DOSAGE DELIVERY TRENDS IN THE SPORTS NUTRITION MARKET
The sports nutrition market has historically been the pioneer and trendsetter for supplement products. This still rings true in today’s market as athletes and trainers are usually the first to adopt cutting-edge products. While sports nutrition had its beginnings as a niche market for elite athletes, the supplements industry has exploded as fitness trends and consumer health awareness have risen dramatically.
From Millennials pursuing healthy lifestyles to seniors recognizing the benefits of staying mobile and independent, the sports nutrition market, or active nutrition market as it is sometimes called, has drawn interest from a wide variety of groups. Garnering more attention in this booming market is the mechanism of dosage delivery. Innovative ways to deliver nutritional supplements have been developed to improve the effectiveness of the product and satisfy consumer demands for comfort and convenience.
Clean Eating Dosage Delivery
As sports nutrition and active nutrition are often paired with healthy eating choices by consumers, it’s no wonder that popular dosage delivery methods are in line with these lifestyle choices. Vegetarian and vegan delivery forms are increasing in popularity as well as organic products.
Similarly, many athletes and bodybuilders are choosing products known as “free from” that lack many of the traditional supplement additives such as fillers, lubricants, and colorings. Even without these ingredients that are often meant to make the supplements more palatable, consumers are demanding products that are easy to consume and fast-acting without an off-putting aftertaste.
Supplement Capsules
Capsules are the leading delivery form for sports nutrition and the wider supplement market according to the 2018 Supplements, Over-the-Counter, and RX Database published by the National Marketing Institute (NMI). With 41% of the market, capsules were followed in popularity by tablets and soft gels.
Capsule Innovations
Capsules offer consumers a convenient delivery method that satisfies clean label requirements. Innovations in capsules have led to the ability to withstand stomach acid long enough to allow for the product to be released inside the small intestine. This is extremely important for ingredients such as creatine, enzymes, amino acids, and probiotics that break down in highly acidic environments.
Other hard capsules that can be made from gelatin, fish polymers, or from plants are able to keep oxygen from deteriorating the effectiveness of certain supplements. Resveratrol, krill oil, L-carnitine, L-arginine, and HMB are often delivered with these hard capsules to ensure the supplements are absorbed by the body without being adversely affected by oxygen exposure.
Dosage delivery in the sports nutrition market is more important than ever. It is imperative that supplement formulators understand the nuances of each supplement and how to maximize its effectiveness while satisfying consumer demands.
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