Webinar to focus on what really works in sports nutrition

Marketers of active nutrition products have worked hard to bring new consumers into the category. An Informa webinar scheduled for tomorrow morning focuses on the steak within that sizzle. What really works, and why?

Sports nutrition started with the rise of coverage of bodybuilders in popular media in the 1960s and 1970s. Back then, bodybuilding competitors seemed willing to ingest almost anything, no matter how noisome, if it would help them achieve their goals. A dozen raw eggs in a blender was an iconic example from back in the day.

Working on making products more attractive

Early sports nutrition products followed on this trend. The original PowerBars left a lot to be desired in the taste and palatability departments, but end users put up with it because of the attractive nutrition profiles. Early pre-workout products, chock full of bitter tasting amino acids that were only partially masked with brash flavors, were a difficult sell for casual consumers, too.

Similarly, the original Gatorade formulations, which brought the science of the then newly elucidated glucose transporter, were an acquired taste. But the stark performance gains observed when athletes were properly supplied with electrolytes were too obvious to ignore, and Gatorade was on its way to becoming the powerhouse brand it is today. (Some mouthfeel and taste improvements along the way helped, of course.)

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As time went on, many sports nutrition brands started to focus on improving those attributes.  A lot of effort was expended making products taste better to be more attractive to fringe consumers who were seeking a general health boost and weren’t willing to put up with an unattractive product just for its purported benefits.

They have been successful in that regard, with the active nutrition sector being one of the strongest growth categories in the supplement industry.

What really works?

But within that sizzle there must be some steak, or that growth will ultimately crash. This webinar will focus on the science behind the ingredients that have really been shown to work. What kind of benefits are these products providing? What are the most compelling combinations and applications?

The webinar will be hosted by Hank Schultz, senior editor of SupplySide Supplement Journal. The expert panel includes:

- Adel Villalobos, founder and CEO of Lief Organics.

- Chad Kerksick, Ph.D., assistant dean of research & development and associate professor at Lindenwood University.

- Ralf Jäger, Ph.D., managing partner of Increnovo, Inc.

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- Krissy Kendall, Ph.D., senior lecturer, exercise and sports science, Edith Cowan University

Active Nutrition webinar

Click here for the landing page for tomorrow’s event, which is scheduled for 1 pm Eastern time.