Vitafoods Asia 2025: Spotlight on APAC’s functional ingredients, innovative formats and targeted nutrition

As consumer demand for proactive wellness solutions accelerates across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, nutraceutical and functional food brands are sharpening their focus on targeted health categories. At this year’s Vitafoods Asia tradeshow in Bangkok, Thailand, trends shaping innovation ranged from women’s health, healthy aging, beauty-from-within, and immune support to sports nutrition, digestive health, and weight management.

Each trend reflects shifting demographics, lifestyle patterns, and consumer priorities in the region — from aging populations and urban lifestyles to rising interest in preventive care and holistic well-being.

Live on the tradeshow floor, Nutrition Insight sat down with experts from Gelita, New-In, and Sirio Pharma to better understand demands driving nutraceutical and supplement ingredient innovation in APAC.

“Sirio Pharma has been a manufacturing and innovation partner for our clients, many of whom are the top players in the industry,” reveals Alex Du, the General Manager at Sirio Pharma. “We provide end-to-end solutions from market insights and ingredient research and support our customers in formulation and package design, regulatory evaluation, and large-scale manufacturing.”

“We also support our partners with marketing and selling point materials to help them stand out in the markets.”Oliver Wolf emphasized the health benefits of Gelita’s bioactive collagen peptides.

At the same time, Jerry Liao, the business development manager at Taiwan-based New-In, stresses the company is focusing on growing in APAC, where he says many global trends begin. At this year’s show, New-In showcased its innovations along with its sister company, Wel-Pet, and its parent company, Wel-Bloom Biotech.

“We are a group made up of three different companies,” Liao explains. “New-In brings in ingredients from around the world, and we are a trading company in Taiwan. Wel-Bloom is a leader in jelly supplements, and Wel-Pet focuses on pet supplements. At this show, New-In is launching three different types of ingredients that focus on popular functions like immune health, weight management, and digestion.”

Meanwhile, Oliver Wolf, global product promotion at Gelita, highlights the importance of beauty-from-within, bone and joint health, and healthy aging trends in APAC, as well as how Gelita is meeting the region’s demands.

“We are focusing this year on our complete bioactive collagen peptide range for joints, skin, bones, and beauty, and this is our main focus here at the show,” Wolf emphasizes. “The important thing to note is that these are bioactive peptides and not just collagen peptides — there is a big difference.”

Bioactive collagen peptides’ benefits

According to Wolf, collagen peptides act as structural building blocks, while bioactive collagen peptides go a step further by actively stimulating the body’s own collagen production. This functional stimulation marks a key distinction between standard collagen peptides and bioactive varieties.

Wolf highlights that Gelita’s bioactive collagen peptides meet some of the most important trends in APAC today.

“Healthy aging is very important, and this trend has different aspects,” Alex Du discussed Sirio Pharma’s PuraColla collagen gummy and its Extra Gummy with 1500 mg of creatine.Wolf explains. “You have the joint aspects where, as you grow older, your joint begins to hurt, and your cartilage is degenerating — we have solutions for that and also for the bones.”

“We also have solutions especially for postmenopausal women. Fortibone, which is our bioactive collagen peptide that promotes bone density and bone health, is very important for this age group.”

The company showcased collagen drink concepts with a tasting comparison activity as well as collagen cookies and muffins. Gelita also celebrated its 150-year anniversary.

Supporting skin, hair, and nails in APAC

Sirio Pharma shone a light on its recent innovations, which center on efficacy, sustainability, and consumer experience. Du states that the ingredients and solutions they are showcasing this year reflect these priorities.

“I can give you two examples,” says Du. “One is PuraColla, which is a gummy containing 1500 mg of collagen per gummy, which is the highest dose of collagen in a one-gummy format in the industry, and another example would be our Extra Gummy with 1500 mg of creatine.”

“This is also the highest dose of creatine in a gummy format in the industry. Why gummies? Because it is the fastest-growing format in all regions. They are not just delicious — their efficacy is proven by our sophisticated technologies.”

Du highlights that PuraColla supports skin hydration, elasticity, and overall beauty, including hair and nail health. It can also be combined with other ingredients, such as biotin or probiotics, to enhance additional wellness benefits in formats like gummies.

Moreover, he reveals that it is designed for active consumers and delivers “high-quality” supplementation for energy, strength, and performance. It New-In unveiled three new ingredients developed by Wel-Bloom.primarily addresses the beauty-from-within category, which Du says resonates strongly in the APAC market. The Extra gummy is primarily targeted at the sports nutrition sector, catering to the needs of the exercise-oriented and active population.

From formulation and sourcing to packaging and education

New-in debuted three ingredients at the show. Wel‑βoost is formulated to support immune health, Fit‑Da promotes healthy weight management, and Z3ELAX is designed for stress relief and sleep support.

Wel‑Bloom developed all three, which are exclusively distributed worldwide by New‑In. Liao highlights the group’s integrated R&D-to-market approach and rapid product application capabilities.

“For all of the products we are showing here, we are able to supply different types of functions and dosage forms, but we’re focusing on immune health and cognitive health this year,” he notes. “Wel‑Bloom provides a ‘one-stop’ service for CDMO (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization) for supplement manufacturing.”

“Our customers can come to us with any type of function or inquiry, and we are able to do all the packaging, the education to the clients, and even the formulation. We’re also able to conduct  ingredient research and sourcing.”

Liao concludes that, in the coming years, Wel‑Pet, New‑In, and Wel‑Bloom aim to achieve breakthrough innovations in supplements, and the companies will focus on delivering more differentiated ingredients and products that stand out in the market for their customers.