Vitafoods Insights Podcast

Commissioned research surveying 1000 consumers in the US and UK reveals that younger consumers continue to indicate interest in products with sustainability credentials. As Generation Z increasingly contribute as independent buyers, brands and retailers worldwide are shifting their strategy to meet further demands for plant-based and vegan food and beverage products. Richard Clarke, managing director at Ingredient Communications, discusses the survey findings, mainstream acceleration of vegan and plant-based, and what key highlights mean for product developers.

Continuous pandemic developments continue to shift priorities and therefore demands of consumers. While health and wellness brands are trying their hardest to adjust their business models and products to meet consumer need, developing a strategy for long-term success is as important as tackling the ‘here and now.’ In this podcast, Gillian Fish, founder of the 6AM Agency shares guidelines and tips for brands looking to adopt smart market positioning, stay close to consumers and customers, and maximise visibility in saturated markets.

With the launch of the Healthy Height protein shake to APAC, Liron Fendell, CEO of Nutritional Growth Solutions, reflects on the company’s journey, formulation and quality considerations, and research grounding.

As personalised health company Atlas Biomed expands into Japan, its CEO shares his perspective on the consumer and market drivers, and the technology facilitating industry growth.

The ongoing pandemic continues to shift the health concerns of consumers—from building immunity, to supporting active performance and weight management. As priorities and consumer behaviour changes, new opportunities become available to manufacturers and brand owners. In this podcast, Charlotte Bastiaanse of Vitafoods talks to Richard Day, head of medical affairs, health & wellness at ADM about:  Prominent trends and health concern developments  Epidemiological science relating to risk concerns if COVID-19 is contracted Defining metabolic health and unpacking market opportunities  The link between metabolic health and COVID-19, and connecting back to gut health

Consumers are making increasingly informed decisions about the products they buy, whether in store on online, with technology supporting their process. From a retail perspective, this affords both challenges to cut through the noise and opportunities to offer more targeted, personalised solutions that provide value at point of purchase. What could the world of big data and artificial intelligence offer in terms of potential paths forward? In this Vitafoods Insights podcast, Marcus Stripf, founder of Spoonguru (spoon.guru), offers a look into the development of an AI-powered food search and discovery tool, and the ways that data is informing the future of health and nutrition at retail. In this podcast, Stripf and Informa’s Heather Granato discuss: ·      Consumers’ interest in proactive solutions that enable them to make healthier food choices, and the technologies that support that. ·      The ways in which AI and big data connect, each informing mo

Over the years, global stress levels have been tracking upward—only to be heightened through the coronavirus pandemic, which continues to affect people’s lifestyles and livelihoods nearly one year later. Once a common issue to younger and working populations, children and especially seniors are experiencing new waves of stress.  In this podcast, Charlotte Bastiaanse, associate editor at Vitafoods, talks to Rachel Yarcony, founder and co-CEO of MyAir, a company specializing in plant-based bars developed for stress relief about the global trend of accelerated stress. Driven by data and artificial intelligence, we unpack the concept of MyAir, and how consumers can benefit from personalised and tailored bars to reduce stress through food.

In this Ashwagandha Advantage podcast episode, we talk with Ali MacDonald, founder of U.K.-based Resilient Nutrition, about the journey to building a performance optimization brand based on research and integrity. MacDonald shares how he addresses challenges in the sports nutrition category by carefully vetting ingredient suppliers; focusing on purity, quality and efficacy; and meeting the needs of today’s consumers who are looking for clean performance optimization products.  “Being customers of the performance nutrition space for a long time, there were characteristics that we weren’t comfortable with. As founders, we make things that address the challenges we are aware of.” –Ali MadDonald, founder, Resilient Nutrition 

This August, Vitafoods announced its partnership with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and the SUN Business Network (SBN) to support improved nutrition. GAIN was launched by the United Nations in 2002 with a goal to tackle human suffering caused by malnutrition, especially the most vulnerable and distressed population groups. The SBN is a private sector focused initiative and branch of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement, a multi-stakeholder movement to address malnutrition worldwide. In this podcast, Fraser Grice, content producer at Vitafoods, chats to Laurène Aubert, senior associate for global partnerships at SUN Business Network about:  The relationship between the SUN Business Network and GAIN to address global malnutrition and building impactful networks The roles of public and private sector across the full food value chain and the need for both to work together closely, especially with regards to policy and regulation The value for companies to offer technical support to vulnerabl

More and more consumers are looking for dairy alternatives and the offers in on the supermarket shelfs and becoming increasingly varied. In this competitive space, new products need to stand out with additional health benefits to get noticed and claim their market share.  In this podcast, Marion Schumacher speaks with Nicolas Hartmann, Founder of VlyFoods, a pea milk drink, about his start-up journey and potential growth in the dairy alternative space. Tune in to hear more about: What makes a product stand out in the alternative dairy space Steps to take and challenges to be aware of as part of a start-up journey Supply chain security and product quality in the pea product pace

Across the health and wellness space, entrepreneurs have for years had innovative concepts to solve challenges facing today’s consumers. Nutritional ingredients, great tasting foods, unique topical formulations—the possibilities are endless and have supported incremental growth of the industry. However, there are also important considerations, as smaller enterprises seek access to the capital that will allow them to grow, while larger firms keep an eye out for concepts that may boost their own innovation pipeline. For more than 20 years, Nutrition Capital Network (NCN) has played a role in bringing investors together with cutting-edge firms. Across the globe, NCN events foster dialogue over years that can ultimately lead to huge value for firms and consumers alike. In this Vitafoods Insights podcast, Robert Miller, CEO of Phynova, reflects on his company’s journey from its early stage in pharma development based on investigating medicinal plants to its broader focus on natural functional ingredients for the c

Consumers are increasingly aware of how digestive health impacts every part of the body, from the basics of nutrient absorption to the complex interaction with the microbiome. Importantly, gut health impacts general well-being, fighting pathogenesis of many chronic conditions and bolstering the first lines of defense from outside invaders. The Vitafoods Virtual Summit, taking place 15 to 17 September, includes three deep-dives into key industry areas. On Tuesday 15 September, the session “Transforming Gut Health: Immune support, synbiotics and future opportunities,” sponsored by Nexira, will directly focus on the interconnection between digestive health and immune function, and the key role of nutrition. Among the featured speakers is Caroline Childs, BSc (Hons) PhD RNutr, lecturer in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Southampton. Dr Childs’ research to date has investigated nutrients including dietary fatty acids, probiotics, and prebiotics. In this podcast, Dr Childs and Informa’s Heather Granato

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers have been seeking natural ways to bolster their immune systems, whether through basic diet and lifestyle to the use of nutraceuticals and food supplements. Whether this is a not-so-seasonal sales spike similar to that seen in cold and flu season or a long-term change in behavior is still unknown; however, companies have an opportunity to offer unique products with responsible marketing and claims to make the new behaviour stick. In this podcast, Mike Hughes, head of research and insight at FMCG Gurus, and Informa’s Heather Granato discuss: • How the consumer mindset is shifting from a strict focus on immune function into the connection of whole-body wellness. • Whether the shift toward improved diets and use of supplements is sustainable—and what companies need to do to ensure continued market growth. • Regulatory and marketing considerations related to immune health that could boost or hamper growth across the broader supplement and functional food

While there is wider consumer interest in health and nutrition on the back of the COVID-19 pandemic, shifting behaviour means particular markets, products and brands are doing well—but not all companies are in the same position, especially as we see consumers going back to brands that are familiar to them. Charlotte Bastiaanse, associate editor at Vitafoods Insights, and James Tonkin, founder and president of Healthy Brand Builders, discuss CPG brand survival. In this deep-dive podcast, we cover economic impact to established versus emerging brands, the state of industry investment, reforming business structure and models to come out on the other side in good standing, and the future of in-store and online retail.

The global nutraceutical and broader wellness industry has a reputation for being mindful of its impact on health, the environment and social change. However, for many brands, packaging is a later consideration during the product development process; packaging is critical to product safety and integrity, but there are many options that could fit the bill. Looking holistically at the packaging—from its alignment with the brand promise to investing in sustainable packaging for the long-term benefits to the ecosystem—means making active choices from the start of any project. In this Vitafoods Insights podcast, Kate Bailey, policy and research director at Eco-Cycle (ecocycle.org), offers thoughts for CPG brands to consider around packaging, including design, recyclability and more. Eco-Cycle is one of the largest non-profit recycling and Zero Waste organizations in the United States with an international reputation as a pioneer and innovator in resource conservation. In this podcast, Bailey and Informa’s Heather

Nutraceutical stakeholders, R&D experts and manufacturers are at the forefront of innovation, developing the next generation of health solutions. However, corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives—addressing global issues and uplifting communities—is often left to brand owners. In this podcast, Charlotte Bastiaanse hears from Rushva Parihar, head of sustainability at OmniActive Health Technologies, about the Improving Lives Foundation and what supply chain businesses can do to improve their corporate social responsibility footprint. Tune in to hear more about: • The Improving Lives Foundation improving lives in local farming communities, based in India • Why business sustainability has to start from the base of the supply chain • The topic of CSR and why ingredients/finished product manufacturers should be doing more • The importance of brand value and inherent commitment to give back

With considerable disruption across the global supply chain, companies have a need to revisit steps that can be taken to ensure the safety and efficacy of raw materials and processed ingredients. To support education and training, NSF International has developed Quality & Regulatory Digital Week, taking place 3 to 7 August 2020. Designed with the global nutraceutical industry in mind, various courses delve into particular aspects of regulatory compliance. The two-part Botanical Identification and Testing Course, set for 6 and 7 August, addresses a range of issues unique to the herbal industry. In this Vitafoods Insights podcast, Holly Johnson, Ph.D., chief science officer for the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), offers a look into the portion of the course she’ll be teaching, providing a sneak peek at what to expect. In this podcast, Johnson and Informa’s Heather Granato discuss: • Why botanical identification continues to be of critical interest across the global supplement space. • The topic

While COVID-19 has reignited interest in overall health and wellbeing—or reinforced for already-conscious consumers—it’s not as easy as we think to meet nutritional needs through food alone. While majority of the population is also adjusting to a home-based lifestyle, when the world inevitably returns to a new version of normal, we may see many stumble back into unhealthy daily routines. However, advances in personalised nutrition and accelerated technology has made it easier for consumers to not learn more about their health status, but also seek tailored solutions that help meet targeted nutrition needs. This future has already started, with several companies already offering advanced technology and innovative personalised nutrition solutions. In this podcast, Marion Schumacher, content manager at Vitafoods, chats to Nard Clabbers, Senior Business Developer at TNO, the Netherlands Organisation for applied scientific research, discuss: • Why consumers should care about detailed health insights and rece

With 96% of the global population estimated to consume insufficient levels of omega-3s, the importance of developing innovative, appealing products that support adequate DHA and EPA intakes will only continue to grow. Fish oil has been the conventional source of omega-3, however rising demand has led to overfishing, putting pressure on natural resources. Additionally, the growing demand for plant-based and vegetarian diets means that there’s an opportunity for the omega-3 industry to provide more sustainable alternatives. Key takeaways • The role of omega-3s in human health including rising interest in immunity • Consumers motivating for sustainably-sourced ingredients and plant-based alternatives • Existing alternatives to fish oil for dietary supplements, and food and beverage producers

On the surface, we often take data for what it is, statistics that tell us what is going on within an industry. However, what we don’t see on the surface is the methodology behind the data, how it is calculated, and how is it categorised. In the nutraceutical and dietary supplements industry, we use trend data to make informed business decisions about which sectors to focus on, and which ingredients to formulate with. In this podcast, Fraser Grice at Vitafoods chats to Nick Morgan, founder and managing director at Sports Integrated, a UK based consultancy that works with businesses across the supply chain on maximising the opportunities within the sports and active nutrition industry. Amongst others, Nick talks us through… - Data interpretation and it’s impact on the industry - The origins of Sports Integrated - The meaning behind “the death of sports nutrition” - The challenges of building a product database from scratch