What we missed at SupplySide East: Expo hall trends

SupplySide East 2020 didn’t happen. Due to concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic, Informa Markets, which publishes Natural Products Insider, canceled the event that normally draws more than 3,500 global health and nutrition industry professionals from dozens of countries each spring to the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, New Jersey.

The lack of an in-person event doesn’t mean innovation halted among the SupplySide East community. Informa Markets’ NEXT Data & Insights team reviewed the websites of the close to 300 companies that were going to exhibit at SupplySide East. We focused on the close to 170 exhibitors that supply food, herb, botanical, mineral and vitamin ingredients to discover the hot trends that would have been on display on the show floor.

Had 2020 been a normal year, the SupplySide Expo East tradeshow floor would have highlighted the noble and crucial innovations that serve consumers who are concerned with the sustainability and science that fuels the healthy ingredients before they end up in their favorite supplements and functional foods. Consumers—who are faced with concerns unprecedented in their lifetimes—are focused on two specific aspects of well-being that are stressed due to the novel coronavirus (immunity) and due to social distancing (mental health). Ingredient suppliers that would have crewed booths at SupplySide East are addressing these needs.

Trend 1: Verification—Companies that highlight verification was the top trend seen among would-be SupplySide East exhibitors with 42.9% of them highlighting their third-party certifications on their websites.

Trend 2: Brain and mental health—Ingredient suppliers that help consumers maintain their cognitive function and help them reduce stress would have consisted of a large portion of SupplySide East exhibitors. With 20.6% of ingredient suppliers addressing brain health, it was the second highest trend observed by Informa Markets NEXT Data & Insights.
Trend 3: Science First—Consumers desire product claims to be backed by science, and regulators require it. The “science first” trend was the third most popular among ingredient suppliers who would have exhibited at SupplySide East, with 18.8% of their company websites promoting the science behind their offerings.

Trend 4: Immune health—It’s not surprising that immune health was a top trend among ingredient suppliers who would have exhibited at SupplySide East, with 18.2% highlighting their immune boosting ingredients. Functional ingredients promoted included pre- and probiotics, beta-glucan, mushrooms, co-enzyme Q10 (CoQ10), L-glutathione and bromelain. A slew of botanicals were also touted for their immune health benefits, including resveratrol, turmeric, chamomile, pine bark, lychee fruit, green tea, palm fruit, ginseng, rhodiola, Andrographis paniculate, garlic, acerola cherry, camu, spirulina, chlorella and olive leaf.

Trend 5: Sourcing responsibly—Rounding out the top five trends that would have been on display at SupplySide East is a trend that shows this industry’s awareness of its role in our planet’s health, with 17.6% of would-be ingredient supplier exhibitors highlighting their commitment to responsibly sourcing their ingredients.

Download the Innovation from the SupplySide East community, 2020 – digital magazine to learn more about these trends and how ingredient suppliers in the natural products industry are addressing these addressing these needs to increase the health of consumers and the planet.

Check out the Top trends driving the health & nutrition industry – webinar now on demand to hear about trending ingredients, categories and markets that will drive leading business strategists.