Consumers now are looking for more tasty, more convenient, more interesting, fitting more into their lifestyle, products than just taking tablets and capsules, says Clare Panchoo of Evolva – who told us that the company is working to develop new delivery technologies in order to allow its customers bring innovative new products to market.
“We’re seeing our customers manufacturing dietary supplements in things like gels, things like ready to drink powders,” she said. “Things like liquid shots are becoming popular too.”
"Also we're working with a number of manufacturers on things like gel sachets, which are very popular in the sports nutrition market."
Sarah O'Neill of Carbery Group added that there continuous interest around new formats in the sports nutrition space, noting that the last year has seen an increase in new formats like bites and formats that have a more natural positioning.
Dominik Mattern of Lonza Capsugel told NutraIngredients that is important to develop new technologies that battle 'pill burden' and add convenience to the consumer, but that key drivers for the industry remain technological features such as better bioavailability, delayed release profiles or enhanced stability.
"I think this is one of the results of EFSA health claims," said Mattern. "To a certain extent, you are a bit limited in terms of the functional health claims you can do on ingredients."
"That's why brands and customers are looking for more ways to differentiate, and obviously technological claims like bioavailability enhancement or sustained release (...) they can give you a competitive edge and stand out in a noisy category."
"It's not only the marketing aspect," he added. "According to consumer studies, we know that people want to have efficacy for the product, and quality and safety. So, these aspects of the dosage form are very important.
"It's not just about what is inside, the active, it's also about how you deliver."
