Power to your elbow

All the evidence suggests that the sports nutrition market is extremely buoyant. And if it's true now, we may be in for explosive growth when the 2012 Olympics hit.

Nicole Patterson, principal consumer analyst, consumer and sensory science, at Leatherhead Food International (LFI), says the global market was worth £9.92bn last year, having grown by half in five years. UK sports and energy drinks chalked up £144M last year, up 18.7% on 2006 [TNS Superpanel]. The overall sports nutrition market is expected to grow by 15% annually within three years [LEK Consulting].

Sports drinks and nutrition bars are popular, but there are indications of opportunities in other areas. Glanbia Nutritionals, for example, proposes incorporating protein supplements into flapjacks and Frutarom presented samples of its latest energy product, Enjoy the Taste of Energy, in dairy products and confectionery.

Dr Judith Bryans, Dairy Council director, says "the benefits of milk as a sports aid is an area of interest for the dairy industry". She continues: "We can't speak for individual firms but it is an area where there may be more products available in the future. As our understanding of milk's bioactive peptides and lipids increases there is potential to discover more benefits."

Consumer friendly sports drinks

Patterson, who is speaking at an LFI conference on food and physical and mental performance on October 15, at Old Trafford Football Ground, Manchester, adds that the sports nutrition market is shifting "from synthetic supplements and additives to more consumer-friendly ingredients such as milk and fruit"

"A number of sources have identified fruit as under-exploited. Fruit is thought to positively influence sports recovery, promoting the immune function, preventing inflammation and reducing the risk of infection. Berries, apples and kiwi appear to be key areas of interest.

"Fruit or milk, or even a combination of the two, could be the key to the next generation of sports products moving into mainstream consumer products."

Starbucks launched Vivanno Nourishing Blends drinks, containing its proprietary whey protein and fibre blend in the UK in July, indicating the opportunities that milk derivatives offer. You can't get more mainstream than that.

Protein and protein components such as amino acids, help build muscles and aid their recovery after exercise. Volactive, the Hertfordshire-based sports nutrition wing of Volac International, which makes whey-derived ingredients, estimates European volume sales of protein ingredients in the sports nutrition market to be 17,000t. The company predicts this will swell to 20,000t by 2010.

"Branched chain amino acids are getting a lot of attention," says Dr Kevin Tipton, senior lecturer in exercise metabolism at Birmingham University. He cites a study showing branched chain amino acids reduced muscle soreness for people who hadn't exercised in a while.

Current initiatives involve improving the texture and taste of protein and amino acids in products. "Through our flavour house, Synergy, we are working closely with customers to address this issue - particularly masking the off-notes of some nutritional ingredients such as amino acids," says Aine Hallihan, head of research and development at Carbery, which makes functional ingredients, flavours and cheese. "Most products used to come in chocolate, strawberry and vanilla, but now many different flavour combinations are being introduced. We are about to launch a new ingredient that will improve taste and reduce sourness intensity in clear sports drinks."

Following Carbery's launch of Optipep, a whey protein ingredient which stops protein bars losing moisture, she says: "We are working on new ways to reduce the drying texture these products have."

Work on speeding up protein absorption through PeptoPro, a casein hydrolysate from DSM's global ingredients business, has led to Netherlands processor DIS incorporating it into its sports drink Sixgram. "We are pursuing openings to replicate such opportunities in other countries in Europe, including the UK," says Villaune Kal, global product manager for PeptoPro, which he claims has achieved double digit value and volume growth in the past year. "Our challenge is to find launch partners to rival the major players [in sports drinks]."

Winning combinations

Some have launched protein/carbohydrate combinations to provide energy and nutrients for muscles, such as Glanbia Nutritionals' Provon Revive. Provon is 90% protein, virtually fat, cholesterol and lactose free and rich in branched chain amino acids, including leucine and valine, aiding muscle growth. In addition, the company's Solmiko milk protein isolates offer slow and fast release protein. However, it remains tight-lipped on product take-up.

Carbery's Hallihan says: "We have been working to create products that combine protein ingredients with carbohydrates and other nutrients including amino acids, antioxidants and fat burning additives to achieve the optimum performance."

Products focusing on energy, particularly energy drinks, remain popular. Frutarom claims its Enjoy The Taste of Energy concept offers particular potential for manufacturers responding to the trend towards natural ingredients. Its range of herbal energy extracts, including green tea, guarana, schisandra, ginseng and green maté, aims to improve brain power and mental alertness. One of the firm's sample products showing how the ingredients can be used is 'Perfect Woman', a lifestyle yoghurt shot based on a dairy coffee concept with caramel toffee flavour and caffeine.

"A complex-carbohydrate-based bar delivers sustained energy release over several hours, fuelling optimum performance and maintaining energy levels," says Glanbia Nutritionals' food technologist for performance nutrition Marcus Smith. "Slow-release complex carbohydrates such as oat blends are preferred to the quick sugar hits from fast-releasing carbohydrates."

Caffeine concentration

Tipton says caffeine continues to be popular as an ingredient in new products. "Caffeine leads to more alertness and increased concentration. You can see enhanced performance with it."

Smith says: "A caffeine-rich supplement, delivered as a ready-to-mix drink can help minimise glycogen metabolism by helping the body burn fat as an energy source."

Another ingredient boasting a key role in energy metabolism is L-carnitine, which also benefits the skeletal muscles and heart. University of Connecticut research has shown that Carnipure tartrate supplementation, from global pharmaceutical, healthcare and life science business Lonza, slowed down bone loss and improved bone structure in rats.

Aquamin, a multi-mineral ingredient from calcified seaweed by Marigot in County Cork, Ireland, also promotes bone health. Its latest form, Aquamin Soluble, is tailored to sports drinks. David O'Leary, Marigot commercial director, adds: "Dissolving completely in water, it leaves no sediment and does not cause the cloudiness associated with mineral ingredients."

Whatever the ingredient, one of the real challenges for new product development departments remains the legal and scientific one of substantiating claims, says LFI's Patterson. In tandem with this at a consumer level is the ongoing controversy about the need for specialist sports nutrition products. Many nutritionists argue conventional foods will do the same job for the average consumer.

Tipton says: "For an endurance athlete doing intensive training there's no evidence that a banana cracker is any better or worse than a sports drink. And for proteins and carbs following, say, weightlifting, you can buy a sports drink or make a tuna sandwich." Often the core benefit of specialist sports products is convenience, he says.

The Dairy Council's Bryans, in particular supports the idea that skimmed milk rivals specialist products. "Skimmed milk contains a similar amount of carbohydrate and electrolytes as sports drinks and this makes it a very good candidate as a post-exercise recovery aid." Because it's already in fluid form it has a rehydrating function that wouldn't be true of whey powders in, say, protein bars, she says.

However, Mark Neville, marketing manager for dairy and lifestyle ingredients at Volactive, which is working on its Volactive HeatStable (HS) protein package for drinks, says: "100ml of skimmed milk contains 3-3.5% protein and 20g would be a good daily amount. You'd have to drink a lot of skimmed milk to get that. There are products with Volactive HS on the market that contain 20g or more of protein."

The conventional foodstuffs versus specialised sports nutrition products debate will, no doubt, continue to rage. But while processors can keep offering concentrated ingredients in a convenient form, possibly using natural foods such as milk and fruit, evidence says that the market will keep thriving. FM