Revealed: Find out who won at the NutraIngredients Awards 2019

The NutraIngredients Awards 2019, in association with Vitafoods Europe 2019, recognise and celebrate the industry’s biggest commercial successes, best product development, and brightest research.

Last night’s celebration of all that is great in the nutrition and wellness industry honoured 12 very deserving winners in key industry categories - from ingredients and finished product innovation in large and small firms, to start-ups, and awards for innovation and cutting edge research.

With more than 200 entries to the awards, the rigorous judging process began with our panel of expert judges creating a shortlist of finalists for every category and ended with ‘Dragon’s Den’ style pitches to the judging panel on the morning of the awards.

Before the winners are revealed, we wanted to say a massive well done to everyone who got this far - the competition has been top notch this year! #NIAwards19

— NutraIngredients.com (@NutraEurope) May 8, 2019

And the winners are…

Ingredient of the Year: Sports Nutrition​
Winner: EnXtra by Enovate Biolife

The judges were impressed by the innovative nature of the ingredient and the early commercial success seen. The panel said the number of potential applications and the diversity of products being launched into is ‘massive’. They added that the strong scientific background and convincing evidence of effect, coupled with the lack of secondary effects that caffeine has, was impressive.​

Ingredient of the Year: Infant Nutrition​
Winner: CARE4U™ Human Milk Oligosaccharide 2’-FL by DuPont Nutrition & Health

The judges said the commercialisation and success seen with the ingredient is a major innovation in the infant nutrition category. They were impressed by the ability to produce the HMO ingredient at a large scale and in a highly pure form, and noted that regulatory approval in the EU and US among other regions, offers big market potential to build on early successes.​

Ingredient of the Year: Healthy Ageing​
Winner: Enostim by Nexira

The judging panel were impressed by the innovative solution for the issue and the strong scientific evidence supplied including clinically data with a clear and demonstrated mechanism of action. They noted that the product is well positioned in the market and targets a clear need of ageing men.​

Ingredient of the Year: Weight Management​
Winner: Probiostays by Targedys

The judges were impressed by the development and use of a new probiotic strain, including the understanding of the molecular mechanism behind its weight loss effect. They added that the possibility for applications in supplements and foods and beverages made the ingredient stand out.​

Probiotic Product of the Year​
Winner: Astarte by HSO Health Care

The judges were impressed by the strong science, clear positioning and market success of the product in establishing a whole new category of probiotics products for women’s health. To conquer the USA, China and Europe in just five years is no small feat, which the judges felt deserved recognition.​

Botanical Product of the Year​
Winner: Organic Joint Win Shot by Naturex

The judges said the product stood out as providing an effective stable formulation that would deliver the most bioavailable hit of curcumoids in an easy to consume format, in addition to solid comparative data to prove superiority to its competition.​

Omega-3 Product of the Year​
Winner: OptiBright by Anklam Extract

The judges were impressed by the good level of scientific substantiation on each ingredient and the possibility of synergic action. In addition they noted that the product meets a clear and significant consumer need and met all the judging criteria on innovation, consumer need, application, commercial and the X-factor.​

NutraChampion – in association with Vitafoods Europe 2019​
Winner: Dr Daniel Ramón Vidal

This year’s winner, Dr Daniel Ramón Vidal, epitomises scientific rigour, technical expertise and commercial savvy. His long career and multiple successes are proof that research is the most powerful motor to create solid businesses, opportunities and growth.​

As author of more than 150 peer reviewed articles, and a co-author of 109 patents that have been successfully transferred to the agri-food and pharma industries Daniel Ramón impressed the awards judges with his remarkable contribution to the development of food science and biotechnology​

Yet, this is only half of the story. In 2003 he founded Biopolis, creating a leading biotechnology company that was later acquired by US multinational Archer Daniels Midland. Through Biopolis, Daniel Ramón has been responsible for the development of multiple successful probiotic products, as well as other bio-based products that have been licensed or co-developed with other companies.​

Start-up Award​
Winner: Nutrinovate AB

The judges said the company has a ‘​truly innovative’ idea which solves the issue of pill fatigue, adding that the functional film technology offers an interesting delivery vehicle in addition to an opportunity to overcome bioavailability issues of some ingredients. The panel were impressed by the clear focus, dedicated strategy and rapidly growing commercial success of the company.​

Nutrition Research Project – in association with Vitafoods Europe 2019​
Winner: Project Zynamite by Nektium Pharma

The judges said the research presented was most detailed, advanced and significant due to the various studies and different protocols the team have undertaken. They also noted that alternatives for, or combinations with, caffeine are highly topical and have high market attractiveness. They noted that the research tapped into multiple markets, having applications in sports nutrition, cognitive health and as a simple alternative to caffeine.​

Personalised Nutrition Initiative​
Winner: Personalized Sport Nutrition & Performance Report by Nutrigenomix Sport

The judges were impressed by the food-first approach taken by Nutrigenomix, which stands out in the personalised nutrition field where many companies connect to ranges of dietary supplementation. They added that the use of expert interpretation by health professional to recommend dietary and lifestyle choices based on the results of the screening and the focus on meal planning emphasised an impressive holistic approach to nutrition.​

Editors Award for Innovation​
Winner: Lipisperse by Pharmakko Technologies

The judges noted that Lipisperse has a huge range of applications and has already proven popular with many of the big names in the industry who have chosen to use the technology to create pioneering products. They added that the range of formats Lipisperse can be used in and the robust scientific data and ‘real world’ demonstrations to back up the effects of the delivery system were impressive.​

From the team at NutraIngredients, and on behalf of all of the judging panel, a huge congratulations of all of the NutraIngredients Awards finalists and winners. 

Keep following NutraIngredients in the coming days for highlights from the gala awards dinner and ceremony, and further insights and features on the winners of each award!