Product trends as demonstrated by SupplySide West Editors Choice Award finalists

Besides for the great products we have in the specialty curcumin category, the yellow botanical is in the heart health category in Nature's Way Products LLC’s Turmerich™ Heart combines turmeric standardized to 95-percent Curcuminoids, deodorized garlic, hawthorn, pomegranate, coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) and BioPerine® black pepper extract (from Sabinsa Corp.).

In women’s health, EuroPharma’s Fibroxia combines clinically studied enhanced absorption curcumin with boswellia, concentrated turmeric essential oil and frankincense oil.

In bars, Health Warrior’s Pumpkin Seed Bar features pumpkin seeds, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, zinc and iron; one of the varieties is Honey Cracked Pepper with Turmeric.

In an expected category—digestive health—three of the five finalists contain probiotics. The Nature’s Bounty Co.’s Dark Chocolate Probiotic contains 2 billion live probiotic cultures of GanedenBC30® Bacillus coagulans into each dark chocolate piece. Also in digestive health, U.S. Doctors’ Clinical’s Biotix Plus is a digestive formula in a shelf-stable softgel that contains both prebiotics and probiotics for intestinal health. XR Nutrition’s Enzyme Essentials is a blend of plant-based enzymes, probiotics, chelated minerals and herbs.

In functional food/beverage, two of the five finalists contain probiotics. Chobani’s S'more S'mores is a yogurt, so probiotics are expected, but this yogurt features three types of probiotics and includes live and active cultures. Also in functional food/beverage, Dreaming Cow’s LUSH is a grass-fed yogurt drink that blends fruits with a full serving of “hidden" vegetables and more than 20 billion probiotics.

In women’s health, Nourish + Bloom’s Multi Plus combines omega-3s, probiotics and vitamins in tear-off blister strips.

In anti-aging, Bioforce USA’s Annemarie Börlind ZZ Sensitive Eye Wrinkle Cream uses a pre- and probiotic complex to stabilize the skin’s natural protective barrier and bring skin flora back into balance.

Metagenics’ UltraFlora Control in weight management features 10 billion CFU (colony forming units) of Bifidobacterium lactis B-420™ (from DuPont™ Danisco®).

In animal nutrition, Fidobiotics and Meowbiotics' Good Guts has 3 billion CFUs per serving, five digestive enzymes and prebiotics to support healthy digestion, assist healthy nutrient absorption, and support healthy immune function.

In children’s health, Probiotic Kidstiks from American Health delivers 5 billion clinically-researched multi-strain cultures from three strains (Lactobacillus helveticus Rosell-52 ND, Bifidobacterium bifidum Rosell-71, and Bifidobacterium infantis Rosell-33, all from Lallemand Inc.)

In coffee/tea, Immunity from the ORGANIC INDIA Prevention Wellness Tea line, delivers a organic herbal tea blend that combines peppermint, tulsi and probiotic cultures to deliver balanced immune support.

The confectionery category could have been called the chocolate category, as all five finalists have chocolate. Alter Eco’s Organic Dark Mint Truffles, Enjoy Life Foods’ Baking Chocolate Snack Packs, Kimmie Candy’s ChocoRocks Hot Rocks, Madécasse Chocolate & Vanilla’s Honey Crystal 63% Dark Chocolate Bar and Salba Corp.’s Dark Chocolate Covered Salba Chia are the finalists in that category.

Chocolate delivers curcumin in Good Day Chocolate’s Turmeric Chocolate Supplement in the specialty supplement category.

In functional food/beverage, FitPro Go! is a gluten-free, and lactose-free protein shake made with 35 g of protein, and 10 g of carbohydrates and 2 g of fat; two of the four flavors are Chocolate and Chocolate Chip Cookies.

In sweet snacks, three of the five offerings are chocolate flavored. Otis Spunkmeyer’s Chocolate Mini Brownie Bits are bite-size treats made with a blend of cocoa and sweet chocolate. Also in the sweet snacks category, the Simple Mills’ Chocolate Chip Crunchy Cookies has 40 calories, 6 g of sugar and 11 whole-food ingredients. The sweet snacks category also has Foodstirs Modern Baking’s Organic Brooklyn Brownie Mix, which features ethically sourced Equal Exchange® organic Fair Trade chocolate chips and cocoa powder, and organic unbleached heirloom flour.

In digestive health, Nature’s Bounty Co.’s Dark Chocolate Probiotic supports digestive health with 2 billion live probiotic cultures of GanedenBC30®.

In allergen-free, Slow Foods Kitchen’s Raw Coconut Macaroons are naturally raw, vegan and gluten-free; the chocolate version is also nut free.

In breakfast foods, Native State Foods’ Purely Pinole Grab & Go Snack Cups is an Aztec recipe of roasted purple maize, chocolatey cacao and cinnamon, stone milled and served as a powerful hot cereal.

In bars, Nature’s Path’s Superfood Snack Bar is a Dark Chocolate Peanut Superfood bar made with dark chocolate chunks, roasted peanuts, creamy peanut butter and superfood ingredients like chia, hemp and coconut. Also in bars, Xyience Protein Bars’ Sea Salt Caramel has a chocolate coating with sprinkles of sea salt, 20 g of protein and 1 g of sugar.

In sports supplements, NOW Foods’ Grass-Fed Whey Protein Concentrate, available in Dutch Chocolate, is concentrated from milk collected from grass-fed cows that are pasture-raised without the use of synthetic growth hormones (rBGH), antibiotics or pesticides.

In the heart health category, Berkeley Life/Lifes2good’s supplement Berkeley Life provides dietary nitrates to help support nitric oxide (NO), and it comes with the patented Berkeley Test Nitric Oxide Saliva Strips, which tests NO levels in 10 seconds.

In multivitamin, Persona Nutrition’s propriety technology examines an individual’s diet, lifestyle, exercise and 650 potential medication interactions to help identify the nutrients an individual needs, and then sends its recommended vitamin regiment.

Breakfast can be personalized, as demonstrated in Kellogg Company’s Bear Naked Custom Made Granola, where consumers create their own custom granola from over 50 Non-GMO Project verified ingredients, and they can then customize the packaging and have their creation shipped right to their door.

In joint health, Vida Lifescience’s exoFlex™ is a liposomal egg membrane product that provides Biova LLC’s egg membrane BiovaFlex™ along with other nutrients and antioxidants into a liquid form.

In antioxidants, Seeking Health LLC’s Optimal Liposomal Glutathione Tropical contains 500 mg of the antioxidant glutathione in a liposomal delivery method for optimal absorption.

anti-aging, Vitasome Labs Inc.’s Glutasome® uses liposomal technology to promote healthy skin with glutathione (GSH), pterostilbene, vitamin C and citrus bioflavonoids in a raspberry lemonade drink mix.

In multivitamin, Empirical Labs’ Liposomal Multivitamin uses Qualisome™ to deliver 23 active ingredients.

In specialty supplements, CPR from Radical Blends Inc. combines three ingredients—coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), pyrroloquinoline Quinone (PQQ) and Rhodiola Rosea—in liposomal form for increased bioavailability for mitochondrial health and adenosine triphosphate (ATP)/energy.

In anti-aging, Reservage Nutrition’s Beauty R&R contains BioCell Collagen (from BioCell Technologies) along with L-theanine, herbs and melatonin for beauty sleep.

In joint health, Innov8 Nutraceuticals’ Rejuven8 AM has collagen types 1, 2 and 3 from a marine source with fatty acids, vitamin C and superfruit antioxidants. Patient One MediNutritionals’ Cartilage Comfort combines a patented form of undenatured type 2 collagen derived from chicken sternum cartilage (as UC-II® from Interhealth, a Lonza company) with 100 mg of Meriva® turmeric phytosome (from Indena S.p.A.) and 500 mg of Opti-MSM® (methylsulfonylmethane, from Bergstrom Nutrition).

In brain health, Nordic Naturals’ Omega Memory is a blend of 1,000 mg of omega-3s, 400 mg of optimized curcumin, 100 mg of phosphatidylcholine and 25 mcg of Huperzine A.