SupplySide West 2024: Women’s health takes center stage with broad-spectrum ingredients

At last week’s SupplySide West trade show, companies showcased a range of women’s health supplements, from vaginal health and menopause management to beauty-from-within supplements. On the show floor, Nutrition Insight discussed women’s health products presented by Gnosis by Lesaffre, IFF and Kerry. 

Emilie Puppinck, biotics senior product manager at Gnosis by Lesaffre, tells us about the two products the company launched at the show, Quatreflora for vaginal health and ibSium for intestinal support. Both products are based on the same bacterial strain — Saccharomyces cerevisiae CNCM I-3856. 

“We know that this strain in biotics offers gut benefits, but we can also see many strains related to women’s health. It’s linked to microbiota; you have the gut microbiota but also vaginal microbiota. Thanks to two clinical studies, we demonstrate that Quatreflora can support vaginal health by reducing the risk of infections.” 

She adds that the market for women’s health products is growing. “Women are looking for natural solutions and biotics can be a good partner in natural solutions. We can create different blends with biotics and vitamins. We know that women’s health includes products for skin and vaginal health, but also menopause, supporting women throughout their lives.”

Vik Prabhu, SVP of health sciences at IFF, highlights that various factors drive the company’s focus on women’s health solutions: “Women make decisions not just for themselves but also for their children, parents and spouses. Women are an essential constituent for us as consumers.” 

“Here we’re showcasing a women’s health product that is clinically substantiated, designed and developed for women interested in menopause support — The Mystic. We have several forms, including stick packs, and then we present digestive health and metabolic health probiotic capsules.”

IFF’s supplement for menopause management combines probiotics and botanicals to support hot flashes, stress relief and sleep. 

Women’s health benefits

Nutrition and taste company Kerry also showcased its solutions in women’s health at SupplySide West. It recently launched a reference website on women’s health issues at every life stage called World of Women’s Health. 

Jordan Dow, Kerry’s VP of proactive health, tells us that the company focuses on specific women’s health needs that are not typically addressed by available products. 

“We’re looking at providing health benefits across the entire age range in female health. There are very different requirements in terms of health needs when you’re 18 when you’re looking to boost fertility rates when you’re looking for stress reduction in menopause or looking for therapy when you’re breastfeeding.”

Emilie Puppinck, biotics senior product manager at Gnosis by Lesaffre.Some of Kerry’s solutions in women’s health include its Caronositol Fertility, which is clinically proven to support hormonal and metabolic balance in the reproductive cycle. The product made from corn and carob fruit was found to support reproductive health in women with polycystic ovary syndrome, menstrual regularity and skin health.

Additionally, the company’s plant-based Luprenol is designed to help menopause management, supporting women with symptoms such as hot flashes, sleep disturbances and night sweats. Clinical research shows that the product enables a 40% reduction in hot flashes and a 32% improvement in nervousness, fatigue and excessive sweating symptoms. 

Moreover, Dow details the company offers a solution for  beauty-from-within, with clinical evidence for “skin health and wrinkle reduction.” He adds that, over the next quarters, Kerry will focus on “periodontitis and oral care, and we have products in our portfolio for hair loss, reduction and strength.” 

In addition, the company has launched a postbiotic, Plenibiotic, to help reduce wrinkles and improve digestive health. This rice-derived postbiotic works on the gut-skin axis to support skin health. 

Biotic yeast benefits

Puppinck explains that many biotic products are based on bacteria, while Quatreflora and ibSium are biotic yeast. “Biotic yeasts can provide many advantages,” she explains. “It can be taken during antibiotic therapy as there is no interaction with antibiotics.” 

In addition to Quatreflora for women’s well-being, Gnosis by Lesaffre launched ibSium at the show. Four clinical studies and a meta-analysis support its intestinal support benefits. 

The biotic yeast offers five benefits for gut health: reduction of abdominal pain, relief of bloating, reduction of constipation and diarrhea and enhancement of quality of life. 

“We know that when you have some digestive issues, it can impact your daily life,” details Puppinck. “ibSium can support all these symptoms in intestinal comfort and also improve the quality of life.” 

She adds that the new products are mainly available in capsule format. “For Quatreflora, you must take only one capsule daily for one month. For ibSium there is an impact on all symptoms in eight weeks. In some cases, like in constipation and diarrhea reduction, we can see some effect in the normalization within 15 days.” 

Vik Prabhu, SVP of health sciences at IFF.Consumer convenience

Although IFF is not a direct-to-consumer brand, Prabhu explains that the company is attuned to end consumers in its clinical and discovery work. In addition, the company focuses on providing a good consumer experience by exploring different delivery formats. 

“Consider developing a children’s product; some don’t like swallowing a pill. Therefore, bringing it out in a powder form or a stick, sachet or chewable tablet is key to delivering the science, but you also have to preserve the quality of the science in the product.” 

He explains that probiotics are sensitive; therefore, manufacturing high-quality final products is crucial to preserving an ingredient’s benefits. 

Prabhu says the company creates new products by targeting specific demographics: “Is it a 32-year-old female, or is it a 65-year-old female? Is it somebody with a particular symptom they’re facing for which they want relief? Or is it more a general wellness product they want to feel better after as part of their nutritional regime?”  

In addition, IFF takes different ethnic, cultural and regional preferences and requirements into account. “We customize and work with specific local companies or brands that are better attuned to their consumers in the regions that they are focused on, knowledgeable about and have reached into that market,” he says.

Also at SupplySide West, Rousselot unveiled new research indicating that its Nextida GC collagen peptide composition lowers post-meal glucose spikes. Meanwhile, Gencor presented a fermented bioactive alternative to Rhodiola for sports nutrition that was developed by Gnosis by Lesaffre. 

With additional reporting by William Bradford Nichols at SupplySide West Las Vegas, US