Slideshows

Research shows that even moderate cocoa consumption may benefit heart, brain, and skin health.

2017 Cocoa Research Update 

From clinical research to pricing and supply, here’s what you need to know about CoQ10 these days.

CoQ10 for Dietary Supplements Market Update

From anti-wrinkle serums to face washes formulated with added benefits, the skincare market has typically been a topical one. But recent findings from Mintel show that skincare’s getting a shake-up from the nutraceutical and natural products industry.

After years of slow growth, the U.S. facial and skincare industry actually saw a decline in sales in 2015-for the first time in five years, says Mintel. Baby Boomers, arguably the target of most antiaging and skincare products, just aren’t buying: Mintel says consumers over age 55 represented the age group that was least likely to report using skincare products, and one-third of them reported not using anything at all. 

The good news for nutraceutical and natural topical-product manufacturers and ingredient suppliers is that interest in natural formulations is the one thing Mintel says can rejuvenate this sagging market-and catch the attentions of younger consumers, a much-needed audience. Consumers that the market researcher surveyed agreed that factors like hydration and diet impact skin’s appearance more than the use of skincare products, which suggests a shift towards a holistic outlook. Specifically, Mintel’s Global Beauty and Personal Care Trend Gastronomia revealed that consumers are most likely to be interested in using skincare products with vitamin C (with 85% of consumers saying so) and probiotics (72%).

This shift toward natural ingredients in the topical market is reflected in increased interest in nutraceuticals formulated with an eye to skin health. If you ask Golan Raz, vice president of health and nutrition at Lycored (Orange, NJ), “ingestible skincare” is a category on the rise thanks to consumers’ interest in holistic health overall. “We see more and more consumers who are willing to adopt nutritional changes and nutritional technologies in order to advance the wellness of their skin,” he says. In fact, data from Euromonitor International show that the market size for vitamins and dietary supplements with beauty positioning grew from $76.8 million in 2015 to $83.9 million in 2016.

Indeed, consumers are starting to view the supplement aisle as important as the beauty aisle when it comes to skincare. “The skin health category should more appropriately be called the skin beauty category,” says Lynda M. Doyle, senior vice president of global marketing at OmniActive Health Technologies (Morristown, NJ), “because consumers are increasingly looking for products to address multiple concerns-wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, dull skin, and uneven skin tone.”

According to Sebastien Merchet, nutrition business development manager, North America, at Seppic (Fairfield, NJ), the fact is that brands are launching more and more oral 

 topical natural products in the skin health category thanks to the volume of science available to support their efficacy. 

New research on naturally derived topical ingredients is advancing both preventative and antiaging efforts. 

EVNol is a full spectrum tocotrienol/tocopherol complex from ExcelVite Inc. (Edison, NJ). Extracted from virgin red palm oil, it boasts proven benefits for hair growth and improved skin characteristics when taken orally as a supplement. The newest research, though, supports previous findings that the ingredient also holds promise in topical applications. 

 showed that a facial gel mask infused with EVNol not only hydrated the skin but also enabled transdermal delivery of tocotrienol. Twenty human volunteers were treated with the mask for 30 minutes, with skin hydration levels measured at various intervals up to 180 minutes. What researchers found was that even at the 180-minute mark, the mask was able to yield significant hydration results by maintaining about 50% of the skin’s moisture. Participants treated with a placebo, however, showed a significant moisture loss at just 30 minutes of mask removal. 

Moisture retention is also front and center at Improve USA (Anaheim, CA) with the launch of a new topical 

 ingredient called Enderma. “The product was clinically tested, and the positive benefits included enhanced skin elasticity, increased moisturization, and significantly reduced wrinkle appearance,” says the company’s president, Peter Hafermann, “all within seven days of use.”

The pilot study, a single-blind bilateral design published internally in September 2016, showed a 31.49% improvement in skin elasticity after seven days of treatment with the ingredient, as well as a 67.13% improvement in skin moisture. Further, wrinkles decreased in appearance, and 100% of the women included said that post-treatment, their skin felt softer and smoother, and that their face was visibly more radiant.

Targeting wrinkles is paramount at Biova LLC (Johnston, IA) with BiovaDerm, a water-soluble egg membrane ingredient and the subject of a recent clinical study

 published in October 2016. “The results were very exciting,” says CEO Pat Schneider. “Sixty-five percent of the women showed a significant reduction in wrinkle depth by up to 60%, after eight weeks of topical use.”

Researchers recruited 20 healthy females between the ages of 45 and 65, with the goal of determining wrinkle-reduction capabilities as well as the mechanisms of action behind the ingredient. Wrinkle depth was tested, as was total antioxidant capacity and collagen production. Indeed, after eight weeks of use, researchers noted not only a significant reduction in wrinkle depth, but also the ingredient’s ability to reduce the formation of reactive oxygen species by inflammatory cells 

Further, the increase in collagen was statistically significant, they reported. The mechanism of this effect, researchers said in their report, may be related to the ingredient’s ability to counteract free radical damage at the cellular level and induce an antioxidant response.

BiovaDerm can be “easily formulated in many delivery systems such as creams, serums, and masks,” says Schneider, but there’s also opportunity to include it in sustained-release technologies that are becoming more popular in topical applications.

Bridging the topical and supplement categories is a unique launch from Blue California (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA) appropriate for both applications, says the company’s executive vice president, Cecilia McCollum. Last summer, Blue California announced commercial production of dihydroquercetin (DHQ), a water-soluble bioflavonoid and a powerful antioxidant, found naturally in fruits and vegetables, with skin-rejuvenating benefits. 

According to the company, “Studies have shown that DHQ has the unique ability to not only protect cells, but also to stimulate the production of collagen and elastin in the skin. This property of DHQ means that it can actually lead to renewed elasticity and rejuvenation of the skin.” 

DHQ can be used in a variety of applications, from beverages to dietary supplements to cosmetics.

While some supplement ingredients in the skin health market aim to prevent the effects of aging before they take hold, others seek to undo existing damage. Both approaches are at the center of new research, highlighting a range of benefits from natural ingredients.

Lycored’s proprietary tomato extract was put to the test in a study

 published in 2016, which sought to determine the extract’s effects, when consumed orally, against ultraviolet UVA, UVB, and UVA1 radiation at a molecular level. The lycopene-rich tomato nutrient complex was found to completely inhibit UVA1 and UVA/B-induced upregulation of select genetic markers. In addition, lutein was effective if taken in the first period of the study, then followed by tomato extract. Ultimately, researchers concluded that both the tomato extract and lutein can protect against solar radiation–induced health damage. This research is important, says Raz, because “it allows us to better understand how to maximize the effect of carotenoid formulations, so that consumers will benefit from available and effective new nutritional technologies.”

Consumers with existing damage, though, tend to turn to supplements that can undo these effects, from uneven skin tone and hyperpigmentation to wrinkles. That’s why much of the newest clinical research is focused on how to turn back the clock on aging.

SkinAx2, an ingredient derived from French grape and melon extracts from Activ’Inside (Libourne, France), was the subject of a recent study

 taking into account the color, contrast, and imperfections of skin. The study enrolled 35 women between the ages of 40 and 70, and supplemented them with a daily oral dose of 150 mg of the ingredient for eight weeks. At the end of the trial, skin luminosity increased nearly 26%, and imperfections-dark circles, redness, and spots-were significantly reduced. Subjects were also widely satisfied with the product, to the tune of about 82% of participants reporting improvements on their skin. Further, about 65% said they thought they looked better after the course of supplementation.

Ultimately, researchers said the ingredient improved radiance by reducing coloring, increasing luminosity, reducing imperfections, and improving skin firmness on women with dull complexions.

Antiaging is also center stage at OmniActive Health Technologies, where its Lutemax 2020 was the subject of a recent study

. Researchers found that taking just 10 mg of the ingredient orally for 12 weeks improved overall skin tone, skin lightening, and elasticity. 

Don’t expect ingredient suppliers to stop rolling out new ingredients anytime soon. Most recently, InnoVactiv (Rimouski, QC, Canada) introduced to the North American market a new line of nutricosmetic ingredients at this year’s Natural Products Expo West trade show. Called Myoceram, the ingredients are based on plant ceramides. The line stems from the work of a Japanese firm, Nippon Flour Mills Co., whose experience in grain milling extended to research on skin-healthy plant-based ceramides, which are typically derived from rice or wheat.

According to Jocelyn BÃ©rubÃ©, executive and scientific director, health and nutrition, InnoVactiv, in a press release, “Skin is our body’s largest organ. Yet, how nutrition affects our skin is a research field that has been overlooked for many years. When taken orally at a convenient low dosage, Myoceram boosts the expression of enzymes responsible for endogenous ceramide production within the skin itself. These new ceramides can then incorporate lamellar bodies between each cell to strengthen the outermost corneous skin layer, just as they would through our normal skin physiology.” 

“Although beauty-from-within supplements are a staple in Asia, this market is still set to boom in North America,” the company added.

If you ask David Herault, head of global research and development for bioactives at BASF Corp. (Florham Park, NJ), the future of this category will revolve around epigenetics. The company’s Dermagenist marjoram 

 leaf extract was the subject of a recent study

, which demonstrated the extract’s ability to rejuvenate cells’ epigenetic pattern and reactive gene expression. 

“Our goal is to understand how individual lifestyles influence the conditions and needs of human skin, and to develop ingredients that are capable of reprogramming our skin cells,” he said in a press release. “To achieve this, epigenetics is our strongest ally. It is the key to understanding gene modulation and stimulating the activity of genes that have an influence on the longevity of the skin.”

Collagen's Best Bet for Reaching New Markets

New BASF Skincare Ingredient Balances Skin Microflora to Correct Skin Dryness

Cheong MY et al. “Tocotrienol-Based Facial Masks.” Part of Malaysian Palm Oil Board Information Series, no. 558 (June 2014).

Jensn GS et al. “Reduction of facial wrinkles by hydrolyzed water-soluble egg membrane associated with reduction of free radical stress and support of matrix production by dermal fibroblasts,” 

Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology,

 vol. 9. Published online October 14, 2016.

Grether-Beck S et al. “Molecular evidence that oral supplementation with lycopene or lutein protects human skin against ultraviolet radiation: results from a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover study,” 

Dumoulin M et al. “Clinical effects of an oral supplement rich in antioxidants on skin radiance in women,” 

Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology.

Juturu V et al. “Overall skin tone and skin-lightening-improving effects with oral supplementation of lutein and zeaxanthin isomers: a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial,” 

Moulin L et al. “Methylation of LOXL1 promoter by DNMT3A in aged human skin fibroblasts,” 

Articles

Brands are launching more and more oral and topical natural products in the skin health category thanks to the volume of science available to support their efficacy. 

Beauty Ingredients: New Research, Both for Topical and Oral Applications

Photo caption: Interest in the energy category is not limited to the energy drinks market alone. BluePrint Organic’s Energy Teas feature such ingredients as guayusa, turmeric, moringa, and yerba mate.

Consumer desires to maintain energy levels in the face of increasingly fast-paced lifestyles have driven ongoing interest in the energy drinks category. But relatively limited innovation opportunities, alongside an increasingly concentrated and consolidated market, have resulted in relatively limited levels of launch activity overall. In 2016, energy drinks accounted for just 3% of total global soft-drink launches recorded by Innova Market Insights, down from 4% five years previously. In the United States, this 2016 figure is only slightly higher at 3.3%.

As the energy drinks market became more established and mainstream, soft-drink companies engaged in acquiring or developing global brands. Over the years, the large number of diverse entrants in the early years has whittled down to just a few, larger remaining brands. The U.S. market is dominated by iconic names such as Red Bull, Monster, and Rockstar, and these giants have focused largely on diversifying their product ranges by adding new formats and flavors, including seasonal launches and limited editions.

Apart from energy/alertness marketing claims, the leading claims used for U.S. energy drink launches in 2016 advertised “low” and “light” alternatives. “Low calorie” claims were used in nearly 47% of new product launches in 2016. Use of the term 

-as in “zero calories” or “zero sugar”-are particularly popular. 

The launch of Zevia’s Zero Calorie Energy drink in the summer of 2016 is a testament to this trend. This launch was also notable because it marked Zevia’s debut in the energy drinks market for the first time. (Previously, the brand had only played in the natural, zero-calorie soda market.) Zevia was one of the first drink companies in the U.S. to use the natural sweetener stevia, and it now also does the same for its zero-calorie energy drink, which is sweetened with stevia and no sugar or artificial sweeteners. It also contains 120 mg of caffeine from coffee extract. Zevia’s energy drink flavors are also more unusual and fairly upmarket: Grapefruit, Raspberry-Lime, Kola, and Mango-Ginger.

Given the ongoing interest in sugar reduction, most of the leading energy-drink players have at least one zero-sugar range within their portfolios. But despite the growing interest, market penetration for zero-sugar drinks remains lower than market penetration for drinks with “low calorie” claims. In 2016, 28% of energy drink launches used “sugar free” claims, rising to 35% if “low sugar” and “no added sugar” claims are also included.

Beyond “low” and “light” claims, there is also ongoing interest in clean labeling, with 23% of energy drink launches in 2016 carrying “natural,” “no additives/preservatives,” or “organic” claims. The use of natural ingredients such as honey, coffee, green tea, guarana, and ginseng is ongoing. The use of non-GMO claims is also increasing. Nearly one-fifth of launches used this type of claim.

The majority of products in the energy drinks market are now packaged in aluminium cans in sizes of 325 ml or more, unlike the original 250-ml slim cans that Red Bull was originally packaged in (and still is in many parts of the world). 

At one time, great success was forecasted for energy shots in small packages, but these products continue to perform behind energy drinks in the U.S. Energy shots accounted for just under one-fifth of launches recorded by Innova Market Insights in 2016. Interestingly, one brand, NVE Pharmaceuticals, offers a Stacker 2 Extra energy shot-a bottle containing two shots. The brand also extended this range with a vitamin B12 version to give consumers “what you may be missing in your daily diet.”

Other Categories Interested in Energy Claims 

Interest in the energy category is not limited to the energy drinks market alone. In fact, in 2016, 9.5% of overall U.S. soft-drink launches used an energy/alertness positioning. While energy drinks comprise the largest number of products making these claims (32% of the total), there are other products using energy/alertness claims-most notably, iced tea (with a 25% share of the total). This means that just over 17% of total iced tea launches now make some kind of energy/alertness claim. 

Although some teas claim energy benefits simply by including energy-supporting natural ingredients such as yerba mate and guayusa, some teas take an even stronger approach by actually calling themselves “energy teas.” One example is BluePrint Organic’s Energy Tea range, with flavors such as Mindful Ma-Tay, Mo-Jo Matcha, and Guaya-Fiyah launched in early 2017.

Juice/juice drinks took second place behind iced tea in terms of the number of launches using energy claims. Juice/juice drink launches with an energy positioning in recent months have included Ocean Spray’s Cran Energy Pomegranate & Cranberry and Raspberry & Cranberry Energy juice drinks, as well as a number of coconut water–based drinks and some so-called super juice blends featuring ingredients such as beetroot.

Interest in energy options seems set to continue. Although drinks may not always be the most popular source of energy, with meal replacements and snacks more often cited by consumers as a source of energy, they remain a convenient and readily available option for refreshment and functionality for modern lifestyles. 

Natural Ingredients for Energy Dietary Supplements

Energy Drink Makers Turn to Natural Botanical Ingredients

Clean-label marketing and “low” and “light” claims drive energy drink interest. Plus: Interest in the energy category is not limited to the energy drinks market alone. 

The Healthier Energy Drink

Research on omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 LCPUFA) has grown tremendously over the past 10 years, and our knowledge about these LCPUFA-especially, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-has given way to new understandings of how they can benefit human health. 

In this article (the second in a two-part series), I will discuss how our understanding of omega-3 LCPUFA’s role in human health has evolved over time.

Several new lipids containing omega-3 LCPUFA have received attention in the past decade.

Lysophospholipids containing DHA have taken a prominent place in our understanding of how DHA is transported between organs, ever since scientists discovered that the transporter Major Facilitator Superfamily Domain Containing 2A  (Mfsd2a) is a selective (sodium-dependent) transporter for DHA into the brain. This discovery was followed by the finding that Mfsd2a also transports DHA as lysophospholipid in the placenta and in the retina, suggesting that carrier-mediated uptake is an important component in the incorporation of DHA in some tissues with high demands for omega-3 LCPUFA. 

This discovery may have implications for the alleged higher efficacy for absorption and transport of omega-3 LCPUFA in the phospholipid form. (A number of studies so far have compared the bioavailability of different chemical forms of EPA and DHA upon oral intake, and if careful comparisons are made in the fed state over some reasonable period of time, little to no remarkable difference between digestion and absorption can be noted between triglycerides, ethyl esters, or phospholipids.)

Also, notable anti-inflammatory effects of EPA-monoglyceride and DHA-monoglyceride have been reported in the airways, colon, and joints.

Enzymatically Generated Oxygenated Derivatives

In addition to the growing appreciation for distinct biological activities and roles of various chemical forms of lipids containing omega-3, the last 10 years have seen more understanding about the enzymatically generated oxygenated derivatives of EPA and DHA, as well as docosapentaenoic acid (DPA). Many new studies have been published on the Specialized Proresolving Lipid Mediators (SPMs) that were uncovered from the beginning of the 2000s onwards. SPMs are endogenous derivatives of LCPUFA (lipid mediators) that activate a range of cellular changes that concertedly drive inflammatory responses towards their resolution. In other words, they are an important part of the body’s physiological mechanism to control the extent and magnitude of inflammation occurring in the body.

In the past decade, several SPMs that are made from omega-3 LCPUFA have been further characterized in terms of their chemical structure and biological activities, and new members, such as the DPA-derived 13S-series resolvins, and the DHA-derived protectin- and resolvin-sulfido conjugates, have been described. A newly uncovered DHA-derived metabolite, 19,20-epoxydocosapentaenoic acid, has potent activity in retinal and choroidal angiogenesis. Scientists have been busy elucidating the many biologically active derivatives of omega-3 fatty acids that regulate inflammation and tissue development in the body.

An increasing number of studies has addressed how dietary intake and supplementation with EPA/DHA-containing oils affects the formation and levels of these lipid mediators in the body. 

Also, the question of how specific nutrients affect the metabolism of EPA and DHA into these lipid mediators, and how omega-3 LCPUFA metabolism is dysregulated in diverse diseases, is gathering in force. For instance, obesity and aging are now recognized as exerting a negative influence on SPM-mediated healing responses after injury-for example, after myocardial infarction. Lipid mediators derived from omega-3 LCPUFA are now known not to be confined to the generation in local inflammatory reactions, but have been detected in saliva and in breast milk, suggesting important roles in protecting mucosal tissues and possibly in immunotolerance and gastrointestinal biotic health of infants. 

In a rabbit model of periodontitis, the local oral application of resolvin E1 was reported to have systemic anti-inflammatory effects. Further progress has been made in characterizing a more complete scope of immuno-resolvent actions that omega-3 LCPUFA-derived mediators exert in cells and tissues, in particular their endogenous antiseptic activity through the activation of phagocytosis of microbes. 

Ten years ago, it was quite clear that the role of omega-3 LCPUFA in the body is far more complex than simply influencing cell membrane properties. It was also known that omega-3 fatty acids played plausible roles in mediating tissue-protective and anti-inflammatory activities. Much more information is now available to support that omega-3 LCPUFA actually modulate disease risk. 

Ahead, we also look at what science has revealed about the implications of omega-3 LCPUFA intake on various aspects of human health.

A shift in the way researchers think about the effects of omega-3 LCPUFA on the immune system has taken place in the last 10 years. Gradually, the poor classification that omega-3 PUFAs are immuno-suppressive is being replaced. 

Now, there is an understanding that omega-3 LCPUFA permit the execution of marked multi-cellular immuno-modulatory activities that can be interpreted as being immuno-stimulatory in nature-namely, specific parts of the immune system are triggered to become less active, and other immune cell types are activated to actively promote inflammation resolution.

Another notable change is a growing appreciation for the individual activities of distinct fatty acids in general. Even among omega-3 LCPUFA family members, there is recognition of distinct tissue distributions and, in some cases, notable differentiation in biological activities of EPA and DHA. 

Furthermore, omega-3s that are not EPA and DHA-for example DPA omega-3 and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA)-are increasingly being studied for their contributions to beneficial effects on health. 

With regard to ALA, although it is an essential fatty acid, no unique or distinct biological activity for this fatty acid itself has yet been identified; however, research nevertheless links the dietary intake of ALA to several benefits for health, in particular metabolic health, such as insulin sensitivity and body weight. 

Given the variable degrees of metabolic interconversion of the various omega-3 LCPUFA, their individual activities remain challenging to study and elucidate. 

One area that has received much attention is cardiovascular disease, with EPA and DHA having been reported to exert a variety of beneficial effects. Clinically relevant effects have been concluded from both prospective cohort studies as well as randomized, controlled trials. The intake of EPA and DHA at several grams per day lowers blood pressure, a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

The omega-3 index is viewed as a marker for coronary heart disease, especially sudden cardiac death, and higher EPA/DHA issue levels may be causally involved in offering protection through their further metabolism into locally acting derivatives that delay the formation of atherosclerosis and stabilize advanced atherosclerotic plaques. The role of omega-3 LCPUFA in the prevention of specific cardiovascular disorders, such as peripheral artery disease, aortic calcification, and aneurysm development, has seen increased research attention.

Ten years ago, the possibility that EPA and DHA intake was related to the amelioration of various aspects of metabolic syndrome was gaining increased attention. Metabolic syndrome principally encompasses overweight- and obesity-related disorders characterized by high blood pressure, alterations in blood lipids, elevated blood glucose, and a predisposition to a diverse array of disorders such as steatosis of the liver and pancreas, hypothalamic dysregulation, and type 2 diabetes. 

That interest has only expanded, and an enormous volume of clinical and preclinical information is now available on the relationship between omega-3 LCPUFA and metabolic inflammatory disorders associated with excessive net energy intake. Studies show a beneficial relationship between EPA/DHA intake and dyslipidemia, oxidation, inflammation, hypertension, glucose intolerance, overweight, and obesity.

When it comes to neurodegenerative and cognitive disorders, our understanding of the relevance of omega-3 LCPUFA has improved significantly. Ten years ago, it was reported that a high omega-3 fatty acid intake is inversely proportionate to the prevalence of some affective disorders. Whereas at the time, insufficient clinical evidence was available to prove conclusively that treatment with omega-3 fatty acids has any beneficial effect on affective disorders, it is now becoming clear that stratification of patients by omega-3 index or by the level of oxidative stress can be useful, or is even necessary, to predict who may be responsive to increased omega-3 LCPUFA intake-for example in bipolar disorder, major depression, and cognitive decline preceding Alzheimer’s disease. 

In the case of major depression, our understanding that a high-dose intake of EPA, but not DHA, can be helpful in reducing symptoms has refined remarkably. Omega-3 LCPUFA are now considered to protect glutamatergic neurotransmission from damage induced by stress and glucocorticoids, particularly in the hippocampus, an activity which may counteract the development of stress-related disorders such as depression or anxiety. 

Significant progress in halting the progression of cognitive decline prior to Alzheimer’s disease has been demonstrated in elderly people with daily intake of EPA/DHA in combination with B-vitamins. Most likely this goes back to the restoration of a molecular defect in the liver, in which the hepatic biosynthesis of DHA-lysophosphatidylcholine, involved in the transport of DHA to the brain, is significantly reduced. High intake and blood levels of both B-vitamins and DHA are able to reduce cognitive decline >80% over a three-year controlled intervention period.

Clinical evidence has now also started to appear supporting results from basic research indicating that the immune-modified state of certain cancers is amenable to interference by omega-3 LCPUFA, making cancer more susceptible to treatment. In the treatment of cancer, omega-3 LCPUFA have been found efficacious in sensitizing cancerous cells to anti-cancer agents, in triggering apoptosis selectively in cancerous cells, and decreasing their glycolytic metabolism. 

Both preventive as well as adjunct roles of omega-3s in cancer targeting are emerging-for example, in colorectal and breast cancer. Interesting applications have been developed, such as the capacity of DHA-loaded LDL nanoparticles to kill malignant hepatocytes.

Paradoxically, EPA and DHA appear to exert beneficial activity in low-grade inflammatory disorders in which significantly increased oxidative stress is a characteristic. Based on chemical reasons, one might expect that increased omega-3 LCPUFA tissue levels would aggravate such conditions through their facile participation in free radical propagating reactions leading to lipid peroxidation. Clearly, this does not seem to be the case in the intact biological setting, and the mechanisms involved seem to be the ability of omega-3 LCPUFA to activate cellular and tissue antioxidant defenses. 

Research during the last 10 years has provided many examples whereby EPA and DHA increase the levels of small molecule antioxidants and antioxidant enzymatic defense capacity, and decrease pro-oxidant generating activities. Increased turnover of DHA-containing phospholipids, activated through oxidative metabolism and increased neuroprotectin D1 formation, also constitutes a mechanism to maintain the functioning of DHA-rich membranes-for example, in the outer segments of retinal pigment epithelial cells needed for vision. 

Nevertheless, the potential for increased oxidation of endogenous membranes enriched with PUFA in the context of low antioxidant levels has also been reported, and understanding the mechanisms involved in the dynamic interplay between oxidation and compensatory protective reactions will remain an interesting field of research. Another interesting line of research addresses the newly gained understanding that omega-3 LCPUFA enhance the detoxification of some environmental contaminants, likely through the promotion of their elimination by the liver.

Ten years ago, we knew that polyunsaturated fatty acids were sensitive to oxidation by molecular oxygen. Marked appreciation has now evolved for the chemopreventive effects of omega-3 LCPUFA, which are likely mediated through reactive oxidation products activating antioxidant defenses. 

Cells can sense reactive products of EPA- and DHA-containing lipids through specific molecular sensor proteins, such as Keap1/Nrf2. The formation of non-enzymatic oxidation products from EPA and DHA, such as isoprostanes and neuroprostanes, can activate tissue-protective effects and mediate anti-arrhythmic and analgesic effects. Fascinatingly, these activities are not shared with those of the analogous autoxidation products from AA, suggesting that the body actively monitors non-enzymatic oxidation of omega-3 LCPUFA. 

I regret that it has been impossible to highlight a more complete spectrum of scientific discoveries and advancements of the past 10 years. References that support the mentioned scientific developments can be obtained from the author via e-mail at 

. More information on the role of polyunsaturated fatty acids in health can be found at Fats of Life (

10 Years of Omega-3 Science: From Then to Now

2016 Omega-3 Market Update: Fish Oil, Krill Oil, Astaxanthin, and More

GOED discusses how our understanding of omega-3's role in human health has evolved over time.

Omega-3 Discoveries: New Lipids, New Benefits

Consumers everywhere are quickly embracing protein drinks (powders and RTDs) as one of the surest investments in good health-and yet, a trip down the products’ retail aisle might have one thinking that he or she had wandered into the desserts section. Just consider some of the product flavors: Glazed Donut, Cookies ’n Cream, S’mores, Birthday Cake. 

Is this a case of consumers wanting what they can’t have? In a way. “Consumers of high-protein beverages tend to be more health-conscious. Their diets tend to be more restrictive,” points out Bob Verdi, PhD, health and wellness business director for flavor supplier Virginia Dare (Brooklyn, NY). A dessert-flavored protein powder or drink can give these customers the illusion of “guilt-free indulgence” and allow them to “cheat” on their diets, without cheating on health, he says. 

It’s no surprise that some of the most successful flavors currently in the protein aisle are those sweet and sinful. Taking a deeper dive, there are slight differences in terms of which of those flavors pair better with dairy (whey) protein versus plant protein.

Plant-protein powders and RTDs are much newer to the market than whey-protein powders and RTDs. While whey proteins have had time to branch out beyond flavor basics like chocolate and vanilla, plant proteins are still staying true to these classic flavors, says Megan Trent, marketing representative for flavor firm Gold Coast Ingredients (Commerce, CA).

“The whey-protein industry strives for what is new, creative, and will stand out in the market,” she says. Whey-protein customers are especially interested in sophisticated sweets like Salted Caramel, Red Velvet, Peaches ’n Cream, Sugar Cookie, Cinnamon Bun, Orange Creamsicle, Chocolate Ãclair, Bear Claw, and Baklava-all flavors mentioned by flavor firms.  

By contrast, says Trent, “Currently, plant-based protein is a trend itself. Consumers seeking plant-based protein beverages tend to first examine the ingredients (vegan, raw, allergen-free) and secondly select their flavor preferences based on availability.” For plant-protein beverages, popular flavors are still traditional vanilla, chocolate, banana, and strawberry, she says. Trent and others also mention chai, coffee, and mocha as emerging flavors for plant proteins.

While flavor houses all say that they can achieve pleasing-tasting whey- or plant-protein products, plant proteins are still said to be slightly more difficult to flavor, for several reasons. For one, plant proteins like pea, chickpea, soy, hemp, rice, and spirulina are known to have earthier, bitter notes, says Trent. Other plant-protein challenges can include palatability, says Jim Yang, director of R&D beverage systems and flavors for supplier Kerry (Beloit, WI), or even a grainy or “chunky” mouthfeel, says Virginia Dare’s Verdi. And, says Trent, other ingredients in a powder or RTD-amino acids, caffeine, stevia-can also contribute unwanted tastes.

Companies have ways of sidestepping these challenges. First, of course, is to find the right flavor to complement the protein. “For dairy protein, traditional sweet brown flavors work better, while heavier flavors such as chocolate, mocha, and coffee help cover off-notes in plant proteins better,” says Yang. Will McCormack, PhD, business development manager, nutrition, for Synergy Flavors (Wauconda, IL), says that sweet brown flavors also work for plant proteins, “whereas fruitier flavors can prove more difficult to pair.” McCormack also points out that flavors within dairy proteins can also differ-for instance, between grass-fed and stall-fed dairy protein. Milky, creamy notes like strawberry milkshake or vanilla ice cream work better for grass-fed, he says, while a “burnt” flavor like coffee would work better for a stall-fed dairy protein.

In addition to finding the right flavor pairing, companies often use masking or sweetness enhancers to fine-tune flavor. And finding the right blends of plant proteins to begin with is crucial. Kerry, for instance, recently launched ProDiem, a flavor-optimized plant-protein product that finds the best balance of different protein types, including pea, rice, and oat protein.

Plant-protein profiles will only continue to improve, says McCormack. “Pea protein five years ago tasted much worse than it does now, but those learnings will continue and will then need to extend to rice, hemp, and algae, etc.”

Looking forward, no matter which side of the aisle you stand on-plant or dairy-indulgence is still the name of the game. Thanks to the options on the market today, protein customers 

 have their cake (good health) and eat it (indulgent flavors), too. 

Dessert Flavors Rule in Sports Nutrition, Say IFT Exhibitors

Which Flavors Are Trending in Energy Drinks?

There are slight differences in terms of which of those flavors pair better with dairy (whey) protein versus plant protein.

Which Flavors Work Best for Dairy Protein versus Plant Protein?

And we’re not talking about the fossil-fuel kind, either. Judging by their purchasing habits, the nation’s consumers must be one groggy, discombobulated, not-particularly-motivated lot, because they’re rushing to energy-boosting products, from shakes and shots to pills, powders, and packaged snacks, for the vigor they lack and the sharper focus, improved performance-even that long-lost “youthful glow”-they crave.

This is a marked departure from the past, when energy was the province primarily of powerlifters and partygoers. But according to a 2015 Mintel (Chicago) report, energy’s core consumers, at least in the beverage space, may well be parents and maturing Millennials on the verge of parenthood. Which, on one hand, should come as little surprise, as toddler-chasing is an energy-intensive enterprise; not for nothing did Mintel find significantly higher rates of energy drink and shot consumption-58% and 48%, respectively-in households with children compared to those without (27% and 18%, respectively).

On the other hand, energy products-and energy drinks in particular-have caught flack not just for outrageous and unsubstantiated claims, but for the genuine health and safety threats that can accompany their irresponsible or excessive use.

So some wonder if the energy market can sustain its appeal amongst its expanding audience. As Michael Crabtree, technical sales manager, Bioenergy Life Sciences Inc. (Ham Lake, MN), says, “The energy market without doubt is one of the most critical markets in the dietary supplement industry, and consumers want options that meet their needs.” But with any energy product, he says, the “main point” remains the safe and efficient delivery of energy-boosting ingredients-“which always plays well with the consumer.”

Energy really is a major driver for the supplement industry writ large. According to a 2015 BCC Research report, the global market for sports nutrition and high-energy supplements hit $37.5 billion in 2014 and looks set to approach $66.0 billion by 2020, holding its compound annual growth rate (CAGR) at 10.1% through the end of this decade. What’s more, the Council for Responsible Nutrition’s (CRN; Washington, DC) latest Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements revealed a first last year: the desire for 

 among consumers’ motivations for taking supplements in the first place, pulling ahead of their need to fill nutrient gaps.

This checks out with Chase Hagerman, brand director, Chemi Nutra (Austin, TX), who believes that energy “is a very easy functional category to sell, the main reason being that it’s perhaps the most tangible function that’s offered. It’s well known that in today’s hectic, always-connecting world, too many of us are overworked and under-rested. A natural solution to coping is to ramp up the energy.”

Those weary consumers’ concept of “energy” is broadening, stretching beyond the capacity to do physical work to encompass mental stamina, too-which is just as liable to flag under stress as is its bodily counterpart. As Karen Hecht, PhD, technical marketing specialist, AstaReal Inc. (Bellevue, WA), notes, “We draw on our reservoirs of energy for both physical and mental tasks that require concentration and coordination.” When our reservoirs run low, “we feel a lack of motivation, a mental fog, and body heaviness.” And who has time for that?

Fewer of us than ever. Which explains why today’s market for energy is so diverse. “The ‘new’ energy consumer runs the gamut from parents trying to keep up with their kids to weekend warriors seeking a boost at the gym to seniors looking to remain active,” says Jeff Lind, vice president, sales and marketing, Natreon Inc. (New Brunswick, NJ).

But energy’s real engine is the Millennial generation, particularly its older members. “The truth is, Millennials have always been, and still are, the dominant consumers in the energy category,” says Brian Zapp, director of marketing, Applied Foods Sciences Inc. (Austin, TX). Citing Mintel data, he notes that 67% of males and 47% of females between 18 and 34 consume energy drinks, making them “by far the largest consumer base.”

Factors speaking to this generation include “building trust, telling your story, and turning them into true believers,” Zapp continues, adding that Millennials “care about things like sustainability, while taking pride in choosing natural and organic” products. That push has spurred a boom in new energy platforms that aren’t just “cleaner,” but are more appealing and easier to use, as well.

Indeed, says Crabtree, “Energy is a huge driver on the consumer side, so-correspondingly-it’s a huge driver on the innovation side.” Though beverages and traditional oral supplements remain the “dominant delivery methods,” he says, “with the recent scrutiny attached to stimulant-based energy drinks due to the adverse effects historically associated with them, alternative delivery methods are seeing more traffic.” Those beverages-along with energy bars-may “always be staples,” he notes, “but a market reorientation is inevitable.”

Where that reorientation takes product development is the next question. As far as Zapp is concerned, “Some interesting and exciting newer delivery systems we’ve seen are stir sticks and straws, lick strips, mints, and even chocolate chews.” He’s keeping his eye on the tech space, too, where emerging formats let consumers “customize their energy input through smart bottles and other proprietary technology.”

“One application I’m particularly fond of,” notes Hagerman, “is gummies.” So fond is he that his company partnered with a gummy maker to produce a line formulated with Chemi Nutra’s AlphaSize alpha-glyceryl phosphoryl choline (A-GPC). Popular as a sports-nutrition pre-workout energizer, the ingredient has a mode of action that’s “pretty easy to understand,” Hagerman says. A-GPC increases the production of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is involved in the “mind-to-muscle” connection between the central and peripheral nervous systems-or, as Hagerman says, “Just think of it like caffeinating the neurons.” He believes gummies are the “ideal delivery mechanism” for the ingredient’s flavorless profile, and likes that they “provide a fun sensory experience with myriad flavors and mouthfeels, yet are also compact, portable, and ready to consume.”

Just as convenient are Essential Mints, from VitaThinQ Inc. (Davie, FL). As Donald M. Choi, the company’s president and founder, describes it, the product is a traditional mint, plus caffeine. Neither concept nor ingredient is new, but “the combination of the two makes this a unique caffeine resource,” he says. In cases where a full energy shot supplies too much caffeine-or is literally too much for the consumer to swallow-the mints’ “elegant delivery” allows the supplement to slip right into the bloodstream “through highly vascularized oral tissues,” he explains. The mint format also gives consumers dose control: each Energizing Peppermint contains 20 mg of caffeine, Choi says, making five equivalent to a single cup of coffee. Put another way, one tin, with 1,600 mg of caffeine (not recommended for consuming in one sitting, of course), equals 16 cups of coffee, eight 5-Hour Energy shots, 10 Monster drinks, or 46 cans of Coca-Cola.

You needn’t be a public-health advocate or energy-drink scold to find the very thought of drinking 10 Monsters or 46 Cokes alarming. And, increasingly, energy consumers themselves are avoiding “artificial” products with sketchy reputations. As Crabtree says, “The target market continues to expand into all-natural, non-stimulatory ingredients and functional markets, where consumers are looking for everyday energy that’s sustainable-not just performance-enhancing.”

First, we need to define what sustainable energy is from a metabolic standpoint. As Hagerman says, “Energy, in strict nutritional terms, is calories.” Alas, for a population that’s not just overworked and under stress but locked in a continual battle against overweight and obesity, a focus on caloric energy-which most of us get enough of already-may be misguided.

Besides, not all calories are created equal. “Some energy sources burn fast and leave you feeling exhausted,” Hecht says. “Similarly, sugar is a quick energy source-but spikes and crashes in blood sugar can contribute to fatigue and aren’t a good source of sustained energy.”

So if sugar is out as an energy source, what’s next? “Scientifically,” Bioenergy’s Crabtree says, “we quantify biological energy as the amount of adenosine triphosphate-ATP-available to drive biochemical processes.” Though the body contains roughly 250 grams of ATP at any given moment, he notes, it turns over close to its own weight in ATP every day. ATP comprises several constituent compounds, including organic phosphate, adenine, and D-ribose; thus, as such compounds “make a direct impact on the levels of energy available to the body,” he concludes, “D-ribose, the source of all our cellular energy, is the perfect ingredient solution to consider for this market.”

Then again, how scientists, or even our own cells, define energy may not be critically important because most consumers understand what energy 

, Hagerman says-namely, “something that provides mental focus, alertness, the ability to stay awake, and improved physical performance.” And for many, that something is caffeine.

For students stuck “juggling academic responsibilities and social relationships,” VitaThinQ’s Choi says, “caffeine and college go hand-in-hand.” Once those students graduate and enter the working world, they also “rely on caffeine to work longer hours and achieve the success they’re striving for.” And in addition to these two groups, “we see a unique segment of caffeine consumers in gamers who play video games online for entertainment and even money,” Choi continues.

These constituencies don’t necessarily want the same effect from their caffeine, nor do they necessarily want it from the same source. But “from an ingredient-supply standpoint,” Zapp says, “organic and natural energy sources-especially organic caffeine-are occupying a majority of new business growth.”

He sees this at his own company, Applied Foods Sciences, where most brand marketers “simply want a naturally derived alternative to artificial caffeine.” The company’s solution: two organic and “natural” caffeine sources standardized to more than 90% caffeine, one based on coffee and the other on tea. “These ingredients are highly water soluble, clear in solution, and designed to have a more neutral flavor profile,” Zapp says, with less of the bitterness, astringency, and “chalky” drying effect often associated with caffeine.

Beyond these sources, Zapp thinks the most exciting ingredient in the clean-caffeine field is guayusa, from the leaf of a holly tree 

 that grows only in the upper Amazon. A cousin of yerba mate, guayusa is “uniquely different” from other caffeine sources in that it has a polyphenolic profile all its own and a sweet, not bitter, taste, says Zapp. Consumers experience its effect “as a bright and clear energy,” he adds, and his company sees it “meeting the growing demand for functional energy and cognitive health products geared toward modern working consumers seeking a calmer nervous system and less agitation to go with alert mental or physical energy.”

Nothing could be further from cardiac failures and even deaths that provoked an “onslaught of negative media” when they’ve struck consumers who’ve misused energy products in the past, Hagerman says. However, “It’s very important to note that such adverse events seldom occur,” he says. He cites evidence from SafetyCall International (Bloomington, MN) that a total of 27 adverse event cases associated with energy drinks were reported from 2008 to 2012. “Yet when they looked at the soft drinks/ water category,” Hagerman continues, “it dwarfed energy by comparison, at 885 cases reported.”

But the negative association’s stuck, and energy products can continue to carry its burden as a result. Cleaning up the sector’s reputation will require credibility. A 2015 Mintel survey of 168 Internet users aged 18 and above who consume energy drinks found that more than one-quarter claim to drink less because they “don’t trust the artificial ingredients inside,” Zapp notes. By replacing these “synthetic and unrecognizable ingredients with known sources,” he believes, “consumers can more easily draw a connection of familiarity.”

Natreon’s Lind points to science as “the key to reestablishing credibility” and providing support for claims. Companies in the game for the long haul “would be best served by doing clinical studies on the actual finished product,” he suggests, “creating proprietary science and possibly some IP protection” to boot. 

And make sure the product works. “As with every segment of the supplement industry, success comes from providing an efficacious product,” he says. “If the product works, customers will continue to buy it.”

Energy Drink Trends: Less Sugar, Clean Label, Natural, and More

Will a widening audience give energy products staying power?

Are Energy Drinks in for the Long Haul?

 is more than a buzzword. It’s a lifestyle trend driven by consumer interest in both personal wellness and concern for the global ecosystem, and it’s got staying power, according to those monitoring the food and beverage industries and those marketing plant-based brands.

Hope Lee, senior analyst for Euromonitor, explained in an August 2016 podcast on this topic that consumption of plant-based foods and beverages is increasing because consumers tend to perceive them as natural, safer, and more sustainable than animal products. A cultural paradigm shift away from meat-centered meals is evident in a number of high-profile consumer cooking magazines, health and wellness books, restaurants, and cookbooks, and has given rise to the “flexitarian” eater: a person who chooses a predominantly vegetarian diet but who does still eat some meat. The emergence of the flexitarian lifestyle, Lee says, “has created opportunities for plant-based food and beverage products in terms of innovation and new-product development.” She adds, “Manufacturers are actively looking for and exploring traditional plants to make them into delicious and nutritious food and beverage products.”

Got Milk? Yes, but Now It’s Plant Based

Indeed, “the steady growth of the plant-based food and beverage industries shows that consumers continue to shift away from animal products toward plant-based options,” agrees Michele Simon, executive director, Plant-Based Foods Association (PBFA; San Francisco, CA), citing a recent Mintel report that estimates annual sales of plant-based non-dairy beverages at $2 billion, with that figure forecast to climb to $3 billion by 2020. 

Consumers seeking plant-based alternatives to traditionally animal-based nutrition are, based on the data, finding their entrÃ©e in these non-dairy “milks”: beverages made from nuts, soybeans, legumes, and seeds that are marketed as cow’s milk replacements for use with breakfast cereals, coffee, smoothies, and cooking, and for drinking on their own straight from a glass. (For more on the term 

 as it relates to dairy versus plant-based beverages, see the sidebar below, “When Is a Milk Not a Milk?”)

“For a long time, soy milk was the only game in town for dairy alternatives,” Simon says. (The non-dairy sector is well represented in PBFA’s membership.) “That’s not true anymore. There are many more options on the market now” for non-dairy, plant-based beverages, Simon says. “Almond milk has become a large category, for example.”

Data gathered by Innova Market Insights, which tracks global new-product launches in various health, wellness, and nutrition categories, illustrates the rise of dairy-alternative plant-based beverages, particularly from sources other than soy. “There has been a phenomenal growth of plant-based drinks” in general, the firm’s director of innovation, Lu Ann Williams, finds, demonstrated by “a 32% increase in global new-product-launch activity tracked for the dairy-alternative drinks category in 2016.” Furthermore, the United States was the leading country for new-product-launch activity in this category in 2016, Williams adds, representing 10% of all new dairy-alternative drink launches tracked.

These launches do, in fact, venture way beyond soy. Williams lists tree nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, walnuts, macadamias, pistachios, pecans), coconut, grains (rice, oats, barley), chia, hemp, and flaxseed as currently trending plant-based-beverage components. And “one of the more innovative ingredients to date to emerge is yellow peas, used as a base for the Ripple plant-based range of milks launched in the United States” about a year ago, she adds. “Manufacturers are also getting more creative in blending [plant-based] milks, with Silk’s Protein & Nut Milk Almond & Cashew beverage being a good example of this trend.”

As competition in the non-dairy, plant-based-milk market grows, there is “no shortage of flavor profiles that companies-big and small-are experimenting with,” PBFA’s Simon says. “It’s great to see this explosion of companies wanting a piece of the action when it comes to dairy alternatives. They are getting very creative and innovative with their various offerings.” Califia Farms has introduced a Toasted Oats ’N Almond flavor of almond milk, for example, and the company also recently introduced a line of new non-dairy almond-milk coffee-creamer flavors, including Irish Cream, Mexican Cocoa, and Dulce de Leche. 

Williams’s analysis aligns with Simon’s; Innova Market Insights singles out the 2016 launch of Bolthouse Farms’ blueberry-banana almond-milk beverage as a recent example of flavor innovation, as well as Trader Joe’s seasonal Pumpkin Spice almond milk. 

Innovation in plant-based beverages is also occurring through the incorporation of “functional, value-added ingredients,” as Innova Market Insights calls them, such as herbs and spices, to offer potential health boosts. “The elixir,” says Jim Tonkin, president and owner, HealthyBrandBuilders, a beverage consulting and development firm, “is a new derivation category that’s growing. It marries the traditional plant proteins and compounds that you would think of going into beverages [including, in some cases, coffee] with the traditional herbs-and-spices side of the business, such as the turmerics and gingers.” Elixirs, such as Immordl, which Tonkin (who sits on Immordl’s board and serves as strategic consultant) called “a huge hit” at Natural Products Expo West this past March, combine protein, fiber, spices, herbs, and other botanicals, and “make them taste good,” Tonkin says, “putting enough of them into the beverage to make an efficacious dose, so you don’t just get a taste bang, but you feel something when you drink it.”

Immordl’s mÃ©lange of ingredients includes coffee, coconut milk, ground chia seed, guarana seed, maca root, and others. Additional brands emerging in this category include Rebbl, with its varied line of elixirs that contain such wide-ranging ingredients as turmeric, reishi, matcha, maca, ashwagandha, pea protein, sunflower protein, coconut milk, and coffee; and, in the UK, Plenish Elevate Organic Dairy Free Nut Milk with turmeric, almonds, coconut nectar, ginger, and pepper.

Non-Dairy Creamers: Plant-Based Beverages’ Dark Horse

Reporting from the show floor in a video recorded during Natural Products Expo West 2017, 

 founder and CEO, John Craven, made this telling comment about non-dairy coffee creamers: “It’s one of those spaces I think a lot of people in the beverage industry don’t think about all that much. But it is a good application, certainly, for their products.”

Indeed, with about 64% of Americans drinking at least one cup of coffee per day, according to a 2015 Gallup poll, and the aforementioned rise of flexitarianism, plant-based non-dairy creamers and half-and-half products would seem to have a built-in customer base ripe for tapping. Califia Farms seized this opportunity early and, fortuitously, saw sales of its almond-based Nutmilk Creamer grow a stunning 138% in 2016, according to Califia’s vice president of marketing, Vilma Livas, making it the fastest-growing non-dairy creamer brand in the refrigerator case. As mentioned, Califia Farms debuted several new creamer flavors earlier this year at Natural Products Expo West.

Another successful key player to emerge in the plant-based non-dairy creamer space is Nutpods, which launched its shelf-stable, unsweetened, coconut- and almond-based product in May 2015 on Amazon.com and in Pacific Northwestern retail establishments. According to Michele Silbey, senior marketing manager for Nutpods, sales have increased every month since launch, and the product is the current (as of March 2017) bestselling alternative creamer on Amazon, “with customer review levels similar to those of Coffee-Mate,” Silbey says. 

Other brands venturing into the coffee-creamer domain include Ripple, whose co-CEO Adam Lowry says his brand of pea protein–based beverages will launch a half-and-half product this year, and both Austin, Texas–based MALK and California-based New Barn, which have “barista blend” creamer products they showed off at Natural Products Expo West this past March.

While the big plant-based-beverage story is in dairy alternatives, plant-based water brands-likely encouraged by the runaway success of coconut water-are gaining more attention and distribution. Treo Brands, for instance, based in New York and founded by the son of one of Snapple’s co-founders, is working to make a name for birch water in the United States. Its Organic Birch Water Infusions launched at 2016’s Natural Products Expo East and were the first fruit-infused birch waters in the U.S. market. They are currently sold online and in New York City retailers. 

Another tree water brand, Happy Tree, which markets “the leading maple-water product line in the U.S.” according to its press materials, enjoyed an expansion this past summer into about 400 new retail locations nationwide, including some Kroger divisions, Giant Eagle in the Midwest, and Market Basket in New England. The brand is also available at Whole Foods Market, The Fresh Market, Gelson’s, Amazon.com, and additional household-name natural-product grocers.

Verday Chlorophyll Water, which debuted at Natural Products Expo West in 2016, originally launched in three flavors-watermelon, cucumber, and lemongrass and ginger-and is growing. Verday added a coconut flavor to its product line this past July; the brand is available at natural and specialty stores in New York. 

And finally, H2rOse, a unique rosewater-and-saffron beverage launched in early 2015 and based in Southern California, is now sold nationwide thanks to a distribution partnership with KeHE announced last summer. The brand’s line of four flavors is available at select VONS, Albertson’s, Pavilions, and Whole Foods locations, as well as 7-Eleven Hawaii and others.

Come One, Come All…to the Plant-Based-Beverage Market

Simply put, plant-based beverages, in their various forms, are not going away anytime soon. Regarding her 2016 podcast on plant-based products in general, Euromonitor’s Hope Lee says the trend toward plants and away from animal products is “continuing and going strong.” She adds that there’s money available for the taking for those wishing to market plant-based beverages in particular: “From our observation of investors’ interests and movements,” she says, “there is lots of funding around to invest in the growth of these beverages. Young start-ups and big companies alike are coming to nurture the category.” 

“Yes,” PBFA’s Michele Simon agrees, “there’s room for everybody” in plant-based beverages, particularly in the non-dairy alternatives. And, once brands in this space “get traction,” she says, “they are going to grow.”

As most players in the non-dairy alternative-beverage world know, a bill was introduced this past January in the 115

 Congress seeking to “require enforcement against misbranded milk alternatives” and reserve the terms 

 specifically for cow’s-milk products only. Sponsored by Senator Tammy Baldwin from the dairy-producing-powerhouse state of Wisconsin, bill S. 130, known as “Dairy Pride,” is understandably unpopular among plant-based beverage brands and those who represent them. 

“We don’t expect Congress to take up this bill anytime soon,” explains Michele Simon, executive director, Plant-Based Foods Association, whose members include a number of non-dairy beverage brands, “but we’re taking it seriously nonetheless. We are monitoring it closely, and we’ve hired a lobbying firm in D.C. We are developing a strategy now for making sure this bill doesn’t go anywhere.”

This particular Congress does, admittedly, have a significant number of seemingly more pressing issues to address, including those involving national security and potential ethics violations allegedly committed by the Executive branch. However, since its introduction in January, S. 130 has attracted two additional sponsors (bipartisan support from Idaho and Wisconsin) and has been referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. 

Though the bill’s passage into law appears far from certain at this point, the effect on the plant-based-food and -beverage communities would be “significant,” Simon says. “It would not allow these companies to use words that they are currently using, like 

 even though they are using those words in a way that is clearly signifying to consumers that they’re not dairy; that is, in fact, why customers are seeking them out-because they’re 

,” she adds. “We really think companies deserve the right to use words that consumers understand, and consumers deserve the right to be communicated to in a way that they understand.

“There really is no question dairy is suffering,” Simon continues, “but there are many more complex reasons why that is happening that have more to do with the economics of the industry than with the explosion of plant-based beverages on the market.”

Would Banning Plant-Based Milks from Using the Word "Milk" Really Solve Dairy’s Problems?

Come one, come all…to the plant-based-beverage market.

Nutritional Outlook Vol. 20 No. 4

2017 Cocoa Research Update

CoQ10 for Dietary Supplements Market Update

Beauty Ingredients: New Research, Both for Topical and Oral Applications

The Healthier Energy Drink

Omega-3 Discoveries: New Lipids, New Benefits

Which Flavors Work Best for Dairy Protein versus Plant Protein?

Are Energy Drinks in for the Long Haul?

The Next Generation of Plant-Based Beverages

The Growing Pet-Supplements Market

The Science Behind Astaxanthin

Can Small Dietary Supplement and Food Brands Also Build Traceability Platforms?

Can Green Tea Really Help You Manage or Lose Weight?