Sports Nutrition

Student-focused sports nutrition seller Campus Protein raises $1 million in Series A financing

02-Nov-2018 By Adi Menayang

Campus Protein, a company that caters to college students shopping for sports nutrition supplements, just raised $1 million in Series A financing backed by angel investors and private individuals.

Why PepsiCo, Coca-cola are betting on functional food and beverage brands

01-Nov-2018 By Adi Menayang

Legacy CPG companies PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have each snapped up or invested heavily in a functional food and beverage brand this year.

Amazon is expanding its private label sports nutrition offering. What does this mean for the category?

24-Oct-2018 By Adi Menayang

When Amazon enters a new category, it’s common for existing players in that space to shudder. It entered the sports nutrition category in stealth mode this year.

From Yuzu to Tart Cherry to Birthday Cake: Which novel flavors have staying power in sports nutrition?

23-Oct-2018 By Adi Menayang

As sports nutrition brands continue to pop up, launching yet another chocolate or vanilla-flavored protein might not help a new brand get noticed.

Will c-stores be the next main destination for sports nutrition?

04-Oct-2018 By Adi Menayang

Protein beverage newcomer Foundation Fitness is making its debut at a major convenience store trade show next week, signaling the channel’s increasing role as a point of sale for sports and performance-positioned products.

Study backs pre-workout supplements' benefits, calls for longer safety studies

01-Oct-2018 By Adi Menayang

The body of published studies on multi-ingredient, pre-workout supplements to date suggests that they do have promise as performance boosters, according to a paper published recently.

Selective on sports supplements: Vitafoods Asia speaker highlights differing needs of professional athletes and weekend warriors

23-Aug-2018 By Cheryl Tay

A leading academic says there is more scope for sports nutrition products to be tailored to different levels of athletic ability, and for more rigorous research to support their efficacy.

MusclePharm steps up ad spend in turnaround effort

15-Aug-2018 By Hank Schultz

MusclePharm recorded increased revenue in its second quarter earnings statement, but had to spend a lot to get there. CEO Ryan Drexler said the expenses were part of rebuilding the brand after its Icarus-like fall.

Protein2o continues expansion of protein water empire with new Publix deal

08-Aug-2018 By Adi Menayang

Protein water brand Protein2o is on an “amazing growth trajectory,” said its president Andy Horrow. It’s poised for more growth after securing a distribution deal in 900 Publix stores.

Ascent sports supplements get national distribution deal at Whole Foods Market

03-Aug-2018 By Adi Menayang

Protein powder products by Colorado-based Ascent, which markets whey protein free of artificial flavors and sweeteners, will be distributed nationwide at Whole Foods Market.

Paired with exercise, betaine supplementation linked to fat mass reduction in women

01-Aug-2018 By Adi Menayang

Female collegiate athletes who ingested a betaine supplement for several days had more decreases in body fat percentage and fat mass than a placebo group in a randomized, controlled trial.

Can pomegranate help athletes recover after strenuous exercise?

27-Jul-2018 By Adi Menayang

Researchers in Poland found that male rowers who consumed pomegranate fruit juice had a significantly higher total antioxidant capacity after strenuous exercise than those that didn’t.

NUTRAINGREDIENTS-USA AWARDS 2018: HIGHLIGHT

MEET THE WINNERS: Ingredients of the year

25-Jul-2018 By Adi Menayang

At the inaugural NutraIngredients-USA Awards last week, we awarded four companies for their innovation in nutritional ingredients.

Thorne Research's continued expansion in sports nutrition signals winds of change for the practitioner channel model

28-Jun-2018 By Adi Menayang

Further expanding its distribution beyond the practitioner channel, Thorne Research announced earlier this week that it is now the exclusive supplement supplier for a leading training center in Florida for athletes.

BCAA bioavailability may increase with plasma treatment, study suggests

27-Jun-2018 By Adi Menayang

A New York start-up specializing in treating protein with plasma to increase its bioavailability announced positive results from a study using the technology for BCAA.

Better sleep seen as new target in sports nutrition

21-Jun-2018 By Hank Schultz

Controlling cortisol levels can be a key element in sports nutrition, and could be attacked by helping athletes sleep better, an audience was told recently.

Omega-3 in sports nutrition: Science is 'exciting and promising, but still emerging'

19-Jun-2018 By Adi Menayang

Omega-3 supplements positioned specifically for sports nutrition lag behind ingredients like protein powder or amino acids in terms of product development and sales, but scientific literature backing the fatty acid's benefits for athletes continue...

‘Plasma protein’ start-up adds new study to back its claims for better absorption than ‘normal’ whey

15-Jun-2018 By Adi Menayang

Blood analysis of participants who ingested either ‘plasma-blasted’ whey protein or standard hydrolyzed whey protein isolate suggests that the former is more bioavailable.

Having ingredients that can make a cross platform play key to prospering as sports nutrition market develops, supplier says

23-May-2018 By Hank Schultz

The sports nutrition market continues to ramify beyond the dedicated gym goer set. In this era of Active Nutrition, those companies with ingredients that can play in multiple spaces will prosper, a supplier says.

Redcon1's nationwide Vitamin Shoppe distribution hints at shifting sports nutrition strategy for the retailer

22-May-2018 By Adi Menayang

To Redcon1's CEO and founder, the newly-inked nationwide distribution deal with legacy retailer Vitamin Shoppe is a testament to his brand, and an indicator of change for the retailer.

Casein supplementation timing doesn’t really matter, suggests pilot study on recreationally active males

18-May-2018 By Adi Menayang

Eating cottage cheese before bed for its casein content is a popular bodybuilding tip. But results from a new clinical trial suggests that casein levels may matter more than timing.

Massachusetts shelves bill to restrict sale of weight loss and muscle supplements, again

10-May-2018 By Adi Menayang

A bill introduced in the Massachusetts state legislature would have restricted the sale of weight loss and muscle building supplements. It was recently pulled off the floor and sent to the Joint Committee on Public Health.

NEWS IN BRIEF

GNC partners with Rapid Nutrition to enter Australian market

05-Apr-2018 By Adi Menayang

Pittsburgh-headquartered retailer GNC announced today that its products are entering the Australian market through a partnership with Rapid Nutrition.

Pin Up Girl Protein co-founder: ‘We want to help build strong women’

02-Apr-2018 By Adi Menayang

The co-founders of Pin Up Girl protein were tired of the dichotomous narrative they observed in the protein powder category. On one end, you have the hyper-masculine branding focusing on bulking and powering up, and on the other end, powders targeting...

Startup to bring CBD-containing sports nutrition protein product to market

20-Feb-2018 By Hank Schultz

Product development featuring CBD continues despite the ingredient’s regulatory impediments, with the latest example being a protein powder offered by a Colorado startup.

Supplement trade associations and USADA warn consumers about SARMs

09-Nov-2017 By Stephen Daniells

The dietary supplement industry’s leading trade associations and the US Anti-Doping Agency have voiced their support of the recent FDA actions to protect consumers from body-building products containing Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMs) illegally...

Protein: A tale of two cities

20-Oct-2017 By Hank Schultz

Two companies are taking opposite roads toward protein delivery innovation—one a whole food and the other a reductionist line of ingredients—and each having success in their own way.

Expanding to convenience stores, Glanbia Performance Nutrition ramps up grab-and-go sports nutrition portfolio

20-Oct-2017 By Adi Menayang

There was a time when sports drinks at convenience stores meant electrolyte drinks like Gatorade… and that was about it. Soon, products from specialty sports nutrition staples like Optimum Nutrition, BSN, and Isopure will also be available at convenience...

ESSNA debuts kitemark for ‘responsible’ sports nutrition players as public campaign launches

02-Oct-2017 By Nathan Gray

The European Specialist Sports Nutrition Alliance (ESSNA) has launched a dedicated kitemark that it says will help the public identify products from responsible ESSNA members alongside a wider public education campaign.

Experts dispute claim that innovation is lacking in sports nutrition

11-Aug-2017 By Hank Schultz

In the view of experts, the sports nutrition category continues to be a source of innovation, despite the view to the contrary relayed by the CEO of Vitamin Shoppe in a recent earnings call.

More competition in sports products hurts Vitamin Shoppe

10-Aug-2017 By Hank Schultz

Increasing competition in sports nutrition has hurt Vitamin Shoppe’s financial results as it struggles to implement a ‘reinvention’ strategy.  The company reported disappointing 2nd quarter results yesterday, and the market reacted by sending the share...

Sports nutrition brands have lower SAE rates, expert says

05-Jul-2017 By Hank Schultz

Despite the perception that sports nutrition products tend to include ‘edgy’ ingredients, data suggest that these are among the safest of supplements, already a very safe category, an expert says,

Despite push to be lean, female athletes who eat more perform better, expert says

30-Jun-2017 By Hank Schultz

Body image is huge complicating factor in advising female athletes on nutrition, an expert said during a session during a recent conference.

Dosage and delivery shine in a generic sports nutrition market

27-Jun-2017 By Will Chu

Improvements in delivery formats and dosage forms has been a hallmark of the sports nutrition space for a number of years now as demands of an athlete require food to be even more functional. 

Alibaba’s health platform reveals China’s biggest and fastest-growing supplement categories

21-Jun-2017 By Gary Scattergood

Whey protein, enzymes and collagen products take the top three spots in China’s cross-border e-commerce sales, according to the international director of Ali Health, part of the Alibaba group.

Not Just for Sports: Burt’s Bees’ launch of protein powder reflects category’s diversification

16-May-2017 By Adi Menayang

Burt’s Bees is well known for its ubiquitous line of personal care products, from lip balm to hand lotion. It has now forayed into the dietary supplement space with plant protein powder.

Science, not body image marketing, should drive sports nutrition, expert says

15-May-2017 By Hank Schultz

Building a sports nutrition brand aimed at women ought to include more than just choosing which shade of pink to use on the label.  But that is still all too often the case, one expert says.

Sports Nutrition Special Edition

Vox Pop: 'Protein, and that's pretty much it actually'

11-May-2017 By Adi Menayang

Sports nutrition is a booming industry, with Euromonitor estimating a value of $7.4bn in the US. When we went to the streets and asked a few gym-goers what they buy, to no surprise, it was all protein.

Special edition: Sports nutrition

Focus and decision-making: The next big thing in sports nutrition?

10-May-2017 By Stephen Daniells

The importance of mental strength in addition to physical strength is gaining increasing appreciation in sports nutrition, and key players are building the science around cognitive health in response to demand for ingredients to boost focus and decision...

Special Edition: Sports Nutrition

What’s driving US sports nutrition in 2017? Blurring categories, casual users, and Instagram

04-May-2017 By Adi Menayang

The US sports nutrition market in 2016 posted a value growth of 12%, according to market analytics firm Euromonitor, dubbing it as ‘another good year for the category.’

‘Healthy selfie’ culture is changing the sports nutrition marketplace

24-Apr-2017 By Adi Menayang

When it comes to sports nutrition purchases, consumers may say it’s ‘gains’ they care about—but they don’t really care, according to senior director of strategy at Interbrand Health Dominic Leung.

VITAFOODS 2017 PREVIEW

Sports Nutrition is all about balancing innovation and risk, says NSF

19-Apr-2017 By Emma Jane Cash

Adulteration in the sports nutrition industry remains a global issue, says John Travis of NSF International ahead of his talk on adulteration and innovation in sports nutrition at Vitafoods. 

PEAs harder to control than were steroids, experts say

30-Mar-2017 By Hank Schultz

The presence and proliferation of phenylethylamines in sports nutrition products continues to be a thorn in the side of the dietary supplement industry.  But trying to regulate these ingredients away is not nearly as straightforward as was the case with...

Milk protein producer not ready throw in towel to whey

22-Mar-2017 By Hank Schultz

Milk proteins continue to carve out a strong niche in sports nutrition despite’s whey protein’s dominance, supplier Milk Specialties Global said.

Fruit d'Or bets on GudPod delivery system for cranberry juice gut health prototype

02-Mar-2017 By Hank Schultz

Cranberry supplier Fruit d’Or is introducing a functional beverage prototype via the new GudPod delivery system at the upcoming Expo West trade show.

70 product launches in just over 2 years

New clinical data opening doors for Nitrosigine beyond sports nutrition

10-Feb-2017 By Stephen Daniells

Having quickly established its credentials in the sports nutrition space, positive results in recent clinical trials are creating new opportunities for Nutrition 21’s Nitrosigine in the cognitive health sector.

Food Vision preview: London, 1-3 March 2017

Personalised sports nutrition gains another player

26-Jan-2017 By Shane STARLING

At Food Vision in London on March 1-3 ex-Olympian Andrew Steele will explain why he is so excited about applying genetics to dramatically improve the nutrition and performance of sportspeople.

'there is a risk that brands alienate their core consumers'

Sports nutrition 2.0: The category is playing a dangerous game

07-Nov-2016 By Shane Starling

Sports nutrition has long-expanded beyond its hardcore niche to become a global multi-format, multiple demographic, multi-billion euro behemoth – but is everybody winning in the game of sports nutrition 2.0? We asked sector expert Nick Morgan from Sports...

Special edition: Sports Nutrition

Broadening demographics boost $7.4 billion US sports nutrition market

20-Oct-2016 By Stephen Daniells

The continued mainstreaming of the sports nutrition market is driving much of the 12% growth in the category in the US, with many manufacturers moving towards less complex formulations and greater convenience.

NAI’s CEO: ‘Sports nutrition has been a wonderful place to act as a crucible for our innovation’

20-Oct-2016 By Stephen Daniells

With an established consumer following in the sports nutrition sector and new sustained release form just launched, Natural Alternatives International is looking at opportunities in seniors and military populations for its blockbuster CarnoSyn beta-alanine.