Vitamins, minerals and plant proteins most appealing nutrition ingredients to physically active Europeans

02 Oct 2023 --- New research by Prinova, the premixes and blends provider, reveals that vitamins, plant proteins and minerals were the three out of 20 most popular ingredients choices among the 1277 Europeans asked who regularly exercise.

Tony Gay, technical sales director for nutrition at Prinova Europe, says that “Not so long ago, sports nutrition was seen as synonymous with protein, but the landscape is already looking very different.” 

“The market has exploded as scientific research reveals the value of a far wider range of ingredients for athletic performance, which has cut through to consumers.” 

Changing consumer choices 
As Gay asserts, the recent survey conducted by Prinova points to a transformation in the active ingredients of choice among Europeans who exercise. Physically active European consumers of sports nutrition ingredients choose vitamins, plant protein and minerals. 

The survey asked the relevant consumer base to select the five common ingredients they found most important when purchasing sports nutrition products.

According to the data, most respondents, nearly two-thirds (64%), pointed to vitamins, followed by plant protein and minerals. 

Another transforming aspect of sports nutrition consumer choices is the growing interest in ingredients not traditionally associated with sports nutrition. 

To exemplify, 16% of participants selected products with fiber, 14% chose omega 3 products, while 13% expressed interest in botanicals. 

The recent findings further show an appetite for probiotics and oats, with 9% of the surveyed population indicating these as their sports nutrient of choice. 

Growing awareness 
According to Prinova experts, the new revelations about European’s transforming sports nutrition choices reflect their improved understanding of the research on non-traditional ingredients and the increasing diversification of the sports nutrition consumer base. 

“For example, there’s growing awareness that a deficiency of B vitamins can reduce athletes’ ability to perform high-intensity exercise, while vitamin C offers benefits for recovery as well as immune health and minerals can benefit in areas like hydration,” says Gay.

Research findings by Prinova from earlier this year, similarly reflecting on the sports nutrition consumer choices of Europeans, revealed a considerable gap in the purchasing habits of respondents who exercise regularly and those who do not. 

Plant-based trend
Prinova’s most up-to-date survey explores another factor contributing to the ongoing change in sports nutrition ingredient consumer interest: the growing interest in plant-based products. 

Four in ten, or 42% of consumers, noted their preference for plant proteins, while only 26% selected whey or dairy protein, 15% chose egg protein and only 8% meat protein.

Prinova offers marine multimineral-complex products, vitamin B and C and plant proteins from sources such as rice, peas, lentils and fava beans, with Europe’s most extensive inventory of food-grade amino acids.

By Milana Nikolova