Performance boost: Lonza launches new phytoplankton ingredient for sports nutrition
07 Mar 2019 --- Lonza has launched a new phytoplankton ingredient coined Oceanix that seeks to support athletic performance and recovery. According to the company, Oceanix is sustainably sourced from the ocean and is additionally tapping into the clean label, non-GMO and plant-based ingredient trends. The brand is currently available throughout the US and Canada.
“More and more consumers are pushing their physical performance, both in terms of intensity and the duration of activity,” says Shane Durkee, Vice President, Platform Innovation, R&D at Lonza Consumer Health.
“These consumers want effective performance nutrition to support performance and recovery that’s also clean label, non-GMO, high quality and clinically studied. Oceanix phytoplankton ingredient delivers on these consumer demands in a small, effective, once-a-day 25mg dose,” Durkee notes.
The product contains active antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) in addition to fatty acids, amino acids and minerals. The suggested daily dose may improve physical performance and offer an enhanced physiological response against oxidative stress, which promotes recovery, Lonza says.
The company’s patent-pending technology allows Oceanix to be used in a wide range of product applications, including a variety of sports nutrition applications, dietary supplements, bars, drinks and powders.
“Our goal is to consistently develop innovative, science-backed products that meet the needs of our customers and our consumers. With its vegan origins, the Oceanix ingredient brings sports performance and wellness benefits together, appealing to a new set of consumers,” adds Durkee.
“The Oceanix brand meets the growing need for nutritional support for active consumers – whether weekend warriors, or elite athletes – and the demand for clean-label, vegetarian products. Active consumers want performance nutrition to support performance and recovery that’s also clean-label and non-GMO,” Cliff Barone, Global Ingredient Marketing, Lonza Consumer Health & Nutrition, tells NutritionInsight.
Tapping into the sustainability trend that consumers are seeking, “Oceanix is developed using a patent-pending process in a food cGMP facility. It is cultivated on non-arable land using recycled water,” he adds.
The ingredient is the newest addition to Lonza’s portfolio. Previously, the company launched L-Carnitine which can particularly enhance post-exercise recovery, according to a review conducted by Lonza Consumer Health & Nutrition in conjunction with Tufts University in Boston, US. The review highlighted the extensive evidence on L-Carnitine as a sports nutrition ingredient for enhanced exercise capacity in young athletes and how the ingredient can highly benefit other demographics, such as the elderly. The research was conducted by Lonza Consumer Health & Nutrition in conjunction with Tufts University in Boston, US.
The continued mainstreaming of the sports nutrition sector is having a profound impact on new product activity. Innova Market Insights reports strong growth in sports-related positionings within mainstream food and beverage NPD. Strong growth has been reported in new sports nutrition products with a 65 percent rise in energy/alertness positions from 2013-2017. Sporty makeovers are giving a prominent spot to protein in mainstream food and beverages, with amino acids booming, for example. In fact, the highlighting of BCAA and amino acids on the front-of-pack of new products has enjoyed a global CAGR of 35 percent from 2013-2017.
By Kristiana Lalou
