Re-writing convention: The only way to innovate in a saturate market

Tom Evans, product manager for the supplements and sports nutrition giant, has given Nutraingredients exclusive insight into products currently in development as he explains the difficulty manufacturers have to create genuinely new and exciting products.

“We are looking at products and seeing if they are being made a certain way because they need to be or just because that’s the norm and we are questioning whether the norm is the best way,”​ Evans told Nutraingredients.

Evans says companies must challenge previously unquestioned norms in order to keep improving, adding that Sci-MX is currently creating a Diet Support Pack which requires the consumer to take more tablets than would usually be considered “normal”. The product calls for 10 capsules to be taken daily, alongside weight loss activity, whereas a ‘fat burner’ would usually require two taken daily. He says the product is built with ‘efficacy at its core rather than convention’.

“We wanted to create a product that supported the specific processes of losing weight yourself, i.e. diet and exercise…We created a new product format based around each weight loss activity through the day to make your own weight loss efforts easier. The format focuses on efficacy and this means splitting the formula for each purpose, and totals a higher number of tablets and applications than you would have in a ‘fat burner’, so its way outside of the accepted norm for this type of product.​

“The pack contains 2 formulas; without giving all the actual formulas away, one is designed to combat the mental and physical drag being in a calorie deficit can cause and is taken before activities e.g. morning workout, work, afternoon slump. The other deals with the food itself and is taken at meal times. We split these up so you can still curb hunger with your last meal without staying awake all night. It’s a complete weight loss support.”​

Evans uses the analogy of the bicycle saddle to explain how convention isn’t always correct.

“The bicycle seat has been the same for a long time – with the larger part at the back that you sit on and the longer piece at the front. The reason it’s like this is because, in the past, people rode horses and in order for the bicycle makers to encourage people off their horse saddle and onto a bicycle, they had to make the saddle look similar. But that long bit at the front doesn’t actually need to be there, in fact it can be a hindrance but it’s there because that’s what consumers expect after years of it being the same way.”​

Staying on-trend​

Evans gave further insight into Sci-MX’s future innovations, revealing that the brand is creating products aimed at that growing pool of consumers concerned about their gut health.

“Even here with gut health, which is a relatively new offering for the sports nutrition market, we have built the products from the ground up to address the specific needs of the target consumer. It would have been very easy to put a few probiotics and prebiotic fibres into a tub and shoot it straight onto the market, but instead of following the status quo we have developed based on the modern day consumer’s needs and up to date research.”​