Attendees at the annual Vitafoods Europe conference scheduled for early May should plan on hearing and seeing plenty of optimism about the future of sports nutrition products. Despite a rather strange 18 months of international politics that included the Brexit vote and the election of Donald Trump to the US presidency, the biggest players in the global nutrition industry are bullish about the future.
As a company specialising in sports nutrition and vending, we share that optimism. We believe the future holds a lot of potential for the upward trajectory of our business. Our reasoning is simple: people are now more nutrition-minded than ever before, whether that relates to daily nutrition around the table or sports nutrition. The desire to eat healthier is not going to change based on political movements.
Sports Nutrition Products and Functional Foods
Some 18,000+ visitors are expected to join more than 1,000 exhibitors when the show opens next month. Visitors will attend a number of presentations during the three-day event, many of them focussing on sports nutrition and how the general concept fits with newly emerging functional foods.
What are functional foods? They are foods that have positive health benefits that go above and beyond basic nutritional needs. The concept of functional foods was first introduced in the mid-1980s; it has grown considerably in the years since. Examples of functional foods include products containing probiotics and prebiotics.
If industry experts are correct, functional foods will gradually take a more significant role in determining the future of sports nutrition. It is assumed that consumers will at some point no longer be satisfied with products that simply meet their nutritional needs; they will want foods that can be used in concert with their exercise regimens to improve overall health and competitive performance.
Optimism Already There
Organisers of next month's show took the time to interview prospective visitors about their current perceptions of the sports and global nutrition markets. The results of the survey revealed that plenty of optimism already exists. For example, 88% of the respondents indicated they were either 'very positive' or 'quite positive' about the state of the industry. That represents a one percentage point increase over the year before.
Manufacturers, distributors, and retailers are all looking at the next 12 months with plenty of optimism. They see a European market ripe for innovation in sports nutrition irrespective of how Brexit negotiations progress. We see their enthusiasm as a positive sign for our segment of the larger sports nutrition industry.
If sports nutrition continues to grow at its current rate, and there's every indication to believe it will, it will mean nothing but good things for Nutrivend and our customers. Consumers will continue to demand high-quality sports nutrition products at their local supermarkets. They will expect their gyms to offer sports nutrition products via vending machines and on-site lounges and cafés. They will pay more attention to functional foods as a means of increasing the benefits of regular exercise.
Sources:
Food Manufacture – http://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Ingredients/Your-guide-next-month-s-leading-nutrition-show
