Ingredient Idol submissions due Friday

Best-in-class new ingredients contest showcases winners on the SupplySide West show floor stage.

Todd Runestad, Content Director, SupplySideSJ.com

September 14, 2023

2 Min Read

At a Glance

  • Contest nominations due Friday, Sept. 15
  • Three categories are active nutrition, micribiome, nootropics.
  • Competition finalists vie for victory live at SupplySide West.

Ever been on TV? The lights, camera and action will be all set up on stage at SupplySide West, for a TV-style contest just like American Idol. Only at SupplySide West, the contest is to decide the best new ingredients introduced to the market since the start of 2022.

The deadline to submit nominations for the Ingredient Idol contest ends Friday, Sept 15. To submit an ingredient, including market potential, science and innovation, visit the form here.

The live event will be on the SupplySide Stage on Thursday, Oct. 26, from 12:45-2:00pm.

Live at the show, a panel of three expert judges will hear elevator pitches from each of the three finalist ingredient suppliers that have a new ingredient. The judges will then pepper the contestants with follow-up questions, then decide the winner.

The three health categories are:

  • Active Nutrition: Way bigger than sports nutrition’s protein and specxialty ingredients like creatine and beta-alanine, the active category also targets cellular wellness like mitochondrial function, energy creation beyond merely caffeine, even graceful aging pursuits like joint, bone and cardio health.

  • Microbiome: Probiotic strains ain’t the half of it. Nor does gut health speak to the entire microbiome. There’s the gut-brain axis. The gut-muscle axis. The gut-skin axis. Certain aspects of immunity. Prebiotic fibers and postbiotics, oh my!

  • Nootropics: The greater cognition category is broad, and encompasses experiential ingredients, mood/stress, memory enhancers, as well as e-sports/gamer ingredients addressing focus and concentration. And don’t forget age-old brain-builders like hearthy fats, even from new and sustainable sources.

The three finalists in each of the three categories will be announced Friday, Oct. 13.

SupplySide West attendees who attend the fun-loving contest will also have the opportunity to cheer for their personal favorite during the People’s Choice Award part of the proceedings. Don’t miss SupplySide West’s most raucous, good-time game show—Ingredient Idol!

About the Author

Todd Runestad

Content Director, SupplySideSJ.com, SupplySide Supplement Journal

Todd Runestad has been writing on nutrition science news since 1997. He is content director for SupplySide Supplement Journal and its digital magazines. Other incarnations: content director for Natural Products Insider (now rebranded to SupplySide Supplement Journal), supplements editor for NewHope.com, Delicious Living!, and Natural Foods Merchandiser. Former editor-in-chief of Functional Ingredients magazine and still covers raw material innovations and ingredient science.

Connect with me here on LinkedIn.

Specialty

Todd writes about nutrition science news such as this story on mitochondrial nutrients, innovative ingredients such as this story about 12 trendy new ingredient launches from SupplySide West 2023, and is a judge for the NEXTY awards honoring innovation, integrity and inspiration in natural products including his specialty — dietary supplements. He extensively covered the rise and rise and rise and fall of cannabis hemp CBD. He helps produce in-person events at SupplySide West and SupplySide East trade shows and conferences, including the wildly popular Ingredient Idol game show, as well as Natural Products Expo West and Natural Products Expo East and the NBJ Summit. He was a board member for the Hemp Industries Association.

Education / Past Lives

In previous lives Todd was on the other side of nature from natural products — natural history — as managing editor at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. He's sojourned to Burning Man and Mount Everest. He graduated many moons ago from the State University of New York College at Oneonta.

Quotes

"There is not a colds-and-flu season. There is a vitamin D-deficiency season."

"There is no such thing as inclement weather. Only improper attire."

Link answers question, "When taking magnesium, should you also take vitamin D3 2,000 IU?"

"Cannabis is nature's most nearly perfect plant."

Subscribe for the latest consumer trends, trade news, nutrition science and regulatory updates in the supplement industry!
Join 37,000+ members. Yes, it's completely free.

You May Also Like