Product trends as demonstrated by SupplySide West Editors Choice Award finalists

Finalists from the SupplySide West Editor's Choice Award show what's hot in consumer packaged goods: curcumin, probiotics, chocolate, collagen, personalized nutrition and liposomes.

Sandy Almendarez, VP of Content

November 1, 2018

8 Min Read
Product trends as demonstrated by SupplySide West Editors Choice Award finalists

The SupplySide West Editor’s Choice Award prides itself on finding the coolest innovations in happening product categories, and this year’s crop of finalists does not disappoint. We had our annual tasting in our Phoenix offices to vote on the winners of each category.

Our process starts with each editor choosing the finalist for a few categories—I had multivitamin, specialty curcumin, specialty supplement and children’s products—and then all the editors vote to determine the winners. Five consumer packaged goods (CPG) products were selected by the SupplySide editorial team for achievements in innovation and market impact in 27 categories.

Seeing all the finalists in person, on one table, shows the trends across categories. Here are the top six trends we’re seeing in new product launches, as demonstrated by the SupplySide Editor’s Choice Award finalists.

Curcumin

This was such a trend, we created a category for it after submission closed. We called it “specialty curcumin" because we didn’t want to take away the great curcumin products from other categories.

  • 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.

Heather Granato, vice president of content, reviews functional foods and beverages.

Probiotics

Of course we have a probiotics category, but the little bugs pop up in several other categories in addition.

  • 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.

Rachel Adams, managing editor, tries products in the sports nutrition food and beverage category.

Chocolate

As a tasty delivery system, chocolate is a winner this year.

  • 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.

Personalized nutrition

Nutrition tailored to individual consumers seems like a daunting task for mass producers of packaged goods, but several companies are getting it right.

  • 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.

Sandy Almendarez, editor in chief, examines products in the weight management category.

Liposomes

Liposomes encapsulate lypophilic and hydrophilic nutrients allowing them to bypass the destructive elements of the gastric system to boost bioavailability.

  • 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.

Collagen

Collagen may be best known for its potential to help aid skin appearance and tissue health, recent launches are also promoting its benefits to joint and cognitive health.

  • 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.

The winners of the SupplySide West Editor’s Choice Awards will be announced at SupplySide West, at the SupplySide Central stage on Wednesday, Sept. 27 and Thursday, Sept. 28, at 1:30 to p.m. each day. We’ll be awarding the supplement winners on Wednesday, and the food and beverage winners, presented by Cargill, on Thursday.

About the Author

Sandy Almendarez

VP of Content, Informa

Summary

• Well-known subject matter expert within the health & nutrition industry with more than 15 years’ experience reporting on natural products.

• She cares a lot about how healthy products are made, where their ingredients are sourced and how they affect human health.

• She knows that it’s the people behind the businesses — their motivations, feelings and emotions — drive industry growth, so that’s where she looks for content opportunities.

Sandy Almendarez is VP of Content for SupplySide and an award-winning journalist. She oversees the editorial and content marketing teams for the B2B media brands SupplySide Supplement Journal and SupplySide Food & Beverage Journal, the education programming for the health and nutrition trade shows SupplySide Connect New Jersey and SupplySide West, the education program SupplySide Fresh for industry newcomers and community engagement across the SupplySide portfolio. She is a seasoned content strategist with a passion for health, good nutrition, sustainability and inclusion. With over 15 years of experience in the health and nutrition industry, Sandy brings a wealth of knowledge to her role as a content-focused business leader. With specialization in topics ranging from product development to content engagement, creative marketing and c-suite decision making, her work is known for its engaging style and its relevance for business leaders in the health and nutrition industry.

In her free time, Sandy loves running, drinking hot tea and watching her two kids grow up. She brews her own “Sandbucha” homemade kombucha; she’s happy to share if you’re ever in Phoenix!

Awards:

Speaker credentials

Resides in

  • Phoenix, AZ

Education

  • Arizona State University

Contact:

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