Joint health experts highlight tech innovation and market trends to watch

26 Jun 2024 --- The “nutrition support for joint health” category is thriving as the global population lives longer and new, younger customers show interest in ingredients and products for improved mobility.

Nutrition Insight continues its conversation with industry experts representing Bioiberica, Giellepi, Lonza Capsules and Health Ingredients, PharmaLinea and Valio about the development of the healthy aging industry.

“Joint health is important not only for seniors but also younger consumers such as athletes and those with an active lifestyle are taking an interest in their mobility,” Dr. Anur Turpeinen, nutrition research manager at Valio, tells us. 

“Solutions for bone and joint health may address a broad range of issues, including strengthening joints or enhancing joint flexibility and range of motion and thus apply to consumers of different ages. People are quite health-conscious nowadays and the desire for healthy aging motivates consumers to find preventative solutions also for joint health.” 

Amy Sunderman, director of research and development at Lonza Capsules and Health Ingredients, adds: “The rise of active lifestyle consumers is reshaping the joint health market, expanding it beyond athletes to include a wider group of consumers. This trend is largely fueled by younger consumers seeking products to support their long-term joint health and mobility.”

“With the demographic of the average joint health consumer evolving, brands need to ensure that their solutions are developing at the same pace so that they can meet demand for convenient and easy-to-consume products.”

In the context of joint health, products containing collagen are among the fastest growing in the supplement market today, say experts.Collagen space opportunities 
Sunderman explains that “traditionally,” some of the products most popular for healthy joints are those containing glucosamine, chondroitin and methylsulfonylmethane. “However, these are now being outpaced by collagen. In the context of joint health, products containing collagen are among the fastest growing in the supplement market today.”  

“Joint health ingredients such as hydrolyzed collagen peptides require a very high dose to provide their stated mobility benefits. For instance, glucosamine and chondroitin require daily supplementation of 2,700 mg (which is equal to two to four large pills a day), and hydrolyzed collagen requires up to 20,000 mg per day. These ingredients are therefore unable to meet the needs of today’s consumers.”

 “In contrast, Lonza’s UC-II undenatured type II collagen’s mechanism of action enables the ingredient to provide mobility benefits at a very low 40 mg daily dose, enabling brands to develop convenient, easy-to-take supplements. Its low-dose functionality makes it a versatile, formulation-friendly solution that can be used in a wide range of popular dosage formats to meet the market’s evolving demands.” 

Market opportunities 
Also discussing the opportunities or challenges for products in the joint health space, Matevž Ambrožič, marketing director at PharmaLinea, tells us that many consumers are still convinced that non-prescription joint health supplements lack efficacy. 

“As doctors and healthcare professionals are still the most popular source for information on bone and joint health, there is a clear market opportunity for supplements with proof of efficacy that can be promoted through medical detailing,” he explains. “The majority of consumers are still more reactive than proactive, and this is an opportunity for products with effects that consumers can see and feel immediately.”

Maja Orešnik, the company’s science and research director outlines ingredients and products for joint health that are defining the evolution of the market. “Ingredients and products with immediate effects are becoming increasingly popular. For example, products that would reduce pain in a matter of days as opposed to traditional products, which had to be taken in the long-term for consumers to notice the effects.”

“Another thing we’ve noticed that is gaining recognition is specific product positioning, such as joint pain, joint inflammation and joint stiffness, among others. For the elderly, products with combined positioning could also be interesting — for example, joint and muscle, joint and bone and joint and sleep.

Ambrožič adds: “Aside from these new products, based on next-generation low-dose ingredients, addressing joint pain, with effects that can be seen and felt by consumers, there is a merge of pharma and nutra happening, as we saw with Haleon’s Voltaren. We expect more over-the-counter topical joint pain brands like Voltaren to expand with supplement SKUs.”

Latest in tech 
Fabio Terruzzi, strategic business development manager at the Italian ingredient innovator Giellepi, emphasizes that technology taps into the emerging healthy aging trends. “Technology platforms that boost and enhance uptake of those ingredients that have lower bioavailability and absorption rate into the body may help to make products stand out.” 

“In the case of botanical extracts, due to the natural variation of endogenous phytochemicals that occur in plants, characterization and then standardization become essential steps for ensuring quality while delivering the promised benefits.”Many consumers are still convinced that non-prescription joint health supplements lack efficacy — experts say this is an opportunity.

Lonza Capsules and Health Ingredients’ Sunderman similarly argues that “technology plays a crucial role in the manufacturing process of collagen for joint health, particularly in preserving the bioactive components essential for its effectiveness.”

“For example, Lonza’s unique, proprietary manufacturing process uses a gentle processing technology to preserve the undenatured triple helix structure of the type II collagen. This proprietary manufacturing technology also ensures that important bioactive binding regions on the collagen triple helix, called epitopes, are preserved.”

She explains that these epitopes are what enable UC-II undenatured type II collagen’s mechanism of action, triggering the body’s natural process to build new joint cartilage. 

Antonio Vendrell, marketing director at Bioiberica, tells us that “technology is a critical, albeit complicated, piece of the mobility supplement puzzle.”

He details that as the drive for personalized nutrition products gathers pace, wearable wellness trackers, symptom logging smartphone apps and online surveys perform a vital data-collection function, opening the potential for customized nutraceutical products.

“Information like this is power, but it comes with an immense responsibility to account for glitches and gaps, as well as safeguard consumers’ sensitive health data from prying eyes. The intersection of health and technology is a topic that especially interests us at Bioiberica.” 

Vendrell concludes: “Overall mobility relies on much more than just well-lubricated joints; it encompasses strong bones, muscle, tendon and ligament health and supporting it all — adequate protein and energy intake.”

By Milana Nikolova