Industry execs dish: 10 thoughts from thought leaders
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The art of the deal in the nutrition industry is alive and well. The top 10 list of trending issues are right here, right now.
Supplements grew 7.5 percent and are now a $32.5 billion industry. The big growth is coming from a 15 percent spike in meal replacements, and a 12 percent gain for sports nutrition. And this is due to sports nutrition in general and protein specifically broadening its appeal from bodybuilders looking to get bigger to better nutrition for the masses.
Absent any movement from the FDA or federal government, the shifting use of the hot and sweet term “natural” is coming to be defined by lawsuits hitting companies that are playing fast and loose with “natural” on product labels.
The Food Safety Modernzation Act (FSMA) has embedded in it a rule concerning the Foreign Supplier Verificaiton Programs (FSVP). Under this rule, the FDA plans to have importers verify that suppliers located outside the U.S. abide by U.S. GMP requirements just like U.S.-based suppliers must. This is expected to add to the cost of ingredients. Comments on the proposed rule are due Nov. 26, 2013, with a final rule expected in the summer of 2015.
“We see potential in probiotics – we’ve just started with probiotics in the U.S.,” said Manuela Buxo, from Bayer Consumer Health. “The probiotics market is much more developed in other parts of the world. The science around probiotics is increasing, and we are also seeing regulations stepping up.”
Two words: tipping point. Doug Jones from The Vitamin Shoppe took the stage at the 2013 NBJ Summit and declared that we will see more of alternative sweeteners. “National Geographic had sugar on its cover – it’s not so sweet,” said Jones. “And then another number of pages talked about the growth and rates of diabetes. Moms are tuned into high fructose corn syrup, they’re into healthy, natural alternatives. We’ll see more emphasis on the natural sweetener market. There’s a need to have sugar alternatives. There’s a healthy balance between the two.”
The Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act of 1994 “was a perfect law for an industry in its infancy,” said one industry insider. “But at $30 billion, we are now pushed away from food and toward medicine. If you’re going to be medicine, that flirts with the pharma model.” Look for: • Pre-market registration system • Pre-market GMP inspection • Pre-market proof of safety • Disease claims driven by science • Exclusivity on claims backed by science
OK, we get it that DSHEA is in need of some touch-up work. That probably won’t happen in this government-starved political era. So what’s the story with regs already on the books that are haunting execs? We asked industry attorney Ivan Wasserman. “In summary,” said Wasserman, “GMPs, NDIs, claims, claims, claims, claims, claims. And AERs and the amount of time the industry vs. FDA thinks is appropriate to respond to AERs.”
Do third-party seals on product labels that tell consumers how great a product is really matter? According to a panel of industry experts, maybe so and maybe not. Tom Tolworthy from TwinLab said that seals “help consumers understand,” though he cautioned that “the execution of that will be a lot more difficult than the idea.” However, the thinking is that quality seals must be truly independent, and not from an industry self-policing perspective. “Take an independent agency, like the Cleveland Clinic or the American Heart Association,” said Bayer’s Manuela Buxo. “On some of our brands we’ve had good experience with such endorsements.” On the other side of the happiness spectrum is Doug Jones from The Vitamin Shoppe, who said, “Most of the time consumers go right past them.”
We are an industrious people, especially those in the U.S., U.K. and Germany. First-world working stiffs working eight more weeks than we used to. Is that sustainable? Who cares, just give us solutions! On the one hand, we have Red Bulls, 5-Hour Energies and other caffeinated concoctions aimed at keeping our noses primed to the grindstone. On the other is an emerging paradigm of feeding the brain with more nutritious nutrients, from healthy fats (the brain is mostly made of fat, after all) like DHA, PS (phosphatidylserine), to specialty ingredients like L-carnitine and magnesium threonate, and botanicals like vinpocetine and huperzine-A. The issue for entrepreneurs is that there is a wide gulf between what consumers want and what's available on the market. That spells opportunity!
“The No. 1 predictor of longevity is conscientiousness,” said brain doc Daniel Amen, M.D. “If you show up when you say you’ll show up, you’ll live longer. The “don’t worry be happy” people die earliest from accidents and preventable illnesses. A little anxiety is OK.”
“The No. 1 predictor of longevity is conscientiousness,” said brain doc Daniel Amen, M.D. “If you show up when you say you’ll show up, you’ll live longer. The “don’t worry be happy” people die earliest from accidents and preventable illnesses. A little anxiety is OK.”
Didn't have what it takes to attend the 2013 NBJ Summit at the St. Regis hotel in Dana Point, California this summer? Or maybe you did go but you spent just enough time networking that you missed some of the most insightful comments from the stage and ship? Relax - we've got the story all distilled here (and no, we're not talking about single-malt scotch either).
For a more detailed story on the top concerns of industry heavies, we invite you to check out this business monograph report from Nutrition Business Journal / Engredea.
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