What’s next for sports nutrition?
Evidently, COVID-19 has fundamentally altered the sports nutrition landscape. How will the market emerge out of the pandemic, and what is the future of sports nutrition?
The pandemic has shown the global community the importance of preparing for crisis, while giving us an opportunity to think ahead about the future of the planet. Environmental sustainability is on the agenda of many businesses like never before, and the sports nutrition market is no different. Traditionally, sports nutrition has lagged behind on its climate commitments, but experts across the sports nutrition supply chain agree that brands and manufacturers alike will have to emphasise the importance of sustainability if they are to stay ahead of the competition in years to come. “Clean labels, sustainable processing, environmental awareness and mission statements will all rise,” predicts Kleiner.
De Pelsmaeker agrees: “Consumers are becoming more conscious of the relationship between products and the environment, and they are demanding sustainable and transparent solutions. Brands need to actively promote responsible practices, provide relevant certifications and use traceable ingredients, if they are to be successful in the competitive sports nutrition market.”
Broich points out a crucial irony for the sports nutrition space. “While companies have to make a profit, we have to take into consideration the environment. Ethically, it is paradox that brands support an athlete to be healthy while the company’s production harms the environment. We should ask ourselves always two things: how do we face the challenge and how can we do better?”
Specifically, Wouters highlights that a key aspect of sports nutrition in the matter of sustainability is of course the ‘on-the-go’-format and use—noting that a more sustainable development of packaging should gain focus.
Personalised nutrition is another area where we can expect to see substantial growth in sports nutrition. Morgan believes the personalised opportunity for sports already exists and has done for a long time. While it is primitive in terms of online navigation or product recommendations based on goals or dietary preferences, the proposition of personalising products based on what the consumer wants does exist.
According to de Pelsmaeker, the personalised nutrition market is showing strong growth potential. “80% of consumers, especially millennials and GenZ, prefer brands that personalise their product offering,” she says. The lines between sports nutrition, digital health and pharma industries are blurring. “Consumers increasingly wish for their individual needs to be reflected in nutritional products, so solutions need to offer targeted and measurable health benefits,” says de Pelsmaeker. People prefer simple, easy-to-understand products that fit perfectly into their lifestyle.
It seems evident that personalised nutrition represents the future for sports nutrition—the question is how. Miller explains that the main difficulty for personalised nutrition at present is a technological one, adding: “The majority of the market is taken up with algorithmic-based services at present, where the consumer provides some personal data and the algorithm finds a product that best suits their needs.” Only a small proportion of the market utilises biochemical or other health data (e.g. microbiome analyses, DNA tests) and the future of the category relies heavily on the advancement of technology to allow for multi-variable, real-time analyses that gives instant feedback to the consumer, he adds. “We’re seeing the first iterations of this, such as continuous blood glucose monitoring by SuperSapiens or indirect calorimetry by Lumen, but the opportunity is there for brands and consumers who are ready for this step up in nutrition support.”
Sustainability, improved personalisation and advanced technology will drive the future of the sports nutrition category
De Pelsmaeker draws attention to the importance of consumer understanding and education if brands are to take their communities with them to technologically advanced spaces. “In order to effectively create personalised sports nutrition solutions, brands must therefore meet consumers where they are in their health journey, understanding their preferences and goals through data and providing real-time feedback though trackers and sensors,” she concludes.
