Science and consumer knowledge driving holistic health and wellness opportunities, Lubrizol reveals

06 Sep 2022 --- As consumers become increasingly health conscious and knowledgeable about the ingredients in their supplements, there is now greater importance for brands to take a proactive and holistic approach when it comes to their product’s market positioning.

Ahead of Lubrizol’s webinar, Embrace holistic health with science-backed ingredients, NutritionInsight speaks to the company’s global marketing manager Isabel Gómez and global product manager Zakaria Benmerzouga on the opportunities and challenges across the space.

“More than ever, consumers are looking for holistic solutions to support their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. As consumers become more concerned about their health in general, they are turning to supplements to address a variety of areas of health,” explains Gómez.

Holistic health encompasses physical, emotional, cognitive and social well-being.Understanding holistic health
According to Gómez, holistic health starts with the individual becoming conscious of the susceptibility of their well-being beyond their physical health to include emotional, cognitive, and social well-being. Once awareness is obtained, proactive maintenance and upkeep of these key factors to health can be initiated with solutions such as nutritional supplementation.

“When evaluating health goals, boosting the immune system remains a priority for most, highlighting how many feel that they are still living in an era of uncertainty, and that wellness regimes are very much focused around disease management.” 

“Addressing the digestive system is also a priority for many people. This is due to the prevalence of such problems becoming more common and at the same time, people recognizing the link that gut health has on overall well-being.”

Immunity, probiotics and caffeine
There are a variety of ingredients that consumers seek to tap into their holistic well-being, states Benmerzouga. Around three quarters of consumers associate protein, vitamin C, iron and probiotics with aiding the immune system, he explains. 

“Consumers have also become aware of the importance of the health of their gut microbiome when it comes to their overall health. The more educated consumers have led to more traction for probiotics in recent years and for future years to come.” 

From a cognitive health perspective, more consumers have resorted to nutritional supplementation through caffeine. In hopes of having an extended, slower release effect over regular caffeine, consumers are looking to boost alertness and maximize their cognitive function and performance on both physical and mental tasks, Benmerzouga adds. 

Eyeing eye benefits
Ingredients are also being sought to help with eye health as consumers’ digital presence increases. Zinc, for example, is a multidimensional ingredient as it plays a role in protecting cells against infections but has also been found to have an impact on age-related macular degeneration, Benmerzouga underscores.

“Lutein and zeaxanthin have also become more popular and sought-after by consumers as they have become popular in the eye health space. This is because both ingredients function as important antioxidants in this area by protecting eyes from harmful free radicals which can impair eye health over time.” 

To improve overall sleep, consumers continued the use of melatonin but have also resorted to magnesium which improves muscle relaxation for more restful sleep, he highlights.

Tackling challenges
As consumers become increasingly health conscious, Gómez explains there is more emphasis than ever before on brands being seen to take a proactive and holistic approach when it comes to their product´s market positioning. To meet consumer demands, cognitive-enhancing ingredients are continuing to gain traction on the market. 

“The challenge is that even though these emerging ingredients such as nootropics are very fashionable, consumers remain largely unfamiliar with them and more awareness efforts need to be done in this space." 

"Therefore we expect to see trusted and recognized ingredients such as vitamins and minerals, being formulated together with emerging ingredients to offer reassurance over health claims,” she adds. 

Another important matter is associated with ensuring the bioavailability of the selected ingredients, as several of them are poorly soluble, which significantly limits their absorption. 

“Microencapsulation has been used in this way to improve the benefits of products. For example, it can act as a delivery system to enhance bioavailability or as a water dispersibility agent to enable challenging formulations.”Most consumers prioritize boosting the immune system. 

Sensory appeal
Although traditional capsules continue to lead the market, with the increasing importance of sensory appeal and convenience to the end consumer, new formats are being created to make supplements more conveniently consumed. 

“The entire user experience has never been more present and demanded; forms delivering full sensory potential are on the rise, first and foremost, liquids. From oil drops to syrups and shots, to ready-to-drink or ready-to-mix drinks,” highlights Benmerzouga.

“With this trend in mind, new product launches supporting wellness from a holistic perspective should be leveraged with product formats that are growing in popularity with Millennials and Gen Z as they grow their disposable income.” 

“With the discussed importance of sensory appeal and convenience to the end consumer, formats around gummies, liquids or portable powder sticks should be prioritized as delivery formats,” he concludes.

The webinar will be aired on September 15, at 4pm CEST. Registration is possible here. 

By Andria Kades