The NutraIngredients-USA Awards 2019, sponsored by DuPont and KGK Science, recognize and celebrate the industry’s best ingredients, products, projects, platforms, and individuals. Over 100 people gathered to help the 29 finalists in 10 categories to celebrate success and innovation across the US nutrition and dietary supplements industry.
“NutraIngredients-USA is a content leader and we carry that rigor and integrity through to the NutraIngredients-USA Awards. It was another superb year for entries, and to be named as a finalist, let alone a winner, is significant. Congratulations to all of our winners and finalists!” said Stephen Daniells, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of NutraIngredients-USA.
And the winners are:
Ingredient of the Year: Healthy Aging
Tru Niagen (ChromaDex)
The judges heralded Tru Niagen as a ‘breakthrough ingredient’ for the healthy aging category. The quality and quantity of completed and on-going trials for the ingredient, coupled with its impressive regulatory status (two NDI notifications and FDA GRAS) mark Tru Niagen as a game changer. The judges believed the ingredient delivered on the promise of addressing a true mechanism of cellular aging, whereas other products might focus on symptoms of aging, such as decreased joint mobility.
Ingredient of the Year: Sports Nutrition
CarnoSyn (Natural Alternatives International, Inc.)
The judges lauded the strong suite of science backing CarnoSyn’s benefits. They were particularly impressed with the end points of the studies that related directly to sports nutrition benefits such as improved endurance, strength increases, better recovery from intensive exercise, etc. as opposed to endpoints that might be tangentially related to sports benefits, such as a high antioxidant capacity for dealing with post-exercise inflammation.
Probiotic product of the year
Astarte (HSO Health Care)
Astarte for women’s health addresses an important consumer need and the judges were impressed by the devotion to well-designed clinical studies and intelligent, logical, systematic product design. The products success in multiple markets globally also helped it stand out from the crowd.
Botanical product of the year
Herbalist & Alchemist’s Adaptogenic Line (Herbalist & Alchemist)
Adaptogens are fast becoming the 50-year overnight success, and David Winston is a leader in this category. Herbalist & Alchemist’s line impressed the judges with its commitment to true adaptogens, the product quality, and their intended uses. The judges were impressed with the line’s focused approach, with adaptogens formulated for specific purposes, rather than the one-size-fits-all adaptogen message common in the industry.
Omega-3 product of the year
Naked Tuna in Water (Good Catch Foods)
Good Catch Tuna in Water intrigued the judges by meeting the growing demand for plant-based alternatives to animal products and offering omega-3s as a functional food. The product, which has already achieved a significant amount of commercial success in a short period of time, met all the judging criteria on innovation, consumer need, application, commercial, and the X-factor.
Personalized nutrition initiative
The Prenatal DHA Initiative (OmegaQuant)
The judges were impressed by the application of the omega-3 index measures to an especially sensitive population, to not only shine a light on the technology but also on the critical issue of DHA intake during pregnancy and how to increase those levels.
Start-up of the year
Plasma Nutrition
The judges noted that Plasma Nutrition has created a platform rather than just a product. The company has invested in science, and are supported by peer-reviewed, published human trials showing superiority of their whey protein ingredient over standard whey. The panel were also impressed by the commercial strategy to license its proprietary technology to brands, and its early commercial success.
Nutrition research project
Retinal amyloid pathology and proof-of-concept imaging trial in Alzheimer’s disease (NeuroVision Imaging, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, UCLA, Verdure Sciences)
This entry really stood out to the judges for its combination of a nutrition intervention (curcumin) with industry-changing technology to potentially provide a low-cost, non-invasive technique to pre-screen at-risk populations using high-resolution imaging of a person’s amyloid-beta burden. The research was performed by an impressive team of academic institutions and industry, supported by peer-review publications. The implications are potentially game changing.
Editors Award for Industry Initiative of the Year
ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program
The NutraIngredients-USA Editorial team are delighted to recognize the Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program (BAPP) for this year’s Editors’ Award for Industry Initiative. BAPP is an exemplary educational resource about adulteration in the botanical supply chain, with its growing body of peer-reviewed literature, laboratory guidance documents, bulletins, and newsletters.
NutraIngredients-USA’s NutraChampions
Paul Schulick, For the Biome
Elan Sudberg, Alkemist Labs
This year the editorial team of NutraIngredients-USA chose two NutraChampions because both Paul and Elan have made considerable contributions to the industry, but from different perspectives.
Paul Schulick shifted the paradigm on dietary supplements with New Chapter, leveraging his platform to inspire change throughout the industry that all started with New Chapter’s whole food probiotic nutrients integrated with holistic herbal extracts. His commitment to organic and non-GMO certifications blazed a trail for others to follow.
Elan Sudberg has worked tirelessly for the dietary supplements industry, most of it behind the scenes, to elevate the conversation around testing and product quality not just with Alkemist Labs but also by his selfless participation in numerous industry associations, committees and initiatives.
From the team at NutraIngredients-USA, and on behalf of all the judges, a huge congratulations of all of the NutraIngredients-USA Awards finalists and winners.
For more photos from the event, please click HERE.
Keep following NutraIngredients-USA in the coming days for highlights from the awards ceremony, and further insights and features on the winners of each award!