Emerging trends were charted at Vitafoods Asia, a nutraceutical event that showcases the latest ingredients, product developments and
technology to shape the industry through science and innovation.
“Nutraceuticals is a thriving industry in Asia and Informa Markets aims to help support the industry by providing a knowledge base and platform to support the growth of nutraceuticals in the region,” said Chris Lee, MD, Global Health & Nutrition Network Europe, Informa Markets.
First-time conference delegate and show visitor Rikhia Mazumdar, Global Senior Brand Manager for Reckitt Benckiser said that she would certainly return next year. “I've learned about new emerging trends in microbiome technology and also probiotics - that is something that you don't get sitting out of a desk job. This was very enlightening for me,” she said.
Jeff Klien, R&D Scientist for Pharmatech said, “Probiotics and collagen have been huge. And they are definitely big presences in the US market as well, but it is interesting to see how overwhelmingly present they are in Asia.”
Aoife Marie Murphy, a Nutrition Scientist for exhibitor Kerry said that there was a lot of interest in Kerry's focus areas, which include the protein space, gluten, fibres, and probiotics. "There's lots of different concepts, lots of new ingredients emerging. Protein is still a key trend and there's a move towards plant-based protein with the sustainability trends that are coming out.
"But we also see really novel innovation of ingredients with a lot of science behind them that have health benefits for the consumer. For example, there are a lot of different probiotics in terms of the need states, like healthy ageing. Sports nutrition probiotics are becoming really popular at the moment.”
Another trend is the use of collagen not just for beauty, but for healthy ageing and sports science. Josh Hemelaar, VP Sales - China/APA for GELITA, a Vitafoods Asia 2019 sponsor, said, “Sports nutrition is being reinvented with science... and collagen is becoming a huge trend.”
Vitafoods Asia hosted 7,060 international visitors from 69 countries, a rise of 24% year-on-year. The event is part of Informa Health & Nutrition, and will be held from 23-24 September 2020 at the Marina Bay Sands Exhibition and Convention Centre in Singapore.
