizes its Acacia Program and prebiotic range Inavea, based on acacia gum.

“We won the Vitafoods award for our sustainability initiative and we have presented our Acacia program and low-carbon strategy,” she details. “The Acacia program was created in 2009 with a French NGO called SOS Sahel.”

“We try to increase the Acacia gum production by improving the lives of the local population and by protecting the Acacia gum trees and the Acacia forest.”

Nexira works with three stages on this project. “The first two stages are already done. Between 2009 and 2019, we had incredible results involving 28,000 people and 100 villages,” Imperato notes.

Nexira took home the Vitafoods Innovation Award for Sustainability.“We have planted more than two million trees in this area. So it’s a huge project involving the local population by training them to harvest the Acacia gum and distributing equipment kits so they can pick the gum on the trees without damaging the trees.”

“Another action is involving women in the decision process so they have a real impact on the acacia production and the revenue. We train them to become independent. So it’s a kind of virtuous cycle. The ambition is to enlarge the project with more people involved, more villages, and a larger area covered by the trees. This will enlarge the number of beneficiaries of this program.”

Nexira innovation pipeline

At the show, Nexira unveiled its GLP-1 collection, including Carolean, a patent-pending ingredient that naturally stimulates GLP-1 secretion and supports appetite control. Paired with other botanicals, the collection addresses healthy weight management and alleviates discomfort from GLP-1 therapies.

The company also featured its “Mediterranean treasure” for anti-aging, Oli-Ola, a natural olive extract standardized in polyphenols, with claims of strong antioxidant and anti-aging effects. Clinical trials demonstrate enhanced skin elasticity, reduced water loss, and melasma improvement. Meanwhile, nutrigenomics has revealed it activates antioxidant genes for long-term skin health.

Nexira also presented its cranberry extract line, Exocyan, produced in-house in France. It is scientifically validated to improve urinary comfort and overall quality of life for women.

Meanwhile, the company exhibited its Inavea and Fibregum ingredients, offering a full spectrum of precision prebiotic fibers for tailored gut health support. Dedicated reference to be paired with probiotics or optimized one for a high solubility in stick packs, these ingredients bring personalized solutions with organic and carbon-neutral options.