The panel:

Jon Benninger, Vice President & Market Leader, SupplySide, Phoenix, AZ, www.informa.com

Annie Eng, CEO, HP Ingredients, Bradenton, FL, https://hpingredients.com

Anand Godbole, Assistant Vice President, Marketing, Inventia Healthcare, Mumbai, India, www.inventiahealthcare.com

Wilson Lau, Vice President, Nuherbs, San Leandro, CA, https://nuherbs.com

Glenn MacEachern, Executive Director Product Development, Life Extension Supplement Formulators, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, www.lifeextension.com

Shaheen Majeed, President Worldwide, Sabinsa, East Windsor, NJ, https://sabinsa.com

Steve Mister, President and CEO, CRN, Washington, D.C., www.crnusa.org

Jim Roza, Chief Science Officer, Layn Natural Ingredients, Newport Beach, CA, https://layncorp.com

Elan Sudberg, CEO, Alkemist Labs, Garden Grove, CA, www.alkemist.com

Joe Weiss, President, Nutrition21, Harrison, NY, https://nutrition21.com

The coronavirus (COVID-19) has, as of press time, killed more than 2.33 million and sickened more than 108 million people over the last year. In the U.S. the first COVID-19-related stay-at-home order went into effect on March 19, 2020.

Now that some of the dust has settled and panic has subsided, it is encouraging that natural ingredient and finished product sales appear to be strong, with the natural products industry turning out to be more resilient than some had predicted.

In fact, a group of industry members has decided to do something to support the industry in the absence of in-person conventions, so the group created a platform called WhatsUpWith Supps (https://whatsupwithsupps.com), whose mantra is “industry supporting industry”—its stated mission is:

“To be the catalyst for creating connections within the Health and Nutrition products industry to promote unity, growth and innovation through networking, mentorship and professional development activities.”

They have been holding small, socially distanced networking events complete with “safety measures taken to ensure everyone’s health and safety” that include outdoor venues [when possible], temperature checks, masks and a limit on the number of attendees.

At press time, the group has held two events in New Jersey, and has an outdoor WhatsUpWithSupps event set for March 18 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

With industry in mind, we turned to a panel of experts to discuss the following, and more: How has the pandemic affected the industry? Have supply chain problems improved? How have virtual events worked out? How is the natural industry meeting the demands of consumers mid-pandemic? What other challenges and opportunities have emerged?

NIE: Many national and regional trade shows have postponed and cancelled in-person events in favor of virtual events. How are these virtual events working?

Benninger: With all of the variation among virtual events, there is also a lot of variation in the experiences, outcomes and impact of these virtual events. I expect to see ongoing innovation and experimentation, with some wins and some misses.

The key is to truly understand the needs of the market, to build solutions focused squarely on those needs, and to learn and adapt. At SupplySide, we are focused on enabling ongoing discovery and connection with SupplySide Network 365, rather than on holding a time-limited virtual trade show.

Roza: It’s been an adjustment, and has required a shift in thinking and activity. But, for the most part, virtual events have enabled the industry to stay connected and share innovations during the quarantines over the past year. While they have filled gaps that were caused by the loss of trade shows, and will undoubtedly be utilized more often in the future, the social interactions that occur in person are missed.

Eng: Virtual events work very well when the exhibitor has a realistic vantage point. But nothing truly replaces the face-to-face networking, with its spontaneous show and tell, but the opportunity to educate and impress remains the priority to take advantage of.

Internally, we have reviewed our goals for each ingredient, summarized the scientific presentations and the applications as we realize that virtually, attention is shorter than in person. This is critical to remember. Nevertheless, virtual is the norm for now.

Mister: Smart, agile companies who are listening to their customers are using this time not just to react to the pandemic, but to reinvent their customer relationships and demonstrate their value in the new normal. These are the challenges for marketers and manufacturers who have new complications in their supply chains, need to demonstrate their commitments to quality products, and want to capitalize on the burgeoning consumer interest in self-care and health maintenance. CRN also has shifted its priorities throughout the pandemic to better serve our members.

Sudberg: Some have been terrific, others a mess. What I enjoyed the most is the breakout sessions. The online events in which I have had the opportunity to participate in a moderated discussion increased my engagement and made the replacement of in-person events feel more connected.

Godbole: We consider virtual events to still be new, so we feel there are still numerous “teething issues.” Then add to it the complications of a large percentage of people working from home. As a result, scheduling meetings is sometimes a challenge. But more of a challenge is actually having the meeting.

MacEachern: These events still have great content and meaningful conversation addressing the key issues and trends affecting our industry. The difficulty with online events is, if they go too long it’s easy to start multi-tasking and not give the focus you typically would if you were at a live event.

NIE: There were persistent out-of-stock issues for suppliers in 2020. Do you see continuing issues in 2021?

Eng: The immune health ingredients that consumers are aware of, chiefly, elderberry, may have supply issues; however, we do have plenty in stock. Vitamin C and zinc, however, are often found in the marketplace as synthetically produced, so there should not be a shortage there.

Because botanicals may be in shorter supply, there may be concerns about quality, such as authenticity, purity and maturity. When an herb is harvested too early its phytochemical profile that provides the biological action may not be at full potential.

Majeed: Currently, we’re not foreseeing any major supply issues concerning the botanicals Sabinsa is involved in. However, we remain vigilant on the quality of materials that are being provided by vendors and farmers. We are finding lower assay on some materials, the wrong plant parts sometimes mixed in, and so forth, however we are able to scrutinize these types of issues, sort through them, clean and clear them before our customers face any such issues.

Weiss: Last year, there were out-of-stocks mainly in plastic bottles and certain high-demand ingredients, such as zinc. Supply chains are now catching up to demand, but lead-times with many contract manufacturers are still longer than usual. Brand marketers that have good, long-standing partnerships with their suppliers have fared better through this cycle than brands that have not made the effort to build those relationships.

Lau: I predict we will start seeing shortages of items that the pandemic didn’t drive up the sales significantly on but are now depleted, for example Angelica sinensis and chicory. Suppliers may have sold through inventory in 2020 and, for a variety of reasons, may not have restocked.

Ingredients for which manufacturers didn’t project a need (because they weren’t in high demand, like astragalus or elderberry), now, when they want the material, it’s harder to get because it is still at its point of origin rather than in the U.S., as it would be normally. Plus, all the shipping lanes are clogged, both air or ocean, so order fulfillments for those ingredients that were not priorities in 2020 are now delayed.

Godbole: We do believe that most of the supply issues are around logistics of commodity products, not so much in the actual material being available at the manufacturing level.

Roza: One important aspect of sourcing responsibly is ensuring adequate supply of raw materials while preserving the earth and its resources. It becomes an even more delicate balance when demand for certain ingredients spikes, and suppliers run into supply chain disruptions.

Fortunately, as a vertically, integrated supplier, Layn Natural Ingredients is able to provide supply chain traceability and resiliency, and has been able to meet the demands for all its botanical ingredients, while remaining true to its sustainability and quality commitments.

We do anticipate continued transportation disruptions and industry shortages of key ingredients, but we are well-positioned, having full control of our supply chain at the source.

Sudberg: Yes, absolutely I see out of stocks continuing in 2021. The industry has been through turmoil in the past but never a pandemic that increased demand and at the same time threw up so many roadblocks to obtaining ingredients and packaging, then making and shipping products. Sales are up all around but more specifically for the products touting immunity.

When immunity herbs are in short supply with regular suppliers, folks source elsewhere and may not be getting the quality they expect. And we all know that when demand increased, adulteration becomes a higher risk. The solution is to test, test, test to ensure the material is what it is supposed to be and the strength you expect.

NIE: For suppliers and ingredient manufacturers, what specific proprietary ingredients have you been promoting more heavily in 2020?

Weiss: Our newest ingredient, nooLVL, has been a major focus for us of late, especially with the surge in screen time during the pandemic and an emphasis on esports. nooLVL is a patented, clinically-tested, non-stimulant nutritional ingredient that boosts cognitive performance in gamers.

nooLVL combines an optimized dose of inositol with bonded arginine silicate. Found at high levels in the brain, inositol is important for brain health and function. It has also been shown to benefit mood and cognition. It works by increasing nitric oxide production and blood flow, allowing for enhanced delivery of oxygen and nutrients to sensitive tissues, such as the brain.

nooLVL is supported by 30 safety and efficacy studies. The most recent clinical study we conducted evaluated its effectiveness in gamers. The results of the study, which was designed specifically to be performed in a population of gamers/esport athletes, showed that the use of nooLVL as an oral supplement significantly increased cognitive function, energy and reduced errors compared to placebo. It also safely increased energy without negatively affecting heart rate or blood pressure.

Majeed: There are three main areas that our customers continue to speak to us on, those being brain health, gut health and immune. A number of customers also work probiotics into the immune category, so this cross-over is interesting to see.

The brands our customers keep coming back to are: Curcumin C3 Complex, a standardized turmeric 95 percent assay material; LactoSpore, a shelf-stable spore-based probiotic; and Bacopin, a cognitive based botanical ingredient.

We also have been looking at liver health for the past several years, and have recently introduced LivLonga, a combination of three ingredients (turmeric extract, a garcinia extract and black pepper extract) which shows promising results in maintaining normal metabolic functions of the liver.

Eng: ParActin is our top-performing ingredient that supports healthy immunity via the inflammation-management link. This is very specific and thus distinguishes the ingredient from other “immune” or “inflammation control” ingredients.

Primarily, ParActin works by regulating the activity of NFKb, the master inflammation switch. Among the total published studies (in vitro and human clinicals), ParActin has demonstrated this mechanism of action, as well as the ability to support resolving physiological concerns, such as respiratory and sinus challenges.

Roza: We have seen continued and increasing interest in our botanical extracts with high antioxidant (both technological and metabolic) activity and potent polyphenol content, such as Sophora japonica (Quercetin) extract, citrus extracts, lychee extract, mango leaf extract, grape seed extract, apple extract, pomegranate extract, bilberry extract, resveratrol, galla chenesis extract, rosemary extracts and all of our tea extracts—green tea, black tea, oolong tea and pu’er tea.

We have seen significant growth in botanical extracts targeted to support a healthy immune system, including extracts of andrographis, echinacea, garlic, broccoli seed, citrus, dandelion, echinacea, fenugreek, ginger, grape seed, honeysuckle and lychee.

Godbole: Our focus is always on our entire product line, however, obviously in the given pandemic sphere the automatic attention goes to ingredients in the immune category.

For Inventia and its Nutriventia brand our focus has been centered on two branded ingredients, TurmXTRA, an enhanced turmeric, and C-Fence, a continuous-release vitamin C. A large amount of our promotion for these ingredients has included video-podcasting content and social media marketing.

Lau: We currently are promoting two offerings, which are much needed services rather than proprietary ingredients:

• Our supply chain management abilities: we can help manage our customers’ ingredient needs, whether it be herbs or herbal extracts. We work with our clients to create a 12-18 month plan for an ingredient or ingredients and source the material and warehouse it for them, until they need it. This prevents any last minute supply delays because we are always looking four to six months out.

• Our bespoke extracts: we are making ingredients that are fit for purpose for our clients’ needs. This can be creating a unique ingredient to meet their delivery requirements, developing an ingredient’s supply chain to meet their sustainability requirements, or it could just be something as simple as they want the ingredient to not have a carrier, when possible. We’re able to make extremely customized, very specific ingredients to order.

NIE: Recently, two bills were introduced in New York that aim to restrict “the sale of over-the-counter diet pills and dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building.” What are your comments about bills such as these?

Eng: While policing is always welcome by companies that are authentic and transparent, there can be too much restriction and oversight. That said, there are consumers whose goal is to look great by any means possible (losing weight/fat and building muscle) and therefore may be vulnerable to predatory companies and products that overpromise and not only under-deliver but may be dangerous. It really forces all of us to stand firmly behind the claims we make.

Sudberg: From a personal standpoint, I fear this is a slippery slope toward other government control and wonder what is next? I’d prefer to see the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) simply regulate harder using the ample authority it already has and finally take out the bad players, rather than remove legitimate product categories from the market.

Weiss: Dietary supplements are already regulated by FDA and FTC (Federal Trade Commission). These state-level regulations are burdensome to small businesses, not to mention completely unnecessary. A classic case of a solution in search of a problem.

NIE: Has COVID-19 given companies the chance to spotlight their own pandemic-conscious values and USPs? If so, how?

MacEachern: Life Extension has always put customer service and customer relationships first. Regardless of the times, Life Extension remains true to our mission and develops products based on science and delivers products with the highest purity, potency and quality.

Weiss: Companies have needed to make a lot of quick decisions in the pandemic with regard to managing their workforce and the companies that care about their people have risen to the challenge. Also, in a peak demand environment, there can be a temptation to cut corners in quality. Again, this is where the strongest companies shine and maintain their high standards.

Sudberg: COVID-19 has been an opportunity to deploy corporate values like never before. While we have numerous case studies for nearly every scenario, we are now the case study.

My favorite value we have written on our wall in the lobby is “Reciprocity.” It means treat people how you want to be treated. These are trying times and while we are all still employed and most of us healthy, some are not so fortunate. Some of our staffs’ relatives or friends are not so fortunate. We are all dealing with trauma at a new level and it’s important to be a conscious leader.

It’s also been a time where it was important for us to share what we have been seeing in the marketplace to help companies know what to look out for.

For example, we found a company using a fake Certificate of Analysis (C of A) that originally came from us but was doctored to try to sell a lot of elderberry we never tested, and so we made sure the industry knew that sort of thing was happening. We encouraged anyone getting a C of A saying it was from us to call to confirm it was indeed something we tested.

While we appreciate that our reputation is such that a test from us gives reassurance, it also means we have to guard that reputation by helping to catch charlatans.

NIE: Pro or con, the previous White House administration worked to eliminate or reduce regulations for industries, in general. Do you have any indications where the new administration (and the agency heads it hires) may be headed regarding regulations, in general, or the natural products industry, more specifically?

Mister: CRN anticipates that the new Biden Administration is likely to emphasize enforcement of current regulations more than the previous administration. Industry is likely to see renewed focus at the FTC on consumer protection issues, so we are expecting to see more investigations of false and deceptive advertising.

FDA began returning to in-person inspections in July 2020 and CRN expects they will increase as the vaccine becomes more available. It is likely that the agency will remain focused on adulterated products in the marketplace, particularly products or ingredients with illegal COVID-related claims.

While we wait for a new confirmed FDA commissioner, the industry is not likely to see dramatic shifts in new regulatory initiatives at FDA, but more attention to enforcement of existing ones. CRN looks forward to working with the new administration and welcomes a heightened review of the industry to help create a safer and stronger supplement marketplace.

Sudberg: I am personally conflicted about this. As a testing lab, I appreciate regulations and think there is some wiggle room to get even more strict, like Australia’s TGA. At the same time, I stand for medical freedom and do not appreciate nor trust the government to make decisions on my behalf for my health nor for the health of my family.

The fact is, we are regulated. There are not enough cops on the ground to “get the bad guys.” More regulation of the dietary supplement industry won’t help if there is no one to enforce it.

Regulations are largely consumer protections, so I’d like to see the FDA more aggressively protect consumers by getting the bad actors out of the business.

Eng: The new administration, we believe, does indeed have Americans’ best interests at heart, as did the previous one. Therein, they are both alike.

According to law firm Greenberg Traurig, President Biden and his administration may likely take a renewed interest in creating and ensuring oversight for the natural products industry, and create a body that seriously looks into defining—legally—the still nebulous terms “natural” and “healthy.”

If this can be accomplished, we welcome it, as our company is based on scientific facts that create clear definitions and parameters. This will transform the industry, and for the better.

Roza: What position the new administration and the FDA will take remains to be seen. Hopefully they will continue to see the value that’s already embodied in the Code of Federal Regulations as it applied to our industry. Historically, however, some of the industry’s major opponents have come from the Democrat side of the aisle, and so we may see more attempts to restrict the use or sale of dietary supplements.

NIE: Briefly, what are your predictions for the natural products industry for the remainder of 2021?

Eng: Consumers worldwide are much more interested in natural prevention and building up resilience to risk, which is great. But this causes hyperactive growth in demand that likely will not abate in the foreseeable future. As an industry, it is prudent to diagram how to fulfill the demand while ensuring safety and quality.

Weiss: We remain bullish for this industry in 2021. With the worst hopefully behind us and the economy on the rebound, we are optimistic that those who have made significant lifestyle changes in light of the pandemic have created lasting behaviors that will continue to sustain growth in our products well into the future.

Roza: We are in the era of self care. Forever changed. We’re seeing a younger population gravitate more towards supplementation partially due to all new delivery formats—from functional foods, beverages, bars and gummies, to dermal patches and topical applications.

We see the number of health conditions that were once the realm of an older population filter down to a younger generation due to increased stress, improper sleep and other factors such as diet and the environment.

Sudberg: It is my prediction that this pandemic is part of a wave of pandemics. The experimental vaccines will be rolled out and taken by many, but the virus will continue to mutate and next year, along with the flu shot everyone rushes to get, there will be an additional new COVID-19 vaccine. It will become routine.

For the natural products industry this means health and dietary supplementation will remain as a headline and we will all thrive as this industry tries to keep up with the increased demand for natural alternatives to drugs to stay healthy. NIE

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