EXOS, formerly known as Athletes Performance, is a firm that offers training support to high level athletes. Prospective NFL draft picks heading into the yearly scouting where their performance is measured against established norms are common clients. Also, through a subsidiary, the company manages corporate wellness programs and consults with the military on training programs.
Line addresses ‘shady’ market
The new line, called EXOS Performance Nutrition, was launched in March to address the need for high quality products tailored to the company’s strategy in working with its clients, Joel Totoro, nutrition solutions manager for EXOS told NutraIngredients-USA. It was also a response to to what he said was the complication of the market, with dozens of new players and product launches yearly, not all of whom could be relied upon.
“Supplements have been part of the methodology since we opened 16 years ago,” Totoro said. “We were always looking for who has the best whey protein, or who was a viable creatine provider. As the market changed and the supplement industry got more and more, you could say, shady, we wanted more of an opportunity to direct our own product line.”
Totoro said the line is a complete one, offering products specific to sports performance as well as those that address everyday wellness needs.
“We have athletes with very high specific performance needs but they have human needs that are common to everybody. We have identified products that address the most frequently lacking ingredients in the diet,” he said.
The product line is crafted around EXOS’ overall nutrition strategy, which includes the three pillars of Foundation, Boost and Restore, Totoro said.
“In the Boost category, those are the products that are specifically directed toward sports performance. This is where you see some of the shady claims about thermogenic or energy effects. This is where DMAA hit the news, with companies adding almost amphetamine-like ingredients to products,” Totoro said.
NSF certifications
In order to forestall those concerns, Totoro said the company partnered with NSF on certifications.
“Because we put so much effort between ourselves and Thorne Research in product development we wanted to highlight that quality. We currently have eight NSF Certified for Sport products; we identified those eight as being products in spaces where the certification was most necessary immediately. But all of our products are made in Thorne’s NSF GMP certified facility,” he said.
“We wanted to vet a partner that would match our goals. Thorne is committed to quality and research and their product standards are the highest. We don’t want to be good enough, we want to be the best. We want to be the good guys in the supplement industry,” Totoro said.