Vegetarian Capsules: A Form of Choice

Vegetarian Capsules: A Form of Choice
by Robert Whitelaw

The explosive growth of healthier lifestyles and vegetarian diets over recent years continues to present an exciting opportunity for dietary supplement manufacturers. This vibrant consumer segment has reached a point at which 25 percent of the U.S. population reports regularly making vegetarian choices, according to HealthFocus. This represents a potential market of 70 million American consumers. Whats more, the market potential represents long-term business growth, as the Natural Vegetarian Resource Group (NVRG) estimated Americans aged 18 to 34 are more likely than other age groups to make vegetarian choices. This youth trend to vegetarian is promising for the continued growth of this segment.

The opportunity lies in the fact that these vegetarian-minded consumers will continue to demand a variety of healthier, more natural options for their lifestyles. By offering new products and developing line extensions manufacturers have an unprecedented opportunity to meet the needs of these health-conscious consumers. In fact, Vegetarian Journal reported 69 percent of vegetarians acknowledge the benefits of using dietary supplements, creating a large, predisposed group seeking out vitamin/mineral/supplement products.

From Niche to Mainstream

In the early 1990s, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rejected the 35-year-old Four Basic Food Groups model in favor of the healthier Food Pyramid, which encouraged the addition of more vegetables, whole grains and fruits to the recommended daily food intake. This gave vegetarianisma niche market at the timea reason to explode onto the mainstream. The movement gained considerable visibility and momentum, and the market has never looked back.

Over time, consumers around the world have increasingly adopted a healthier, more natural lifestyle, and a large part of these consumers use some form of the term vegetarian to describe themselves. Add to this the fact that all consumers, vegetarian or not, have taken a more active role in managing their own health care (NVRG noted 94 percent of consumers make buying decisions based on health reasons), and it is easy to see why this is a consumer group worth pursuing.

Making the Vegetarian Choice

Consumers make vegetarian choices for a number of different reasons. Many consumers who make vegetarian choices do so because they insist on animal-free products, driven by personal, cultural or religious restrictions, or simply a preference not to consume animalbased products. Other consumers regularly choose vegetarian products because they want to follow a healthy lifestyle. These consumers are concerned with general good health and well-being, as well as driven by health concerns such as heart disease, breast cancer, high cholesterol and weight control. And some consumers choose vegetarian because they are moved by ethical considerations, citing the environment and/or animal welfare.

Furthermore, for vegetarian populations in particular, it isnt price, packaging or convenience that dictates their supplement choice.Vegetarian Journal found vegetarians were more likely to buy a new supplement if vegetarian, organic or healthy is featured.

Regardless of the reasons that drive their decisions, the fact remains that consumers are looking for choices that align with the particular lifestyle they have selected, and its up to dietary supplement manufacturers to offer those choices.

Preferences Influences Dosage Selection

When it comes to dietary supplements, consumers indicate a preference for the capsule dosage form. In fact, six out of every 10 users of supplements prefer capsules, according to a 2002 study from Advanced Analytics. Nearly half of consumers (49 percent) report that it would be worth paying more for a supplement offered in capsule form. Why? Because these consumers report that capsules are easier to swallow, they work faster and there is no unpleasant taste. Other dosage forms do not share these benefits.

Now manufacturers have viable non-animal alternatives, and the vegetarian capsule segment has grown to $200 million in the $20 billion dietary supplement market, according to ACNielsen/SPINScan data. This growth is especially important when it is noted that other dosage forms within the supplement category have flat or declining growth.

During this meteoric rise of vegetarian capsules, two materials have come to the forefront of non-animal alternatives: HPMC and pullulan.

The first non-animal vegetarian capsule used a material called HPMC, which incorporates a plant cellulose-based shell. This vegetarian alternative to gelatin responds to consumers need for a non-animal choice. The HPMC vegetarian capsule is well suited for moisturesensitive formulations, and is ideal for enteric coating and delayedrelease formulations.

Since 2002, when it was introduced in capsule form in Japan, pullulan has provided another non-animal alternative for vegetarian capsules. Pullulan is a natural, water-soluble polysaccharide, obtained through a natural fermentation process. It has been used in various manufacturing applications, including foods, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, since the early 1970s.

A study presented by E.T. Cole at the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists 2004 meeting, noted in capsule form, pullulan combines the inherent advantages of the capsule dosage formspeed of action and easy-to-swallow while masking taste and odorwith superior technical advantages: rapid disintegration, low oxygen permeability and excellent stability. Its low oxygen permeability excels in preventing oxygen transmission, serving to minimize oxidization of the materials contained in the capsule.

Since vegetarian capsules were introduced, suppliers have invested heavily in improving the process and making them easier to run. High waste factors and high initial development costs have been brought under control and turned into a smoother, more cost-effective process. In fact, advances in manufacturing and new polymer technology have led to greatly increased satisfaction with the finished product.

Whats Ahead

The vegetarian market has translated to strong growth for both natural supermarkets as well as mainstream food/drug/mass retailers. The natural supermarket consumer is showing high demand for vegetarian-based options, claiming 93 percent of the $41 million in sales, according to SPINS. There is also strong movement in the mainstream food/drug/mass channel, where vegetarian capsules have seen a 46-percent increase in supplement sales. This growth in sales is occurring at the same time that sales are declining for other forms, including those forms that are among the top selling.

What does this mean to supplement manufacturers? It indicates a real opportunity to reach this discerning consumer base. Think in terms of the kinds of products offered, what new products these informed and discriminating consumers will want next and how products can be packaged to appeal to health-conscious consumers.

Robert Whitelaw is the director of sales and marketing, Americas Region, for Capsugel (www.capsugel.com), a division of Pfizer Inc., a leading capsule supplier to the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical marketplaces.