Consumers looking for targeted benefits
Brian Appell, marketing manager for OmniActive Health Technologies said consumers are better informed than ever on what to look for in weight management ingredients. OmniActive has two offers in the weight management sphere: Capsimax, a thermogenic ingredient that is an extract of hot peppers, and Omnilean, an extract of the woody vine Salacia chinensis.
“Consumers also want to understand the specific targets and benefits of their weight management supplements. So, there’s a shift beyond just “weight management” or “healthy weight” claims to more meaningful statements like “improved waist-to-hip ratio,” “increasing resting energy expenditure,” “promoting healthy glycemic response” and “reducing the urge to snack,” to name a few. These resonate with consumers and instill confidence that there’s science behind those claims,” he said.
Both Appell and Pande said that science backing is the key to competing with newer, perhaps flashier ingredients. Some of these ephemeral late comers ultimately cannot deliver what they promise.
“The good news is the fads are fading. The ‘magic bullet’ is being replaced by objective science because consumers want to know how their supplements work and what they can expect,” Appell said.
“Capsimax continues to be a promising ingredient for weight management for several reasons.
Consumers are increasingly looking to food and natural extracts from food to address their health goals, including weight management. And since Capsimax is a food-based extract from capsicum peppers, it fits this need in the weight management market.
“Capsimax targets key areas for weight management by boosting metabolism, controlling hunger and increasingly lipolysis (i.e., the breakdown of fat) in a small dose. For example, our recent Metabolic Rate (MR) study showed that taking 100 mg of Capsimax significantly increased caloric expenditure equivalent to about 100 calories each day. Imagine what expending 100 calories could potentially mean when added up over the course of 30 days. That’s 3,000 calories which is almost one pound of fat,” he added.
“As the market developed for weight management ingredients, several other ingredients and “ Me too “ products emerged, however sometimes poor education in weight management also led to poor choice of supplements, such as those promising loss of 10 pounds in 2 weeks. Poor compliance to label claims lead to exaggerated claims which were too good to be true. In the long run products with nonexistent science or exaggerated promises don’t hold consumer confidence. Old ingredients like ForsLean, GarCitrin, Citrin etc are able to hold their market despite new ingredients and products launched every few weeks, because they are supported by science, clinical validation, label compliance and transparency. In addition, for products like ForsLean where the growing demand had to be constantly met, Sabinsa took bold step to be one of the very few RD companies to get into cultivation of herbs like Coleus through farmer friendly contract farming. This lead to sustainable cultivation practices and better yields,” Pande said.
Botanical ingredients work through various modes of action. Omniactive’s Capsimax is a thermogenic ingredient, helping to burn more calories. OmniLean works to control blood glucose spikes. Sabinsa’s ForsLean is said to increase cAMP levels and thus the lipase activity to break down fat, with Garcitrin plays an important role in reducing the appetite due to the role of HCA (hydroxycitric acid, the main active component). Another long time player in the market, Gencor Pacific, offers Slimaluma, an extract of Caralluma fibriata, which works as an appetite suppressant. And it also offers ActiveAMP, an extract of Gynostemma pentaphylum, a thermogenic ingredient that is said to increase fat burning by up regulating an enzyme called AMP-activated kinase (AMPk).
Transitioning away from ‘weight’ and toward ‘health’
Sabinsa’s president Shaheen Majeed said the overall category may be transitioning away from ‘weight management’ toward a concept of supporting consumers’ journeys toward greater health and fitness. He said in a recent conversation with a Food and Drug Administration auditor during an inspection of one of the company’s plants he was given the distinct impression that the agency is viewing obesity as an inflammatory condition. This would put any product with the word ‘weight’ on its label on potentially shaky ground.
“The conversation that Sabinsa has on such ingredients leans towards the ‘sports’ angle. I’ve been quoted as saying, ‘No one says they are trying to lose weight anymore, they say instead, I’m getting in shape, going to the gym, being more active, etc.’ This is a shift in how we manage weight, and it’s a good shift, because we can then take such ingredients/products from being a fad to being a lifestyle choice where one’s weight/fat is not looked down upon, but is being managed in a healthy way. Of course, this healthy way has to do with foods and supplementation,” Majeed said.