PharmaLinea launches supplement to “fall asleep quickly” as consumers look for effective sleep solutions

08 Nov 2023 --- PharmaLinea has unveiled a new clinically supported food supplement to improve sleep quality and acute sleep latency issues. Consumers are increasingly aware of the importance of a good night’s sleep and are “dissatisfied” with the current offer. The private label manufacturer underscores that its new product, based on melatonin and its patented ingredient Qnight, addresses sleep quality holistically. 

Nutrition Insight sits down with Maja Orešnik, science and research director at PharmaLinea and Matevž Ambrožič, the company’s marketing and PR director. 

“Your Good Night Acute Sticks were developed to improve several sleep quality parameters, such as sleep duration, sleep latency, sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances and daytime dysfunction. They are based on a unique patented ingredient clinically shown to improve these parameters,” says Orešnik.

“The formulation includes melatonin in a low, non-addictive dose for an immediate effect on acute sleep latency issues — melatonin is known to significantly reduce the time it takes to fall asleep, improve total sleep time and help with jet lag.” 

Orešnik explains that the formulation and delivery format of on-the-go stick packs are “ideal for short-term support of acute issues with sleep latency” — e.g., during stressful periods, while experiencing jet lag or need to adapt to different time zones. 

“The product is the latest SKU in PharmaLinea’s line of sleep support products called Your Good Night Line, which also includes several melatonin-free options for more continuous support of sleep quality.”

According to Ambrožič, consumers are dissatisfied with the current offer of sleep products and look for new solutions.Dissatisfied consumers 
Ambrožič asserts that sleeping disorders have been among the top consumer health concerns in the last few years. Mood or relaxing supplements have been the fastest-growing dietary supplement positioning in market size for the past three years. 

“However, sleeping problems are also the category where consumers are least satisfied with their current treatment and frequently look for new solutions.”

“We believe this is due to the low efficacy of most existing solutions. The majority of products on the market are based on commodity herbals. While in the monographies their mode of extraction and relevant daily doses are described, they are not reflected in the supplements found on the market.” 

According to Ambrožič, to follow traditional use for some ingredients, final products would need to contain several hundred milligrams. In contrast, often, these products have a mix of ingredients and extracts in low amounts. 

“Rarely any of the used ingredients are thus properly standardized and supported by modern clinical research,” underscores Ambrožič. 

Although consumer dissatisfaction with the current offer of sleep supplements may open the market for new product launches, he warns that companies must deliver “tangible efficacy” for new products to succeed as consumers will likely switch to new brands. 

Measuring sleep quality 
With an increasing use of wearable technology and a growing awareness of the importance of sleep, Ambrožič observes that consumers are starting to recognize the value of sleep quality and which parameters to measure it by, aside from falling asleep quickly. 

“The total sleep duration, potential sleep disturbances (like waking up during the night or waking up too early) and sleep efficiency (meaning the proportion of time that we spend in bed and are sleeping) are just as important markers of general sleep quality.” 

Due to the growing use of wearable technology, consumers are starting to recognize how to measure sleep quality.“Many people are tracking their sleep with wearable devices and apps and analyzing the results. They see the various stages of sleep, how many times they woke up and how long they were in bed. They mark in apps how well-rested they were in the morning.” 

Ambrožič adds that consumers are recognizing the effect sleep quality has on other areas of their lives, such as immunity, cognition, metabolism and mood. 

He observes that leading brands are starting to communicate sleep quality and its many parameters in new product launches, for example, referring to “sleep quality, restful sleep, feeling refreshed, reducing the number of nocturnal awakenings, reducing sleep latency and maintaining restful sleep.”

“This is one important characteristic that we feel new products and their communication should take advantage of,” Ambrožič continues. “This presents a great market opportunity for a product with an added-value formulation, clinically supported to improve sleep quality in the long-term, such as Your Good Night Acute Sticks.”

Melatonin-free products 
Ambrožič highlights that, recently, several companies with sleep product lines based on melatonin started to add melatonin-free products, emphasizing “melatonin-free” as one of the main product’s unique selling points. 

“There’s no doubt that melatonin is still the leading ingredient in the number of new launches, and of course, it has a huge market size and demand. But there seems also to be a growing market segment of demand for melatonin-free products.” 

He highlights that notable 2023 examples include GNC and Natrol. “Natrol is the number one drug-free sleep aid brand in the US, and their director of product management and innovation specifically stated that while many consumers find melatonin to be their preferred sleep supplement, a growing number are looking for melatonin-free options.” 

“We believe that having melatonin and melatonin-free options in your range could be beneficial,” Ambrožič continues. “We now have a line of products where brands can choose from both melatonin and melatonin-free options.” 

Your Good Night Acute Sticks contain 300 mg Qnight, 0.4 mg melatonin, 200 mg magnesium and 2 mg vitamin B6 (Image credit: PharmaLinea).Earlier this week, MDBio shared outcomes of a clinical trial on their sleep supplement containing a mix of cannabinoids, herbs and botanicals, highlighting that melatonin research indicates it can “lead to unpleasant side effects like next-day drowsiness, headaches, dizziness and nausea when used long-term or at high doses.” 

Clinical support ingredients 
One dose of Your Good Night Acute Sticks contains 300 mg Qnight, 0.4 mg melatonin, 200 mg magnesium and 2 mg vitamin B6. 

“The product’s main ingredient, Qnight, is supported by nine gold standard clinical trials,” highlights Orešnik. 

“These trials have shown that Qnight significantly improves several sleep quality parameters in poor sleepers, such as subjective sleep quality, sleep duration, sleep efficiency, sleep latency, sleep disturbances and daytime dysfunction. For example, sleep efficiency improved by 73% after four weeks of Qnight supplementation.”

She adds that magnesium and vitamin B6 also provide sleep support. “Magnesium has been found to regulate and maintain normal circadian rhythms, improve sleep quality and help with melatonin production.” 

“Vitamin B6, which acts as a cofactor in the synthesis of neurotransmitters like GABA, is essential for the biosynthesis of melatonin and is required for maintaining mood balance and regulation of anxiety and happiness.”

By Jolanda van Hal