Supplement innovations: Convenient formats, holistic health offerings and science-backed ingredients

25 Apr 2024 --- Consumer demand for sustainable clean label and natural ingredients that offer multifunctional and holistic health options for areas such as stress relief and mental health, as well as the call for convenient and novel delivery formats, is driving a wave of innovation in the ever-expanding supplement space.

Moreover, Innova Market Insights data suggests that supplement launches are rising globally, with an average annual growth of 5% from 2019 to 2023. In 2023, botanical and herbal supplements were the leading subcategories, making up 24% of all new product development (NPD), with vitamin C revealed as the leading ingredient and immune health as the leading positioning.

Nutrition Insight discusses the latest in supplement innovations with experts from Lonza Capsules & Health Ingredients, Lubrizol Life Science and Clasado Biosciences.

“The supplements space is constantly evolving to respond to changing consumer needs,” Juliana Erickson, Global Product Innovation Manager at Lonza Capsules & Health Ingredients, tells us. “For instance, the societal shift toward more consumers taking a holistic approach to health and well-being has increased the demand for solutions that support a wide range of health areas in one convenient dose.”

“However, not all ingredients can be easily combined, meaning formulators have had to find innovative ways to bring together seemingly incompatible trending health ingredients into new, multi-benefit formulations.”

At the same time, Isabel Gómez, the global marketing manager of nutraceutical ingredients at Lubrizol Life Science, points out that consumers seek out dietary supplements for physical health and overall wellness, including mental health. She further notes that with rising stress levels and sleep issues, there is a growing demand for products that enhance sleep quality and alleviate stress and brands need to meet these evolving consumer needs.

“In addition, as the effects of the pandemic continue to linger, consumers continue to show a heightened level of concern about their immune health,” reveals Gómez. “Many consumers are expressing interest in dietary supplements that support skin health. This is driven by the growing link between beauty and nutrition, with supplements expanding the wellness menu to include skin benefits.”

Per Rehne, CEO at Clasado BiosciencesMeanwhile, Per Rehne, CEO at Clasado Biosciences, highlights ongoing emphasis on convenience among today’s health-conscious consumers, who are actively engaged yet often short on time. Consequently, he states that supplement formulators prioritize simplicity in NPD, as evident in the popularity of powder sachet supplements and convenient on-the-go gummies.

“One of the clearest trends in supplement innovation is the shift toward a more targeted gut microbiome modulation,” Rehne explains. “Consumers are becoming more proactive in managing their health through improvement of their gut health and are choosing to learn more about their everyday well being.”

“This naturally puts the gut microbiome in focus, and it’s now much more common to see formulators creating supplement products that target gut microbiome modulation with specific health benefits in mind.”

Focus on science-backed benefits
Industry also points to the consumer need for scientifically proven benefits as a driving force in supplement innovation.

“Today’s consumers are increasingly skeptical and demand evidence to support product claims,” underscores Gómez. “They prefer products that are 100% natural and contain trusted ingredients, such as vitamins and minerals, that are proven to be highly effective.” 

“To establish credibility and connect with consumers, brands should explain the science behind product efficacy and clinical trial results clearly, concisely, and in terms that consumers can easily understand. That is why branded ingredient companies like ours continue to focus on expanding scientific research to validate health claims and support the efficacy of new product launches.”

At the same time, Rhene at Clasado Biosciences reveals that, even though the scientific research surrounding health and nutrition is advancing at a high rate, it still needs to be carefully and methodically reviewed and evaluated before it can be integrated in ingredient selection.

“Hard-line evidence can make the difference between a supplement product that succeeds and one that does not,” says Rehne. “Research data is a valuable tool for product positioning or differentiation, particularly for supplements that target a specific health area.”Lonza Capsules and Health Ingredients highlights that its Capsugel line can meet multifunctionality and plant-based consumer demands.

“Consumers are rightly wary of ‘snake oil’ products, so it’s vital that formulators clearly connect the ingredient demonstrating the health benefit, such as a prebiotic, with a real consumer need.”

Erickson at Lonza Capsules and Health Ingredients emphasizes that science-backed ingredients boost customer confidence in a product’s benefits and safety, support brand credibility and help consumers make informed purchasing decisions.

“That’s why, at Lonza, we invest in clinical research to substantiate the health claims of ingredients, such as our UC-II undenatured type II collagen,” Erickson reveals. “As the most researched brand of undenatured type II collagen, it is backed by the most comprehensive body of evidence-based research spanning three decades, including over twenty studies—of which eleven are human clinical studies.” 

“It is scientifically proven to support consumers with joint comfort and flexibility, allowing users to maintain mobility and move more comfortably during their everyday lives. This wealth of scientific evidence enables supplement brands to turn cutting-edge science into real market opportunities.”

Investing in innovation
Clasado Biosciences spotlights that, as a prebiotic ingredient and synbiotic concepts supplier, the company expects to see many first-to-market and novel products hit the market as formulators race to capture their share of the evolving supplement space.

Consumer preferences play a major role in supplement product development and, over time, shape the whole market,” says Rehne. “Formulators must be able to respond to evolving needs and build product ranges around what today’s and the future health audience is looking for.”

“The increasing growth in the overall ‘biotics’ category is exciting to see. Consumers are engaging with a new breed of nutraceutical, whether it’s prebiotic, probiotic, or a combination of the two in the form of synbiotics. This growth is why we have put focus on developing B2B synbiotic concepts in partnership with leading probiotic ingredient specialist, Probi AB, to create a ‘plug and play’ synbiotic combination for formulators.”

Lubrizol Life Science notes that it has invested time to understand consumers’ unmet needs for magnesium supplementation and recognizes that consumers are turning to magnesium supplements as a stress and sleep aid. However, Gómez says that to achieve the desired effects of magnesium supplementation, high daily doses are recommended.

Lubrizol Life Science spotlights the format versatility of its orosuluble MAGSHAPE magnesium offering.“With the increasing importance of sensory appeal and convenience for the end consumer, new formats are being created to make supplements more convenient to consume,” Gómez explains. “However, there are challenges associated with magnesium supplementation such as large tablet size, high dosage and product quantity, sensitivity and side effects and ease of use.”

“We are developing an innovative dosage form consisting of an orosoluble sachet format containing our branded ingredient MAGSHAPE microcapsules to enable supplement manufacturers to develop a highly concentrated magnesium product that makes it easier to achieve the recommended daily dose with less product. The neutral taste of MAGSHAPE allows for the development of more appealing formats.”

Lonza Capsules and Health Ingredients shines a lot on its innovative delivery formats such as Capsugel, Capsugel Duocap, Capsugel DRcaps and plant-based innovations such as its Capsugel Plantcaps, Capsugel Vcaps and Vcaps Plus HPMC.

“A key innovation that has helped brands achieve this is Lonza’s Capsugel Duocap capsule-in-capsule technology that encapsulates chemically or physically incompatible ingredients within a single convenient dosage form, enabling brands to create multi-ingredient and multi-benefit supplements that support holistic health,” says Erickson. “One trending health ingredient that can be difficult to formulate with is probiotics, as formulating with probiotics requires delivery formats that overcome stability, bioavailability, and targeted release challenges.”

“To overcome these hurdles, Lonza has developed an innovative designed release capsule technology — Capsugel DRcaps capsules — to protect these delicate microorganisms from degradation in the stomach. By leveraging this technology, brands can unlock the full potential of probiotics, increasing the survival rate of the probiotics as they pass through the stomach, and thereby supporting efficient delivery.”

Erikson adds that consumers increasingly seek effective, science-backed, convenient supplements that suit their lifestyle and diet, and the rising demand for plant-based products is notable, with a large portion of supplement users prioritizing vegan options.

“Lonza is excited to launch our latest capsule development at Vitafoods Europe 2024,” Erickson concludes. “Attendees can visit booth G90 to learn more about this, as well as our comprehensive capsules portfolio, new innovations and ready-to-launch offerings.”

 By William Bradford Nichols