For a wide variety of active individuals, achieving a personal best—whether it’s an endurance sport such as long-distance running, cycling or swimming; or the ability to lift heavier weights, or improving one’s tennis swing, or acing new yoga poses—is a feeling of personal fulfillment that is so deep because it’s hard won.

The growth of fitness centers is a key indicator that Americans are indeed enjoying not only getting physically fit, but those workouts significantly enhance the sports they play or engage in. According to statisticsbrain.com, as of April 27, 2015, there are approximately 30,500 fitness centers in the U.S., and a total number of 273,500 personal trainers (also a significant consumer of sports nutrition products). Further, surveys by the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) have also shown a large increase in the number of health clubs and other fitness centers. From 2005 to 2012, the number climbed from about 26,830 to 30,500. Americans getting into the active life increased from 41.3 million (gym memberships) in 2005 to approximately 58.5 million by January 2013.

According to gyminsights.com (a fitness industry media), “The Physical Activity Council Topline Report (physicalactivitycouncil.com) revealed that over 60 percent of Americans regularly participate in fitness sports as of 2012. This is the fifth consecutive year in which these numbers have remained stable at 60 percent or more. This goes to show that the fitness trend is not going away soon in America and the fitness industry is only going to grow stronger each year. All in all, fitness is a profitable industry in the US and the numbers will only continue to rise.”

Lynda Doyle, vice president of global marketing, OmniActive Health Technologies in New Jersey, cited data from NBJ Supplement Business Report 2015 describing that sports nutrition is a strong market making up 13.3 percent of last year’s total U.S. nutrition market, and in the last 10 years more than doubled from 2004 ($2.1 billion) to 2014 ($4.8 billion). By the end of 2015, the market is estimated to grow by 8.2 percent from the previous year. Moreover, sports nutrition is projected to be worth over $8 billion by 2020.

Durrell Washington, senior integrated marketing specialist customized solutions, Glanbia Nutritionals (NA) Inc., Carlsbad, CA observed that not only is sports nutrition much more mainstream, expecting to see a compounded growth rate of 8 percent over the next few years, but that mainstream channel distribution is driving growth. “E-commerce further expands the channel penetration and internet sales are becoming the fastest growing channel for sales,” he said. “Furthermore, e-commerce lowers the barrier to entry for new supplement brands and manufacturers.”

With such incredible growth—and no signs of abatement—there have been key trends to emerge in the past several years that have created the modern landscape of sports nutrition.

Chase Hagerman, brand director with Texas-based Chemi Nutra, observed that the sports nutrition market has grown immensely perhaps because the health category has gone mainstream.

“Not long ago, if I mentioned ‘sports nutrition’ to my friends when describing what I do, they would humorously ask if they would bulk up like Arnold Schwarzenegger if they took one of our ingredient products,” he related. There are now numerous supplements that are considered to be sports performance products but aren’t clearly identifiable as such to most consumers. For example, whey protein powders were predominantly consumed by bodybuilders seeking to grow their physiques; now there are many that are marketed for consumers interested in physical fitness for whatever sport or activity they’re into.”

As an example of market differentiation, Greg Paul, PhD, MBA, marketing director for global consumer segments at DuPont Nutrition & Health, observed a strong trend in products targeting performance and recovery, likely attributed to the growing popularity of team fitness programs such as CrossFit and Tough Mudder, which are popular among Millennials. “In fact, the sports nutrition category has grown more than 10 percent in recent years with lines blurring between hard-core body builders and athletes to more mainstream fitness enthusiasts who aspire to live a healthy lifestyle.”

Michael Bush, senior vice president with Ohio-based Ganeden, Inc., said he has seen traction in the cross-functional product sub-segment, specifically the combination of protein and probiotics. The sports nutrition/active adult market is “heating up as we are seeing more and more clinical work being performed looking the role of probiotics in protein utilization, endurance, recovery and more,” he noted.

Sports nutrition, said Doyle, has expanded to include the “everyday athlete and ‘proactives’—people who recognize the importance of taking dietary supplements as part of their regimen to maintain weight-wellness and overall health. The ‘new’ sports nutrition consumer is interested in supporting his/her performance and recovery naturally and as a part of an overall healthy lifestyle. The everyday athlete and proactives are driving the demand for clean sports nutrition and has propelled sports nutrition products beyond the locker room and into the kitchen cabinet.”

According to Paul, DuPont Nutrition & Health recently conducted consumer research to better understand consumers in the sports nutrition and weight-management markets; the insights from this research led to the development of its Food and Fitness Continuum, a tool to help manufacturers understand the needs of three unique consumer groups that have evolved in recent years:

• Personal Record Performers—Peak performers seeking foods that help them beat their best performance.

• Enlightened Actives—Informed, healthy consumers who strive for better fitness by eating health foods that support their active lifestyle.

• Motivated Strugglers—Consumers who struggle with their weight and lack the knowledge and commitment to improve their health and well being.

“These consumer segments have gained traction as growing evidence demonstrates the need to combine physical activity with nutritious food choices to maintain a healthy quality of life and these consumers are seeking nutritious solutions that support their sports and fitness goals,” Paul explained.

Market Entry or Reformulation

As is discernible, the current landscape that is sports nutrition is vastly different than it was five to 10 years ago, and it is a highly attractive category for branded supplements. Those that have been in the space for a while may also want to consider updating or expanding via reformulation. Our sources offer keen guidance for this market.

In Bush’s opinion, consumers don’t really want to take more pills. From Ganeden’s specialty perspective, probiotics, sports-minded consumers seek the benefits of friendly flora but in a form they already can enjoy. He provided two examples of such a product that enhances a healthy and active lifestyle that has more than one functional appeal: a probiotic-fortified sports nutrition protein shake with an added ingredient that also supports protein utilization, or a meal-replacement bar featuring a probiotic that supports digestive health and immune health.

“But not every consumer wants the same solution,” he commented. “It is important to meet the needs of each consumer sub-group and be cross-functional. Women seek different results than men, and the weekend warrior is not looking for the same results as a bodybuilder. Consumers want a diverse product line that tastes great, meets their needs and performs.”

When considering this space, Doyle warned that similar to weight-management products, sports nutrition has seen its share of “magic bullet” claims boasting unfounded benefits or the use of questionable ingredients with potential side effects. Consumers are wary of sensational claims and are more interested in products that are natural, clean, safe, science-backed, efficacious, and easily able to fit into an overall fitness regimen.

In Washington’s view, there is a growing trend in brand marketers focusing on a specific demographic or fitness regimen rather than making a “one-size-fits-all” product. Specialization in this aspect allows them to target their specific market, which in turn helps to build a following and helps to define the retail space. “For instance,” he pointed out, “fad and craze workouts like CrossFit have highly successful companies such as Pregenex sponsoring events and promoting to that targeted demographic only. This aligns them with the highly loyal community that they supply and allows them to grow alongside these trendy regimens.”

Additionally, opined Washington, the sports nutrition industry is going to further differentiate itself. “I expect to see companies focusing on specific demographics; from CrossFit women to men who run motocross every weekend to high school and college lacrosse players. I also expect to see further breakthroughs in application technology that will open up new finished product matrices to ingredients that were not functionally possible before. This includes advances in bioavailability and absorption, water solubility, heat, pH, and pressure sensitivity, and flavor or mouth feel obstacles. Amino acid inclusion will start to be driven more by the mainstream population, especially the elderly, and plant-based protein will further diversify and grab a greater stake in the market.”

For new entrants, the sports nutrition category is easy to make a name for brand marketers, said Hagerman. Chemi Nutra, he noted, has many customers in the startup stage yet already have significant followings in their niches. “Just recently,” he related, “I was talking with a young entrepreneur and was shocked to hear that I didn’t know that a certain outdoors sport existed; yet there he is with dozens of those athletes sponsored and growing his business steadily.”

Hagerman is validating that aiming at niche actives and sports will likely garner more loyal sales and success than the older model of “trying to appeal to the masses.” Similarly, he advised new brand marketers to keep their offerings lean; “until you have a solid, loyal following, it is optimistic to think that your customers will buy a suite of your products. The reality is that everyone has one bestseller, not five. In fact, we have a number of customers who are consolidating their product line up due to the complexities of managing so many products and dealing with underachievers.”

Ingredients to Consider

There are many scientifically backed ingredients to consider for targeted sports and fitness supplements. Our sources for this feature offer some compelling examples.

Janice Brown, technical sales and support, AstaReal, Inc., in New Jersey markets AstaReal, which she said is the most researched brand of natural astaxanthin in the market. “Athletes are looking for an ingredient that will help boost endurance and limit muscle damage, which is what AstaReal provides,” she explained. A study published in 2011 in the International Journal of Sports Medicine showed that just 4 mg daily supplementation of AstaReal significantly improved cycling time trial performance. Another clinical trial published in 2012 in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness indicated that supplementation with AstaReal could eliminate exercise-induced free radical production and depletion of non-enzymatic antioxidant defense in elite young soccer players. “These and multiple other published results are proof that AstaReal has genuine beneficial effects for improving athletic stamina and performance,” Brown summarizes. “AstaReal continues to gain popularity among specific athletes such as cyclists, runners, and soccer players.”

Ganeden’s patented probiotic, GanedenBC30, not only supports digestive and immune health, Bush emphasized, but also has been shown in peer-reviewed clinical trials to support the utilization of protein and increase blood amino acid levels in individuals who consume it along with various forms of protein. “Additionally, GanedenBC30 has been successfully shown to decrease muscle soreness, in addition to other indicators of positive recovery after exercise,” Bush explained. “The combination of increased muscle retention plus a reduction in soreness that might interfere with healthy physical activity is a win-win for any athlete, fitness enthusiast, or active consumer.”

Glanbia Nutritionals offers a wide variety of proteins, including whey protein (concentrates, isolates, casein, individual peptides, etc.), algal protein, wheat protein, and pea protein. Glanbia Nutritionals AminoBlast technology, Washington explained, is a proprietary method designed to both increase the water solubility/dispersibility of hydrophobic amino acids such as the branch chain amino acids, but also increase the clarity of ready-to-mix powders containing amino acids to make them more palatable. Glanbia Nutritionals’ NutraShield encapsulation technology can be utilized for a variety of applications, including bitter flavor masking, processing stability, improving shelf life (prevents oxidation), and preventing ingredient interaction. “This can allow for sports nutrition ingredients such as amino acids and caffeine to be incorporated into a wider variety of finished product matrices without worrying about flavor issues or ingredient breakdown during manufacturing,” he described.

Capsimax capsicum extract, from OmniActive Health Technologies, is a naturally functional way to add value to formulas targeting athletes and fitness enthusiasts, according to Doyle. Capsimax Capsicum Extract beverage-grade is a concentrated, highly-active, natural capsicum extract that is encapsulated using patented OmniBead technology—a controlled-release coating allows Capsimax to deliver beneficial levels of capsaicinoids without the oral and gastric burning sensation of unprotected red hot peppers. Capsimax is a natural, stimulant-free ingredient that assists in weight loss, a key goal shared by numerous individuals engaged in fitness routines. “Capsaicinoids, like the ones found in Capsimax, are the bioactives in red hot pepper and have been shown to support thermogenesis, increase energy expenditure and may impact overall metabolism—all coveted benefits that athletes and fitness enthusiasts alike are looking for in their products,” she remarked.

Chemi Nutra’s newest ingredient, Mediator Phosphatidic Acid (PA), is a muscle-building ingredient. Described Hagerman, “The obvious target market of this ingredient is weight trainers; the less obvious beneficiaries are aging individuals who are losing muscle mass in a condition known as sarcopenia.”

Of course, there are many more ingredients, but the concept of utilization for targeted sub-markets is not only growing, but should reap brand marketers high-performance marks. NIE

For More Information:
AstaReal, Inc., (609) 386-3030
Chemi Nutra, (866) 907-0400
Ganeden Inc., (440) 229-5200
Glanbia Nutritionals, (800) 735-8137
OmniActive Health Technologies, (866) 588-3629

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