As most recently seen at the NACS trade show in early October, the borders separating supplements from mainstream food and beverage products are more porous than ever, creating unseen opportunities for capturing new day parts, use occasions and functional benefits. And just a few weeks later at Supply Side West, the ingredient supplier show held Oct. 23 to 27 in Las Vegas, the close bonds between those two worlds were further confirmed.
But across the frontier of innovation, it’s hard to tell where the truly fertile soil lies — melatonin-free sleep aids? Brain-boosting, caffeine-free energy? Good old whey protein?
What we’re saying, basically, is it helps to have a guide.
CPG consultant and BevNET contributor Joshua Schall was on the show floor in Las Vegas to check out the latest trends and developments, but also to get a sense of the current status of long-tail movements like gut health and mental acuity as they permeate mainstream consumer products.
In conversation with BevNET managing editor Martin Caballero, Schall unpacked his insights and takeaways from Supply Side West, sharing his thoughts as to why Kyowa Hakko USA’s Cognizin may have broken out from the pack of brain-boosting ingredients, why fighting against caffeine is likely a losing battle and what’s in the future for sweeteners.