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Contact: Cécile Da Cunha Job title: Senior product manager Company: INGREDIA Contact: i.communication@ingredia.com Visit us: www.lactium.com
1How have you seen COVID-19 influence cognitive health priorities amongst customers and consumers? How is your company innovating to fit into the future market vision?
Stress, anxiety, burn out, sleeping disturbances have risen sharply in the past year due to the uncertainties of COVID-19, and this reflected in high demand for our stress management solution Lactium®, as for the category in general.
For instance, when stress management supplements in the USA had a very low penetration of 4% prior to COVID-19, it has doubled to 8% in just one year, a consequence of more stressful times but also of consumers turning to more natural solutions. This is a trend our customers expect to last, and which drives them to revamp their portfolio and innovate.
Already strong with 9 clinical studies in 500+ patients in stress and sleep, we are covering quite well the current main expectations of the market but will carry on providing more studies. We also currently investigate other medical areas that may be impacted by stress and hope to provide proof of efficacy in the coming years in such fields.
2In what areas of cognitive health products are your ingredients ideally suited for formulation?
We are classically incorporated in formulas against stress and/or sleep disturbances where our studies and claims are most numerous. But we increasingly see our customers positioning Lactium® on burn-out, clarity of mind, concentration and other positionings linked to stress and to mental wellness more largely speaking.
Lactium® is very appreciated for how easy it is to formulate: capsules are the number one finished product form, but you can find it in gummies, functional beverages or snack bars for instance.
3How do you define your company’s point of differentiation & advantages in the market?
Level of scientific proof is at the very core of our differentiation with our bioactive Lactium® and is still going to be our strongest focus, together with gaining additional claims.
In addition, we have a communication strategy of our own, targeting altogether clients, health professionals and consumers. We recently made a web series where health professionals would educate about the multiple impacts of stress.
This format provides insights to our customers but also everyday tips for consumers. As we are often building co-branding partnerships with our customers, we want to make sure our digital content gives extra credibility to their formulas.
4Are you currently investing new scientific research, claims support, regulatory insights or other collaborative approaches to better support your customers targeting the cognitive health consumer?
Yes, it is part of the everyday job at Ingredia!
Study protocols are quite disturbed with the ever-changing lives of patients during COVID-19, but we are indeed working on new claims to help our customers convince end consumers in different geographical areas.
Cognitive health will keep on being a strong focus of our future scientific studies.
Contact: Tony Gay Job title: Head of Technician for Nutrition Company: Prinova Europe Contact: info@prinovaglobal.com Visit us: www.prinovaglobal.com/eu/
COVID-19 has had a major impact on many consumers, including increased fatigue and stress levels. As such, it’s little surprise there’s been a dramatic rise in demand for products with cognitive health benefits1.
The pandemic has also increased interest in natural ingredients.2 As a result, botanical extracts with nootropic qualities like ashwagandha, curcumin and bacopa are very on-trend. We offer a wide array of botanical extracts, vitamins and minerals with scientifically proven cognitive benefits, helping manufacturers deliver the products today’s consumers want.
Lockdowns increased interest in video games, too. Research shows gamers frequently buy energy drinks and other products to improve performance3, so there’s huge potential for cognitive health products in this field. We’ve developed nootropic concepts including canned drinks and powders that may boost concentration, memory, cognition, stamina and more to help gaming performance.
Most cognitive health products are sold as capsules, tablets and soft gels, but there’s significant untapped demand for powders, supplements and beverages with nootropic benefits. We expect beverages to play a huge role in driving the market as they’re very easy to consume. Gummies are another convenient delivery format with real potential. With lower active ingredient inclusions per gummy and sweet taste, they bridge the gap between mainstream confectionery and nutritional supplements.
We offer many nootropic ingredients plus full product development support for beverages, ready-to-mix powders, gummies, capsules and tablets.
3How do you define your company’s point of differentiation and advantages in the market?
Our global reach means we can source more than 2,000 raw materials including sweeteners, flavours, proteins, amino acids, vitamins and more, so we can provide a one-stop shop for manufacturers. We can service customers from straight individual raw material demands to premixes for product fortification, and further down the chain to value-added and product development services.
Our vast nootropics portfolio includes vitamins, minerals, botanical extracts and research-substantiated branded ingredients. Our differentiation is in the integrated supply solutions we offer. Our nutritional blends are customised to individual customer demands and we provide product concepts including branded ingredients such as Bacopin, Shagandha and ZeaLutein.
Prinova is also vertically integrated. We predominantly buy direct from material manufacturers for our distribution business, giving us on-hand inventory and competitive price advantage for our premix solutions business.
We work with numerous innovative branded ingredient manufacturers that not only provide consumer brands with product differentiation but also ingredients backed by significant research to illustrate efficacy. Sabinsa, Compound Solutions and Aquamin are just a few examples.
Through our network of customers in both raw materials and premixes, we provide collaborative solutions for a variety of applications including beverages, supplements, gummies, sachets and gels.
As a global player with access to a number of market data sources, we can also provide customers with insights into the latest trends and link these directly with product concept ideas.
1. FMCG Gurus 'The Growing Importance of Cognitive Health' (2021) 2. FMCG Gurus 'The Future of Naturalness' (2020) 3. Newzoo '80% of Gamers Regularly Eat or Drink While Playing: Gamer Consumption Habits in North America, Western Europe & APAC' (2020)
Contact: Milan Herczku, Gergely Pasztor Job title: CEO & Founder(s) Company: Gemil Pharma Contact: info@gemilpharma.com Visit us: www.gemilpharma.com
Cognitive health has been a growing concern across a wide range of consumers even prior to COVID-19. There are multiple factors fueling this trend, being pressure and stress one of the most important, as most of us experience these in all aspects of our lives.
Regardless of the life stage we are in, tension, stress, anxiety and the constant drive for perfection has started to take a toll on our lives. Isolation and uncertainty during the pandemic has exacerbated the situation for most. It is easy to forget that our mind & body are not limitless sources of energy, and we must find ways to recharge and restore.
The most important source of this daily regeneration is getting sufficient & quality sleep. In fact, in 2019 the WHO declared the lack of quality sleep a pandemic among industrialised nations! There is a strong correlation between good quality sleep and a healthy psyche. Poor sleep could result in emotional imbalance, losing the ability to feel content and happiness, exhaustion and producing other symptoms of depression. The lack of restorative sleep alters the way our brains process input from the outside world.
Recognizing the importance of quality sleep, and the literally life-saving positive impacts of all the regenerative functions our body performs during sleep, GEMIL Pharma has created the Nottevit brand.
2What ingredients make up the formulation of your finished product and in which areas of cognitive health products do they apply?
Nottevit is a unique, dual-action stress relief & sleep aid brand: it helps to relieve evening stress and enhances sleep while simultaneously targeting different regenerative functions of the body to support a specific night-time maintenance process. All Nottevit products contain non-addictive herbs and additional natural, high quality, controlled ingredients with guaranteed active ingredient content.
In the area of supporting cognitive health our product is called Nottevit Happy Sleep. It is a dual-action sleep-aid formula with further mood enhancing ingredients. It works during sleep so that we can enjoy the benefits during the day. Our vegan capsules support mental health via stress relief and promoting the cognitive restorative functions performed during quality sleep via standardized valerian, passionflower and hops extracts. Each capsule includes three additional high-quality ingredients for increased positive mental health impact: mood enhancing premium Persian saffron extract, active vitamin B6 and magnesium, which support the healthy functioning of the nervous system.
As cited earlier, we take the sleep-aid category one step further with our dual-action products also supporting one specific night-time maintenance processes of our body. Currently, we market four different Nottevit products. We’ll continue to expand the portfolio targeting specific areas of night-time regeneration. Our standards for quality and attention to detail don’t stop at the formulation of the products. For instance, they come in boxes that have a soothing, ‘soft touch’ surface and our moon shaped key visuals glow in the dark (fluorescent).
We are always on the lookout for the latest innovation in ingredients and we appreciate partnerships with branded ingredient suppliers who share the same standards for quality. In addition, we plan to partner with a renowned brain scientist for our imminent product development efforts. Some of these will cover further areas of cognitive health tailored to different consumer groups and their challenges.
Quality sleep and night time regeneration will only become more relevant in the near future as it is one of the most – if not the most - important pillar of our cognitive and overall wellbeing and health.
Contact: Martyna Denkowska Job title: Business Development Mngr Company: Curtis Health Caps S.A. Contact: bd@chc.com.pl Visit us: www.chc.com.pl/en/
Cognitive health is extremely important in the era of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic – it has shown, among others, that more than half of the people experienced an increase in stress and insomnia during the pandemic. The data indicate that the above is also noted in the trends on the pharmaceutical market. In addressing the key needs of patients, CHC expanded its portfolio to include products intended for mental health support.
Products carefully developed by CHC include, among others, vitamin D, adequate levels of which may reduce the risk of depression; and, if it does occur, adequate supplementation may reduce severity of mood swings and sleep difficulties. CHC manufactures various forms of soft capsules, such as twist-off capsules, suckable capsules and chewable capsules, which children have grown to love.
The deficiency of certain compounds, which is significantly associated with increased incidence of mood disorders include: zinc, magnesium, coenzyme Q10, or omega-3 fatty acids. Their effectiveness in alleviating symptoms and improving mood has been demonstrated in randomized clinical studies. CHC products containing the above mentioned compounds are offered in the form of easy to swallow soft gelatin capsules and easy to dose syrups.
Sleep challenges can also be addressed with melatonin. In addition, it has been shown to support immune function and has anti-inflammatory effects. CHC offers melatonin product as an easy-to-apply spray, without the need to wash it down with water. The product is ideal for vegans and vegetarians.
3How do you define your company’s point of differentiation and advantages on the market?
What's most important is that cooperation with CHC is adjusted to the expectations of the customer from a given segment of the pharmaceutical market.
We are flexible and adapt to different market needs. If the customer expects quick implementation while maintaining very high product quality, we offer the so-called “Ready to Market” list of standard formulations, including medical devices and medicinal products.
Development and manufacturing of products at CHC is covered by comprehensive services at all stages of work – from the idea to the finished product.
4Are you currently investing new scientific research, claims support, regulatory insights or other collaborative approaches to better support your customers’ targeting the cognitive health consumer?
CHC fully supports our customers in developing new products’ compositions and provide regulatory service. We propose the formulation of new food supplements based on the current market trends, monographs and scientific studies, as well as on the latest expert recommendations.
