Nutritional ingredients are the foundation of healthy foods and beverages, dietary supplements, and natural personal care and household products. Popular nutritional ingredients include omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, probiotics, fiber, whey and other proteins, enzymes, and numerous herbs and botanicals.

In the United States, novel ingredients such as omega-3s or probiotics often show up first in dietary supplement products before migrating over to the functional food and beverage category.