Building Nutrition Solutions for Life

The functional food movement has given the food industry new perspectives on the modern diet and brought a plethora of better for you alternatives to consumers. This drive toward health has pushed food, beverage and supplement manufacturers to focus more heavily on product differentiation and distinction. In doing so, many manufacturers are turning to their ingredient suppliers not only to obtain novel functional ingredients, but also for scientific evidence, formulations expertise, consumer messaging and co-branding.

Todays ingredient solution providers must take a multi-disciplinary approach to business. The key to providing solutions is to offer much more than valueadded ingredientsit is about offering value across the board, from the right ingredients to scientific research and technical and marketing expertise.

As a leading provider of customized nutrition solutions, GTC Nutrition has recognized that the line between the business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) industries has significantly blurred. The company is reaching out with its brands not only in the food industry and institutional health, but also to consumers as they are becoming increasingly aware of the connection between diet and wellnessingredient labels, thus ingredient brands, go noticed.

There are many considerations when introducing a branded ingredient, and the intention is always that the brand will succeed and ultimately lead in its category. The brand development process requires a cross functional team, relying heavily on research, strategy, development and evaluation in the various matrices to ensure the highest rate of success.

But why is it important to leverage brand value on finished goods? GTC has invested in branded ingredients to increase industry and consumer understanding of the associated health benefits. The company has also found that it can offer its customers category differentiation and a competitive advantage by featuring branded ingredients on their product packaging. This success has been driven by partnerships with key customers such as Horizon Organic.

Naturally, it is of the utmost importance that all functional ingredients have sound scientific and technical backing. With branded ingredients, however, additional considerations must be made to clearly interpret and communicate the scientific and technical evidence, so that the industry and consumers will clearly understand the benefits. Todays consumers are more health-conscious and, therefore, care about the science and technology behind branded ingredients. The majority of consumer concern lies with the health claims being communicated. By working closely with scientific and technical departments, marketing groups can introduce claims that appeal to a broad consumer audience. Lastly, and critical to success, is the primary consumer research validating the relevance of claims to consumers.

An integral part of GTCs industry campaign, Building Nutrition Solutions for Life, is to offer manufacturers customized solutions in the areas of bone, digestive, glycemic, heart and immune health for the various consumer segments. The company introduced three consumer segments to include the Growth, Performance and Vitality stages of life. Nutrition solutions are then designed based on the unique scientific, market and consumer research as well as consumer demand for each life stage.

For example, one of the largest consumer segments is the baby boomer market, and this consumer segment falls into the Vitality stage of life. Claims associated with NutraFloras benefits for Vitality consumers may include Increases Calcium Absorption for Bone Health or Helps Maintain Stronger Bones as a way to address bone related issues such as osteoporosis. Co-branding and claims on product packages must always be geared to the target audience in order to impact purchase motivation.

Along the same vein, building a strong brand goes hand-in-hand with its level of efficacy. The link between a brand and its efficacy begins with formulators, and usually the lower the required inclusion rate for benefits the better. This is a consideration that should not be ignored, as the inclusion rate on the nutrition facts panel is a means of further communication to consumers.

As momentum for the functional food movement grows, manufacturers and suppliers alike are communicating their commitment to educating and empowering consumers to make healthier diet and lifestyle choices. As such, this communication goes beyond product packaging to include outreach within the industry through education programs, trade shows, symposia, forums and seminars. Similarly, efforts to directly reach consumers may include co-branding, education programs via in-store promotion, consumerfocused Web sites and event sponsorship.

Clearly, both the industry and consumer will benefit from this trend toward health. Through education we all have the potential to shape not only our minds, but our physical well-being.

Susan Fero is the marketing manager for GTC Nutrition (www.gtcnutrition.com)