The market is saturated with sports nutritional drinks, both in powder and ready-to-drink (RTD) formulas. Meal replacement and energy bars are also a hot product consumers purchase as professional and amateur athletes and as daily gym goers. In retrospect, the general public’s opinion has been out for the past 10 years since the introduction of these products. Consumers want two things to be packaged with their Sports Nutrition products – good taste and good results.

The industry is filled with countless Sports Nutrition bars that consumers either have to rely on “taste-opinions” of a friend or perform a trial and error taste-test themselves to see which products taste best. Websites like About.com and Askmen.com often provide a comprehensive “Top Ten” list of the best tasting nutritional bars. The same goes for powder and RTD formulas. Common taste and texture consumer complaints among all of these products include the product being too chalky, grainy, dry, watery or not enough flavor to mask the ingredients. Consumer’s opinions vary when it comes to results based on the specific purpose of the bar or drink they are consuming – energy or meal replacement. They may feel the product is ineffective because their energy was not boosted or they continued to feel hungry after eating the bar or drinking the beverage. Here comes the big task of the manufacturers -Develop a product that includes all of the nutritional ingredients that make it effective without skimming on taste!

No Sports Nutrition product is worth anything without the necessary ingredients that give it credibility. The first thing a conscious consumer does when he or she selects a product is flip it over and check out the ingredients label. Amino acids, antioxidants, L-Carnitine and Creatine, are just some of the ingredients they look for. Industry leading supplement, Beta-Alanine’s antioxidant properties is a top ingredient used in Sports Nutritional products because it helps prevent muscle fatigue, therefore allowing a runner or cyclist to elevate their speed and distance. Because fatigue is a top concern for most athletes, this supplement is used in just about every product on the market.

Other advantages of using Beta-Alanine include:
Increased aerobic and anaerobic endurance
Increased muscular power

Various forms of Creatine, another extremely popular supplement for bodybuilding is the industry’s leading supplement when it comes to Sports Nutrition. In the late 90’s, it held $200 million of the industry’s market and in 2005, it increased by another $200 million. It is primarily used by bodybuilders as an aid for building an aesthetically muscular physique. Creatine is made up of three Amino Acids: L-Arginine, L-Methionine and L-Glycine. It duplicates what our liver produces which helps increase strength resulting in a leaner body. The Creatine revolution has undoubtedly proven its effectiveness over the years by the satisfaction of the consumers and the creators of its products, the manufacturers.

Along with boosting energy and enhancing strength, manufacturers that claim to provide products that curb hunger often used proteins like Soy in their meal replacement drinks and bars. Soy proteins decrease appetite and increase satiety. Since it has been studied that 5-6 small meals a day along with a regular exercise program helps with losing pounds and maintaining a healthy weight, these products are commonly used by the masses, both athletes and non-athletes.

At first bite, a manufacturer’s first impression on the consumer is the taste of its product. The use of flavor is an important factor in the development of Sports Nutritional products. Chocolate, strawberry, caramel, fruit punch and grape, are just a few flavors used to coat and mask the often strong tasting dietary supplement ingredients, not to mention artificial sweeteners with zero calories.

The stage is set when it comes to product taste and effectiveness! Manufacturers must feature products that possess both qualities in order to capture the consumer’s taste pallet and dollar. Sports Nutrition-minded individuals do plenty of research and pay attention to what their bodies need, so the industry must give special consideration by offering quality ingredients that fulfill their thirst and hunger.