Navigating challenges in active nutrition: Active Nutrition Summit preview
The summit arrives at a pivotal moment, as active nutrition expands beyond sports performance to embrace a broader, lifestyle-oriented approach.
From personalized biohacking and age-neutral marketing to the growing awareness of the microbiome and women’s health, the summit will explore how these key trends are influencing both product innovation and consumer behavior.
Finding a niche
Joining the expert panel of the key voices on day one is Nick Morgan, director of Nutrition Integrated, a specialist in innovation for sport, active, and lifestyle nutrition companies.
Daily wellness essentials have fueled significant growth in the sports and active nutrition industry in recent years, according to Morgan.
Consumers are increasingly looking for products that fit seamlessly into their daily routines—think functional foods, superfoods, and hydration solutions.
However, while there is widespread growth, Morgan highlights that brands must find their niche.
“Brands and products that are successful are doing so in specific niches, whilst traditional sports nutrition brands are having to manage protein price volatility at a time when consumers are price sensitive,” he said.
“Protein powder and pre-workout are core categories that drive volume and revenue, and they remain exciting to many consumers. But the value economics remain a challenge and whilst the macro picture is positive, it should not hide the fact that many core categories are under pressure.”
Consumer demand and sustainability
Morgan highlighted the increasing demand for convenient, great-tasting products that integrate smoothly into everyday nutrition.
When it comes to sustainability, though consumers may express a desire for planet-friendly products, many aren’t yet willing to pay the premium for them, Morgan explained.
He emphasized that rather than waiting for consumers to demand sustainability, the industry must take the lead in building sustainable practices as a business prerequisite.
Personalized nutrition and the role of technology
As personalized nutrition gains traction, brands face the challenge of making these solutions scalable and affordable.
Despite advances in diagnostics, AI, and blockchain, Morgan argues that no brand has yet cracked the code on delivering truly personalized experiences that are simple, fun, and impactful for the consumer.
“I don’t think we need to be convinced as to the influence of technology and that we want to help consumers find products and solutions that are more personalized to their wants and needs,” he said.
“However, I think there remains a gap between opportunity and genuine consumer impact.”
Active vs. Lifestyle nutrition
The summit will explore how the lines between sports, active, and lifestyle nutrition are becoming increasingly blurred.
In this evolving landscape, Morgan advises brands to focus on what they do best and cater to either performance athletes or general wellness consumers.
“It is becoming harder for brands to be relevant to all consumers and therefore ‘focus’ is important - however, there is no one size fits all and that will come down to the skill of the brand.”
With sub-niches emerging within the space, the challenge for companies lies in balancing their traditional product offerings while staying attuned to the changing needs of the next generation of consumers.
“The challenge is ensuring you are working with the high growth brands and whether ingredients suppliers or co-manufacturers you are spending time looking for the next generation brands that will experience high growth,” Morgan said.
"It is not an easy task to balance a traditional list of successful top ten customers with the knowledge that these top ten customers will need to evolve and be refreshed alongside the category evolution.”
Education and relationships
While education enables the category, brands should focus less on explaining product benefits and more on building trust through better communication and stronger relationships with their customers, Morgan explained.
Rather than merely “educating” about nutrition, successful brands are those that listen to their consumers' needs and facilitate long-term habits.
“I think the whole concept needs to be reframed - this is not about education per se but listening better to consumers and facilitating and engaging in better conversations,” he said.
“That is why the brands that are successful are the ones who have good relationships and conversations with their consumers, and this builds trust and propensity to try things.
