Every year SupplySide West hosts the largest gathering of innovation-driven food, beverage, and supplement professionals in the health & nutrition industry. SupplySide events are all about the science and strategy around the development of finished products, and I jumped on the opportunity to attend in Las Vegas last week.
I got to meet other food and beverage professionals, jotted down lots of notes, and took away these trending insights on the food and beverage industry.
The line between food and supplement continues to blur.
Long before 2019, consumers were increasingly interested in the health benefits of their food, but COVID-19 seems to have supercharged the focus on immuno-building, health-bolstering food ingredients. Ingredients touted as “superfoods” (nutrient-dense with proven functional benefit to the body) are in demand.
All eyes are on superfood ingredients.
Big players in the superfood area are:
- Mushrooms (reishi, lions mane, Shitake, and others)
- Dried fruit berry extracts (Check out hibiscus extracts from PhytoHib or purple corn from Artemis International.)
Other notable examples of blurring the food and supplement line include active dairy peptides and innovative protein products, including Arla Food Ingredients’ Beta-lactoglobulin BLG-100.
Companies are shifting to beverage focus.
The move to beverage was apparent with more traditional food and beverage suppliers, including Apura Ingredients’ line of sweeteners and taste modifiers. The trend is sure to successfully help transition these amazing superfoods into the beverage category.
These trends are all good news for the beverage category, which is perfectly positioned to deliver superfoods to the consumer. Stick packs are convenient for travel and great for e-commerce, while RTDs (Ready to Drink) allow users with capsule fatigue to get all the nutrients they want without the pill to swallow.
Let WiseBev help give your beverage idea a superfood boost. Contact us for your beverage prototype.
