Webinar preview: Sirio’s LifeChews unlock next-gen plant-based supplements

Sirio is presenting a new solution as consumer trends are indicating a growing preference for on-the-go, sustainable, and efficient supplements. With its new palatable jelly tablets, LifeChews meets these demands with convenience and impact.

Ahead of Sirio’s webinar, “Introducing LifeChews: the Next Generation of Plant-Based Supplements,” Nutrition Insight meets with Sirio Europe’s head of Brand to give a sneak peek. Registration for the free webinar on March 26 at 11 AM CET is now open. In this session, the company will reveal the four product concepts created with LifeChews. 

The global contract development and manufacturing organization touts LifeChews’ strong formulation performance, including the ability to carry oily and complex actives. It uses technology that mimics natural digestion, helping lipid-soluble nutrients disperse efficiently for higher bioavailability, while remaining enjoyable to eat.

Maria Pavlidou tells us how Sirio balances science with consumer appeal and how LifeChews can help brands achieve faster market entry. She also explains the supplement’s design and development, encouraged by Innova Market Insights data.

Consumer trends are shifting rapidly — what changes most strongly influenced the creation of LifeChews?
Pavlidou: Consumer preferences are shifting rapidly, and delivery formats are playing a central role in supplement innovation. According to the Innova Trends Survey 2026, 22% of global consumers report taking more supplements due to the greater variety available, and nearly one-third now prefer on-the-go formats such as gummies, soft chews, and liquids. Convenience, portability, taste, and overall enjoyment are increasingly important drivers, alongside efficacy, as consumers look for supplements that fit easily into daily routines.

Another key trend is the growing focus on nutrient effectiveness and absorption. Delivery format can influence how nutrients are released, dissolved, and absorbed, directly affecting overall bioavailability. Chewable and liquid forms begin breaking down earlier in the digestive process, which may support faster and more efficient absorption compared to traditional tablets. Different formats can also help protect active ingredients and incorporate absorption enhancers, improving how much of the nutrient is available for the body to utilize.

Next-gen chewables meet the one-third consumer shift to on-the-go formats — Sirio’s webinar will unveil brain health, heart health, immunity, and longevity concepts.Finally, plant-based formulations are gaining traction, with 12% growth in plant-based claims for supplement launches, reflecting a rising consumer preference for more sustainable and natural options. Together, these trends — format variety, on-the-go convenience, absorption efficiency, and plant-based solutions — strongly influenced the creation of LifeChews, designed to meet evolving consumer needs.

What breakthroughs make LifeChews capable of carrying difficult ingredients effectively?
Pavlidou: LifeChews were developed to mimic the natural digestion of food, enabling lipid-soluble nutrients to break down and absorb efficiently in the body. Clinically proven to improve bioavailability, the format delivers excellent dispersibility across a wide range of oil-soluble actives while supporting a high nutrient payload.

The patented LifeChews technology ensures uniform dispersion of 5 µm oil droplets, comparable to those found in human milk, optimized for absorption. In clinical studies, LifeChews achieved a 161% higher blood plasma docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) concentration versus a control, representing a 198% improvement in bioavailability. Additional digestion studies confirmed even distribution of DHA under simulated gastric and intestinal conditions, demonstrating the format’s stability and efficiency.

What makes this technology unique is that LifeChews are fully plant-based and can carry up to 400 mg of algae oil per gel tablet without any fishy taste or aftertaste. The jelly tablets are small, pleasant to chew, and individually blister-packed to protect against oxidation, helping turn daily supplementation into a habit consumers want to maintain. The advanced delivery system allows for up to 55% lipid content, maximizing systemic exposure and nutritional performance in a convenient, consumer-friendly format.

How do LifeChews balance science and sensory appeal?
Pavlidou: LifeChews are designed at the intersection of science and consumer experience. Scientifically, the format is engineered to optimize lipid dispersion, protect active ingredients, and deliver a high nutrient payload with clinically proven bioavailability. At the same time, the chewable, plant-based jelly tablets are small, easy to take, and come in pleasant flavors without aftertaste, making supplementation enjoyable rather than a chore.

Sirio’s plant-based LifeChews boost DHA bioavailability by 198% via patented 5µm oil droplets, matching human milk.Typically, we are used to seeing fun and convenient formats as part of portfolios targeting children, while Sirio has already developed four market-ready concepts for both the whole family and adults. These concepts address key consumer health priorities — including brain and heart health, immunity, and longevity — showcasing how LifeChews combine high-strength lipid nutrients with a convenient, enjoyable daily experience, helping consumers build and maintain a consistent supplementation regimen while addressing their most important health concerns.

What kind of Innova Market Insights data helped guide the development of LifeChews?
Pavlidou: Innova Market Insights data played a central role in shaping LifeChews’ development, highlighting several key trends in consumer preferences and supplement innovation. While tablets and capsules remain popular, 22% of global consumers now report taking more supplements as a result of increased format variety, and nearly one-third prefer on-the-go formats like gummies, soft chews, and liquids (Innova Trends Survey 2026). Convenience, portability, taste, and overall experience are increasingly influencing supplement choices, alongside efficacy.

The data also show that Europe continues to lead in advanced, consumer-friendly delivery formats, with strong growth in gels, powders, bites, and other alternative presentations — demonstrating sustained momentum in format diversification. Consumers increasingly want supplements tailored to their specific needs, and rising demand for plant-based options (12% growth in plant-based claims) reflects a desire for more sustainable, natural formulations.

Delivery format is increasingly recognized as an important factor in nutrient delivery, as it can influence how ingredients are released, dissolved, and protected during digestion, ultimately affecting bioavailability. Chewable and liquid formats begin dispersing earlier in the digestive process, which may support more rapid dissolution, while systems designed to protect active ingredients or incorporate absorption-enhancing technologies can help improve the proportion of a nutrient that becomes available for the body to utilize.

Together, these insights guided the creation of LifeChews, which combines convenience, taste, and scientific performance to meet evolving consumer needs and signals a future where functional, enjoyable, and high-performance supplement formats continue to grow in importance.

How can LifeChews boost innovation and speed to market?
Pavlidou: LifeChews supports faster innovation and speed-to-market by offering a range of turnkey concepts built around this unique jelly-tablet format. These concepts are ready to launch, with stability studies and proven shelf life already validated, allowing brands to bring supplements to market quickly without compromising efficacy or consumer experience. 

Sirio will be revealing these concepts during the upcoming LifeChews webinar, while a first group of brands will have the opportunity to taste them in person at Sirio’s 6th Innovation for the Future Summit in Berlin, Germany, on March 24. 

By combining a scientifically optimized delivery system with an enjoyable, easy-to-take format, LifeChews enable brands to differentiate their portfolios, deliver products that help consumers build lasting health habits, and respond rapidly to evolving market trends.

Nutrition Insight recently caught up with Sirio at Expo West 2026, where it launched a lutein soft chew for eye health, featuring a consumer-friendly format and the clinically backed Lutemax 2020 extract from OmniActive Health Technologies.