There are plenty of reasons one might skip a regular meal in favor of a meal replacement shake or other food item. They are quick, portable and convenient, and the ones low in calories can help with weight loss or maintenance.

“The category has benefited greatly from the increasing pace of today’s society, and as a result, the category as a whole has shown steady growth,” said Barry Spors R&D director with California-based Nutegrity (Cyvex Nutrition, Wisconsin Specialty Protein and InCon Processing, all subsidiaries of Omega Protein Corporation).

“Meal replacement products (MRP) have become a popular attempt to make up for missed or imbalanced meals,” added Jack Grogan, CN, chief science officer with Michigan-based Uckele Health & Nutrition. 

“Today’s busy lifestyle often doesn’t leave enough time for well-planned, balanced meals, which can ultimately lead to excess body fat and poor nutrition,” he said. “Eating on the run or missing meals can lead to overconsumption of fast foods high in sugar, sodium and fat, and inadequate protein and fiber intake. Poor diet can lead to physical, mental and emotional fatigue causing food cravings, over-reliance on sweets and caffeinated beverages, irritability or an inability to focus or concentrate.”

While snack and energy bars may be more prevalent at this time, quality meal replacements are making strong headway into the market because they Are quite a bit more effective, Grogan added. “Energy bars can actually create metabolic imbalances due to the fact that some are just glorified candy bars that contain ingredients like hydrogenated oils, saturated fat, and sugar or sugar alcohols—and they can be very high in calories.”

In the past few years, there has been an increased focus on stocking powders in most natural products stores, noted Brandon Bert, co-founder and president of Amazing Grass in California. “Plantbased proteins are particularly popular, and that segment is appealing to a wide variety of consumers from athletes to families on-the-go,” he said. “Consumers are looking for whole food nutrition that is convenient but also tastes good. Energy bars are also popular, but increasingly we find consumers looking for whole food plant-based energy bars as opposed to the overly processed bars of yesterday.”

Formulation Advancements 

According to Grogan, the most absorbable and effective formulations contain higher quality and amounts of protein that more efficiently simulate the protein contained in a complete meal. They’ll also use all natural vitamin and mineral forms, rather than synthetics that are more biologically available. 

“In terms of protein, whey protein isolate is dominating the higher quality MRP formulas,” Grogan explained. 

“Long considered the gold standard of proteins, it is derived from milk and is one of the highest quality proteins ever measured. Plant-based proteins are not as biologically complete or as active and cannot as effectively protect and improve lean body mass. Nevertheless, there are very good plant-based proteins, such as rice or pea that come close to whey protein isolate’s performance, price, digestibility and sustainability for those for whom whey is not an option.” 

Some benefits of plant-based proteins include the fact that they’re gluten-free (as is whey protein isolate), vegetarian-based, totally lactose-free, are not derived from milk and are hypoallergenic.

At Amazing Grass, Bert said the company has found that customers are demanding organic, plant-based nutrition from whole foods. “There is increased awareness that you can’t recreate Mother Nature in the lab … palatable, all-in-one whole food supplementation is on the rise,” he noted. “Consumers are more discerning and savvy; they are reading labels carefully, and wanting to know the sources of ingredients and the country of origin to ensure their meal replacement is free of contaminants like heavy metals.” 

He added that consumers are looking For real foods to supplement their diet or replace meals to complement their busy lifestyles. Amazing Grass recently launched its new Raw Reserve Greens + Protein, which combines a full serving of the company’s popular Raw Reserve Green SuperFood (a combination of Green SuperFoods from its family farm, sea vegetables, E3 Live, and 25 billion probiotics per serving) with 14 grams of organic plant-based proteins from hemp, quinoa, rice and pumpkin seeds. This new product comes in an amber glass bottle and is positioned as a premium way to get the best organic greens with four sources of clean, plantbased proteins.

In addition, it’s been shown that faster results can be seen for weight loss if shakes are used to replace one or two meals per day, Grogan added. He noted a 2003 study published in Nutrition Journal, weight–loss researchers discovered that overweight subjects who used quality meal replacement shakes on a daily basis lost more weight over 40 weeks than subjects who followed a low-calorie diet.

Keeping Up With Trends 

Health conscious consumers have varied wish lists of nutritional needs for suppliers and manufacturers to fulfill. “Consumers are using meal replacements most as a weight-management component or as a meal replacement for busy lifestyles. Recently there has been a market shift to include meal replacements as part of detox programs,” said Grogan.

For those consumers with a focus on plant-based protein supplements, pea protein is popular, but organic pea protein is not widely available and customers are looking for clean, ‘nonsprayed’ sources, Bert said. Hemp is also very popular, as is protein sourced from quinoa and pumpkin seed. “The amino acid and omega profiles are very rich in these proteins. Our Amazing Meal line, as well as our new Raw Reserve Greens + Protein line, includes hemp, quinoa and pumpkin seed proteins. We find that many consumers recognize that multiple protein sources are often better than a single source. Additionally, consumers are realizing that people don’t need as much protein as once thought, and are seeking meal replacements that offer whole food fruit and vegetable nutrition.”

The popularity of Green SuperFoods is growing, Bert said, noting that they are foundation foods and contain many Nutritional benefits, such as promoting body alkalinity, concentrated leafy green vegetable nutrition, and a ‘green and clean’ source of added protein. “Probiotics also continue to be very popular. Many consumers are looking for ‘all in one’ meal replacements with protein, fruit and vegetable nutrition, and probiotics and digestive enzymes so they can get a well-balanced meal replacement from a single product instead of four or five different supplements.”

Ingredient List 

Meal replacements, according to Grogan, now demand these ingredients: a combination of easily digestible rice, pea or whey protein, amino acids, fatty acids, plant extracts, high fiber/gut supporting carbohydrates, probiotics, enzymes, vitamins and minerals can serve as an excellent starting point to support healthy detoxification, liver function, appetite control, blood fat levels, regularity and weight management.

“The best shakes will be high in protein and fiber, low in fats—and minus the sugar,” he said. “A quality meal replacement shake is fortified with a wide variety of vitamins and minerals, so it can successfully stand in for a meal while still meeting your requirements for protein, quality fats and fiber— essential for blood sugar stability, balanced energy patterns, proper elimination, appetite control, regularity, detoxification and healthy weight management.”

This type of MRP formula can positively affect all phases of internal detoxification, soothe the gastrointestinal tract, and stabilize the blood sugar, while supporting the metabolism for optimal function and body composition by supporting a higher level of lean muscle mass and a lower level of body fat, Grogan said. 

“The biggest trend,” Spors-Added, “has been the movement away from products containing gluten, and shifting toward grains that supply your body with more overall health benefits. The popularity of ancient grains and healthy seeds such as quinoa, oat, amaranth, flax and chia continues to rise and carve out a significant role in the market.” 

In addition, consumers are recognizing the importance of omega-3 fatty acids as an essential part of their daily diet for overall health and wellness. The demand to include omega-3’s in meal replacements and snack bars continues to sharply rise. 

Changing Consumer Interests 

Meal replacements with overall health benefits are becoming increasingly popular with consumers who are looking for products that can provide the benefit of consuming a well-balanced meal, Spor said. “Therefore, you see a rising number of meal replacements containing lean proteins, healthy fats, fruits and vegetables, ancient grains, and naturally occurring vitamins and minerals.” 

Bert agreed, adding that consumers are looking for well-rounded, balanced formulations that aren’t focused on single ingredients. “Some are looking for Certified organic and gluten-free formulations as well. The growing demand and cost of certified organic ingredients has made it difficult for many manufacturers to source organic ingredients. There are two main sub-sets of product formulations. As larger companies grow their market share and need to satisfy shareholder or private equity objectives, they are deeply discounting their product offerings and resorting to nonorganic, conventional, and often foreign sourced ingredients.” 

The challenge remains that not all meal replacement shakes are created Nutritionally equal, so it’s very important for the retailer to examine the ingredients and nutrition facts before making a decision, Grogan said. “Another challenge is getting the highest quality ingredients in sufficient amounts, in the most balanced, absorbable formula at the most effective cost-point for the consumer. The target market is looking for performance, price, digestibility and sustainability. 

“The meal replacement category has crossed over from a pure protein staple at supplement retailers targeted to weightlifters, bodybuilders, etc., to whole food plant-based products that can be found at natural products retailers such as Whole Foods Market and Sprouts,” said Bert. “Those stores target health-minded consumers who don’t always consume their daily quota of fruits, vegetables and proteins, which is unfortunately the majority of our population.”

FORMOREINFORMATION:

■ Amazing Grass, (866) GRASS11
(472-7711)
■ Nutegrity, (949) 622-9030
■ Uckele Health and Nutrition,
(800) 248-0330