Speaking with NutraIngredients-USA at SupplySide West 2014 in Las Vegas, Hilton explained that consumers are looking for individual strategies, which includes supplements and/or food and/or lifestyle and/or exercise and/or pharma. “Consumers are now realizing it’s an integrated solution but they have no idea how to get there,” he said.
The lines between supplements, food, and beverage are increasingly blurred, he said. “Supplements manufacturers and suppliers, especially the smart ones, are figuring out how to get their products into food and beverage, and also a more friendly dosage form because I don’t think pill fatigue is a people issue and not just a seniors issue.”
Convergence between consumers, channels, categories, and technologies are giving consumers a glimpse of a future with a more integrated approach to health and wellness, he said.
“It’s a search for more customized solutions,” said Hilton. “Millenials are all over customized solutions and are driving this, while Boomers need help to put all the pieces together.”
“Where I don’t think we’re at yet as an industry is how to put it together in a way that consumers can say, ‘Oh OK, here’s a multi-pronged approach that could really take me to a greater level of optimal health’, and I don’t think anyone has done that yet. To me, that is the big opportunity over the next decade.”
Ingredient suppliers are being asked to put ‘some skin in the game’, said Hilton. This means research and positioning. “I think educating the consumer in a broad base is needed, and giving the tools to the manufacturers about the products and ingredients so they can use that to educate the consumers.
“I think there’s a critical role for suppliers.”