Science-led power boost: Lonza’s vegan formulation broadens company scope for sports nutrition ingredients

18 Oct 2019 --- In a bid to strengthen its sports nutrition portfolio, Swiss ingredient solutions provider Lonza has launched its vegan formulation MuscleGuard, which is designed to meet the demands of consumers in the developing sports nutrition space. With clinical evidence backing it, the brand delivers results for sports performance, as well as recovery for both athletes and active individuals.

“As the sports nutrition market expands, the category is also increasingly opening up to a much broader and more varied consumer base. While our new MuscleGuard formula offers benefits to the performance and results-driven athletes like bodybuilders, the innovative ingredient formula also supports active men and women, regardless of age,” Dr. Aouatef Bellamine, Senior Scientific Manager Nutrition, Lonza Consumer Health & Nutrition, tells NutritionInsight.

The patent-pending ingredient combination comprises of a clinically-studied ratio of four nutrients – Lonza’s Carnipure L-Carnitine, Creatine and Leucine and vitamin D. 

The company’s Carnipure L-Carnitine has been touted as having performed strongly with the sports nutrition sector in the past. Bellamine notes that all four key components in the MuscleGuard formula are derived from vegan sources. “[Lonza’s R&D team] was able to utilize a vegan form of leucine, which is usually found in animal products and can be challenging to find in non-animal derived sources,” she says. 

This blend has proven a 63 percent increase in muscle strength and helps to support muscle mass and activity. The clinical study also showed that MuscleGuard can assist eldery consumers’ sports and exercise aspirations.

Lonza’s new vegan formulation offers nutritional support for before, during or after workouts. It can be easily incorporated into existing sports nutrition regimes such as protein powders and shakes and comes following the rising consumer demands for vegan dietary supplements in the sports nutrition sector. 

This week, Lonza is at SupplySide West taking place in Las Vegas, US to introduce its MuscleGuard formulation to the US market.

The company’s selection of ingredients to help boost performance are not novel to the sports nutrition sector. L-Carnitine is used in MitoCarn’s series of ingredients to maintain mitochondrial health, facilitate weight management and increase sports performance and stamina. Likewise, SynTech Nutrition uses creatine to develop lean muscle mass and burning fat. 

Moreover, UK supplier of starch and fiber ingredients Ulrick & Short has jumped on the vegan and clean label bandwagon within the supplements sector with the introduction of its protein fortification ingredient ComplexTM 20. The company notes that the consumer demand for vegan products in this space is rising, and protein claims especially, have moved far outside of the niche category. 

By Anni Schleicher