While the idea of healthy ageing is widespread, adoption of related supplements, functional foods and beverages, and practices can be at varying stages of acquisition. Developed nations, for example, are considered to be major markets, according to Dr Palmer. This can come down to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, where “one must have food, shelter and safety needs met first before they would be in the market for healthy ageing drugs or supplements.” Looking at market positionings, while the US market is a global leader in innovating novel genetic, therapeutic, and information technology-enabled healthy ageing strategies, they can also overlook the simpler approach of “healthy living for healthy ageing,” says Daniel. In this category, he cited both Europe and Japan as thought leaders that provide an “increased validation of the concepts of a healthy diet, natural interventions, social interaction, and mindfulness for healthy ageing.” Further, China and Korea are two other regions to watch out for when it comes to healthy ageing—China is looking to become positioned as a leader in scientific innovations for healthy ageing and Korea has a strong focus on aesthetic and nutricosmetics indications. Awareness of the elderly on optimal nutritional status for health, fitness, and well-being is increasing across all regions, according to Manfred Eggersdorfer, PhD, professor for healthy ageing at the University of Groningen. However, he pointed out that “Asia hosts the most rapidly ageing population in the world; [and] Japan, for example, is currently the Asian nation that is defined as ‘superaged,’ with more than 20% of its population [being] >65 years old.” Thus, suggesting the APAC region is an important market for healthy ageing products. Dr Ghosh also observed that Asia regions can create new market opportunities for the younger consumer since countries such as India and Malaysia host the world’s largest younger populations. To better target these demographics, Dr Ghosh advised that “companies need to focus on their need with evidence-based nutraceuticals.”
IADSA welcomes Switzerland’s governmental advice on vitamin D supplementation for older consumers
The market for healthy ageing products and practices has evolved over the last years. This is evident from the emergence of COVID-19 which changed how consumers view dietary supplements and how the industry positions its products. According to Philippe, this led immune health to become one of the top ageing-related claims in supplements. He says that mobility and cardiovascular support “are still core benefits of the category—in fact, heart health claims appeared in one of five supplement launches in 2021, a 50% rise from 2020.” He added, “healthy ageing claims are now the fastest growing niche within mental acuity, and we will see future growth in supplements that promise to enhance brain and cognitive function, mood, and energy.”
Over the last year, nutrition trends have shifted from targeting specific conditions towards supporting overall healthy ageing. “New products are increasingly driven by a holistic approach, offering potential benefits to both physical and mental health. Consumers are increasingly leaning towards natural ingredients with robust scientific evidence to support their effect on ageing processes,” says Mackinnon. Dr Miller outlines the top tier trends as being related to “the brain, including cognition, memory, stress, sleep; the microbiome, moving on from purely gut-orientated actions; and collagen, [focusing on] beauty from within, although it is moving on from promises to actual delivery of benefits with more complex formulations.” Second-tier trends include mobility, cardiovascular, sarcopenia, mitochondria, and energy.
Marine ingredients are also making a splash and winning favour with formulators of healthy ageing products according to Mackinnon. For example, high purity fucoidan, a bioactive compound found naturally in brown seaweeds, has seen “global demand rise rapidly in the past few years in response to the mounting dossier of scientific evidence supporting its potential anti-ageing properties.” Mackinnon also noted “fucoidan-containing seaweeds have been consumed in [several] Asian cultures for centuries.”
Many ingredients are making a name for themselves in the healthy ageing space, and, according to Dr Miller, a few key ones to watch out for include vitamin K2, for vascular and bone health; collagen, now moving to collagen-botanical combinations and beyond skin; adaptogens, for stress and sleep issues; inflammation modulators, including curcumin, cat’s claw, polyphenols; and prebiotics and probiotics, to manage the microbiome. He also mentioned that “astaxanthin is growing with an emphasis on beauty, vision, brain, cardiovascular, sarcopenia and immunity.” Prof Eggersdorfer also lists probiotics as a trending ingredient for healthy ageing and alongside omega-3s, vitamins D and C, and select minerals. For many of these ingredients, there are health claims established by the European Food Safety Authority, EFSA. Eggersdorfer highlighted that the elderly are looking for ingredients and holistic solutions to “reduce risks for issues related to age like eye health, cardiovascular health, cognitive decline, reduced mobility, frailty and immunity.” According to Cooper, “lifestyle and nutraceutical intervention can mediate key ageing processes in the body like autophagy, senescence, genetic instability, stem cell exhaustion, loss of proteostasis, epigenetic alterations, telomere attrition, microbiome changes and mitochondrial dysfunction.” She goes on to state that “polyphenol containing plant extracts, probiotics, prebiotics, amino acids, key micronutrients, anti-inflammatories and superfood modalities have all been clinically studied for their ability to intervene in these and the other hallmarks of ageing.”