Under the brand Newtrition, Cognis' new advertising campaign includes its core ingredients Vegapure plant sterols and sterol esters for heart health, Tonalin CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) for fat loss and Xangold lutein esters for eye health. The ads are currently appearing in nutritional trade publications in North America and Europe and may run in other regions in the near future, according to the company.
The marketing approach underscores the importance of science for companies in the sector, especially in the face of changing legislation on health claims in various markets.
In the nutraceutical industry, significant scientific literature can lead to the health claims marketers covet for the added clout they can bring to an ingredient's credibility. The Newtrition campaign is predominantly aimed at promoting this scientific aspect of Cognis' range of ingredients, rather than singling out groups of consumers suffering from specific health ailments, for instance.
"We offer our customers a competitive edge with this simple equation for market success: add Newtrition to virtually any food, beverage or supplement to transform it into a new product with marketable health claims," said Christine Peggau, senior marketing manager with Cognis Nutrition & Health.
The Newtrition ad for Tonalin CLA describes how 13 studies that suggest Tonalin reduces up to nine percent body fat and avoids fat regain. Cognis claims Tonalin is the most researched CLA on the market.
Similarly, the Newtrition ad points to Vegapure plant sterols and sterol esters as being clinically proven to lower cholesterol up to 15 percent. This advertisement has the added weight of an FDA-approved health claim behind it and was used in eight major published studies according to Cognis.
Finally, the Newtrition concept presents Xangold lutein esters as the 'the gold standard' for natural eye health. A study published in the Journal of Nutrition demonstrated Xangold as delivering equivalent or better bioavailability than free lutein.
"With 83 percent of consumers reporting that they take active steps to improve their health through their diet, there is an enormous demand for fortified products that deliver measurable health benefits," said Peggau.
This is not the first time Cognis has sought to mould the image of its ingredients across a new platform. In 2006, the global supplier told NutraIngredients-USA it was branding individual ingredients in line with a general tendency in the nutraceutical industry to adopt condition-specific marketing.
"Marketing in the US now requires branding for ingredients," Cognis vice president Dave Eckert said at the time. "Branding is so much more active than it was five or ten years ago."