| Amidst a recession that seems to be changing from week to week with the calling on Wall Street, Main Street and every industry in between to work on new solutions for economic recovery has the U.S., if not the world focusing on their own industry for the New Year. Recently, the Nutrition Business Journal (NBJ) published findings on trends that would influence the sales of specific ingredients with a strong functional purpose.
There is no doubt that weight loss products have been a leader in the dietary and nutritional supplement industry. Despite product recalls throughout that last couple of years, this industry has been able to bounce back with products for consumers to outweigh the unfavorable. In particular, the NBJ’s article entitled Ingredient Trends Likely to Help Boost Sales in 2010 pinpointed ingredients functioning as meal replacements to help individuals feel fuller to be on the hot list next year. A huge reason cited was that consumers wanted to lose weight the “old fashion” way, but first they would need some assistance in eating less. An example of a popular ingredient used in products for “fullness” is Glucomannan, a water-soluble dietary fiber derived from the Kojac root. It’s both low in carbohydrates and works in a variety of food processes. Other alternative ingredients to this request might be Synephrine, 5-HTP and Hoodia, which are all industry leading ingredients that function as effective appetite suppressants.
Mind building ingredients for the brain health market was also mentioned in the NBJ article as a trend to look out for in 2010. With a wide range of consumers that span over generations, Baby Boomers to infants are the target markets to focus on for the new year to come. Omega-3s, GABA and DMAE are all well-known and well-researched ingredients that can be marketed for focus, memory and relaxation products for this solid market.
Resveratrol received major media attention, which has transformed into abundant sales for companies like Reserveage Organics™, a company that observed sales increases over 300% since their product introduction in March of 2009, according to NBJ. This hot anti-aging ingredient is commonly found in the skin of red grapes producing great healthy heart properties for its users. The anti-aging market continues to expand with not only topical cosmetics for the skin, but dietary supplements that can be taken orally.
Whether reviewing industry research and statistics or staying in close touch with the beat of the consumer market, it’s important for manufacturers to stay informed for the years to come. Functional ingredients will continue to reign through 2010. Other raw ingredients echoed throughout the industry to be present in the new year include Vitamin C and D for their immune boosting abilities, super fruit antioxidants like Açai and Mangosteen, and the all-time popular digestive health ingredients, Probiotics. Functionality and effectiveness remain key elements to the 2010 ingredient trends for manufacturing and product development.
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