Under the agreement, Prinova will have exclusive stateside distribution and manufacturing rights for SLS Nutraceuticals’ patent pending line of blends called NeuroBloom, NeuroScope, and NeuroZone.
The blends are a mixture of some botanicals and vitamins, each of which have been individually studied for its cognitive health benefits. The blend is, for now, confidential, “but we will certainly share it with customers, and it will appear in their product labels,” Dan Force, business development manager of innovation at Prinova, told us.
The pending patent will cover the specific ratios of the blends, which are based on research done by SLS Nutraceuticals’ founder and CEO Dr Shawn Watson, a neuroscientist with a PhD in Neurobiology and Neuosciences from the University of Calgary.
“The exciting piece to this technology is the clinical study that has taken place, is awaiting publication now, and the additional study that’s underway and still being conducted,” Force said. “Those are the studies done specifically on NeuroBloom and [the ingredient blend’s] synergistic effect.”
Partnering with Prinova
In a press release, Dr Watson said that the Prinova partnership gives his company access to “not only one of the world’s leading manufacturers, but also a team of innovative professionals with a deep understanding of consumer trends, and the ability to provide a suite of tailored products to their clients.”
“As our solution spans everyone from 25-year-old gamers, who eat poorly and sleep less, to senior citizens worried about age-related memory decline, we needed a partner who knew how to effectively communicate the benefits of our products to broad consumer base. Prinova has proven to be this [partner].”
Innovation in the cognitive health space
The cognitive health category is prone to scrutiny. The American Medical Association warned its members about the rise of nootropics (another word for brain health supplements) in 2016, around the same time former Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill’s crusade against supplements with memory claims brought the category to national headlines.
But dietary supplement industry members say that it’s only a few bad players in the category that rush products onto the market or use shady practices that give nootropics a bad name, and that there is, in fact, plenty of scientific research to support the role nutrition and intake of specific compounds may have in brain health.
The brain health category has continued to boom. Market research firms like SPINS and Euromonitor International have noted cognitive health as top of mind among many consumers. Product development in the space also continues to thrive, with OTC giant RB Health (formerly known as Reckitt Benckiser) launching its own line of brain health products called Neuriva.
This boom is what drove Prinova to bet on the brain. “It was a combination of increasing consumer interest and the lack of clinically backed ingredient complexes available to our customers [that motivated us],” Force said.
He said that the growth in the space observed over the last 18 months have largely come from high-stimulation products that don’t focus on the underlying mechanisms of cognitive decline.
“NeuroBloom tackles the problem at its core and provides a long-term, healthy solution to keep our brains healthy and fit,” he said. “For our customers, this presents an opportunity to expand their cognitive portfolio and offer a more holistic solution to consumers.”
