Jim Stoppani: Innovation in Sports Nutrition comes from novel synergies between ingredients

12-Nov-2019 - Last updated on 28-Sep-2021 at 13:53 GMT

Novel ingredients in the sports nutrition space come along once a decade, and the real innovation for the category comes from finding new combinations of tried and true ingredients to maximize effects, says Jim Stoppani, PhD, Founder of JYM Supplement Science.

Speaking with NutraIngredients-USA at SupplySide West, Dr Stoppani told us: “Innovation is not necessarily the latest or greatest caffeine replacement that we don’t get desensitized to and whether or not that’s a real benefit. I don’t believe in making consumers guinea pigs. So, unless the safety data is there, and I know that takes millions of dollars, is plan B really to use people as guinea pigs until we see there’s a problem?

“My innovation doesn’t come from finding the latest and greatest ingredient. My innovation comes from using tried and true ingredients … we know they’re safe and effective, but it’s the synergies that I use,” said Dr Stoppani, who will be speaking at NutraIngredients-USA’s upcoming Sports Nutrition Summit in San Diego, February 3-5, 2020.

“What I’ve found from working over the years, not only in the lab but literally working in the gym with every type of athlete … is what ingredients and at what doses come together, and that’s the benefit that I bring.

“You cannot go to school and get a PhD in supplements. It’s taking the knowledge of biochemistry and then taking it from the bench to the application. And not just looking at [for example] creatine and saying, creatine is great but what do creatine and beta-alanine do together?”

Commenting on some of the complex formulations in the category, Dr Stoppani noted that most suppliers typically only have data on single ingredients, and not how they work in the presence of other bioactives. “Once we throw two ingredients together it’s a lot tougher to control what was giving the benefit, and it’s muddier.”

As JYM Supplement Science grows as a business, Dr Stoppani said the company is putting more money into research. “We’re doing lots of different studies looking at [for example] how long the metabolic boost from green tea last for (it doesn’t appear to be that long). How can we increase or enhance that? Would a time-release caffeine be better because the research shows that smaller doses tend to work better than one bolus? And we’re even starting with pilot studies to try to find that a-ha moment, but again we’re just working with the same ingredients, but trying them in different ways and in different combinations.”

Sports Nutrition Summit 2020

Dr Stoppani will participate in a panel discussion on the role of influencers for sports nutrition marketing at the NutraIngredients-USA Sports Nutrition Summit in San Diego, Feb 3-5, 2020.

Also on the agenda are presentations and panel discussions covering the microbiome, protein, formulation challenges and opportunities, and female athletic consumers.

For more information and to register, please click HERE.