Top trends at Vitafoods 2024

Many popular ingredients continue to position themselves towards the ‘agelessness’ trend as consumers have increasing access to health monitoring and personalization, Morgan said. 

Collagen​

New collagen innovations were on show across the board, with Gelita presenting PeptEndure, the collagen protein for enhanced endurance performance, and Rousselot​ announcing the launch of an extensive library of targeted specific collagen peptide compositions named Nextida.

“Collagen is probably number one in terms of availability and solutions, with more people talking about the different types of collagen,” Morgan noted. 

He explained that the ingredient has been positioned as a priority for both active nutrition and beauty - two categories which are closely linked to aging well, or ‘agelessness’. The concept of ‘agelessness’ is more appealing and emotionally resonant than traditional terms​ like ‘anti-aging’ or ‘healthy aging’, as it better reflects societal shifts and consumer desires for self-improvement.

“Agelessness and fearlessness about age are actually great as an underpinning principle for promoting collagen,” he said. 

This trend was spotlighted on IFF's stand where it launched its 'Free to Age Your Way' campaign​. It displayed a range of concepts to support consumers through common age related health issues but advising brands not to use traditional ‘anti-aging’ messaging.

Magnesium ​

Despite its long-standing place in the market, magnesium continues to maintain its on-trend position due to its versatility. 

“Magnesium is a really good example of how a mineral that we've known for so long can continue to be exciting actually when positioned really well,” Morgan said.

In addition to its well-known application for sports recovery, magnesium for sleep was a popular showcase, with Lubrizol presenting its microencapsulated magnesium Magshape, designed to support muscle relaxation and support sleep.

Gummies ​

As brands continue to diversify format offerings, maintaining credibility through quality and quantity of ingredients must be the priority, Morgan noted. 

“Development-wise, there are lots of nuances around ensuring that you get more bang for your buck, considering how much of an ingredient you need to add to get the functional benefit, and I think it’s really important to make sure that translates to accessible consumer products,” he said, adding that consumers are willing to pay for proven benefits and that clarity is key when communicating around format.

“We flippantly use the term bioavailability, but I think we should never underestimate that at the consumer level, they're still trying to work out even what that word means, so we still need to continue to work on innovating in communication,” he said.

As Morgan noted, gummies were a clear winning format, such as those presented by manufacturer Sirio, largely focusing on women’s health​. The supplier recently reported that gummies now contribute to 20.66% of sales in 2023, a growth of 24.81% from 2022. 

Kerry Group​ also showcased a variety of concepts promising great taste alongside science-backed ingredients, including several gummies such as the ‘stressless immune summer fruit’ gummy containing the Wellmune Adapt beta glucan postbiotic for immune system support paired with Sensoril ashwagandha to tap into the fact the immune system is heavily influenced by stress.

On the Givaudan stand, the supplier showcased a gummy to support focus, attention and memory with another potentially bitter flavor, Cereboost ginseng. The firm masked this with a strong and refreshing mint flavor to contribute to the ‘mental boost’ perception for the consumer.

The gummy trend is not going away anytime soon and is following a similar trajectory to the U.S., Morgan noted. 

While the format can be accessible and bring in new customers, brands have to be careful to maintain quality when formulating, Morgan added, noting that it is important to "make sure that the ingredients getting used and the dosages aren't getting compromised to the level that we undermine the quality of what is the industry is all about."

“I think gummies are an amazing format that is experiential and fun," he said. "We’ve just got to make sure the quality is there, and as an industry, we have a collective responsibility to collaborate to allow for that."

Tracking​

As a health category, there was a big emphasis on metabolic health, in part encouraged by the increase in wearables and tracking apps. 

"We live in a digital age, and technology development is far faster than nutritional developments in many respects,” Morgan said. "We’re seeing a lot of attention on continuous blood glucose monitoring that's really interesting when combined with some basic nutritional variables."

This feeds into the trend of personalization, which Morgan suggested is only going to gain momentum as technology and nutrition data continue to integrate, which will cover areas of sports nutrition, general health and more.