“Absolutely! Despite what some may think, fortified supplements remain a huge opportunity across many different markets in Europe and beyond. This is especially true when you look at the increasing popularity of fortified gummies, with their appeal across a wide age range, and their blending of attractiveness, indulgence and health benefits.”

“The format allows customers to deliver their formula, including our microencapsulated iron, in a tasty, fruit-flavoured, pectin-based gummy. Our encapsulation technology is second-to-none in eliminating stability and organoleptic issues, including unappealing metallic off-flavours, which can otherwise affect this on-trend and convenient supplement format. All of this makes the combination of micro-encapsulated minerals and functional gummies a great option for older as well as younger age groups.”

“That’s a great question: this new strategy of ours is very relevant here. This is all about ‘connecting the dots’ and supporting our customers in their efforts to understand the consumer’s mind.”

“With LIPOFER gummies, you can clearly see how the considerations from the left side of the brain – the science side, if you like – combine with the right side, based more on the senses and the emotions. The consumer understands the science, which explains the health benefits – in this case of iron – across different demographics. The format and presentation of the product, on the other hand, satisfies those non-science-based criteria, which also need to be met.”

“But for our strategy to work, Nutra 2.0 needs the tools to do the job. In other words, we are investing in gaining insights into how consumer priorities are evolving. Customers are buying into, not only our optimised ingredients, technologies and microencapsulation systems, but also the insights we can offer into their core markets. For us, this means continually refreshing our data, not just on consumers as an undifferentiated population, but on specific groups, from children and pregnant women to the older consumer.”

“This is really about taking the same strategic approach and applying it, not just to a single ingredient or a single product, but to the bigger picture. In other words, we have our bioavailable, microencapsulated, scientifically supported ingredients: LIPOFER iron; ZINCNOVA zinc; MAGSHAPE magnesium; and NEWCAFF caffeine. We have our consumer research: the right-brain side of the innovation equation. We have been tracking, for example, the importance that increasing numbers of consumers attach to immune health and to physical activity, and the importance to many of mitigating exposure to digital devices, as well as manging stress and sleep.”

“Now, our Holistic Wellness bundle allows us to offer brands and consumers a multifunctional route to addressing these and other nutritional and health needs throughout the entire day, potentially extending this approach across an entire product range.”

“We understand that many smaller brand-owners and start-ups do not necessarily have huge teams to develop their own strategies or carry out their own research. Partnership with Lubrizol means having effective, high-quality active ingredients, but also an entire strategy to support you and your products into the future.”