While the New York Attorney General’s investigation may have put the topic of botanical identity testing squarely in the mainstream spotlight, the industry has for years understood that herbs and botanicals pose unique challenges in laboratory testing. In the lead-in to SupplySide West, Heather Granato, vice president of content, spoke with Holly Johnson, chief science officer at the American Herbal Products Association (ahpa.org), about the considerations that manufacturers must keep in mind when doing testing and, especially, when partnering with suppliers and outside laboratories.

A regulatory consultant in the food and supplement industries must be confident and knowledgeable to navigate the murky waters of laws that are often not black and white. When a woman takes this role, she is acting outside of gender norms in a field dominated by men. In this Healthy Insider podcast, Rena Cohen-First, director of sales, Western Region, The Wright Group, talks with Denise Webster, regulatory consultant, Food Brand Protection, about her career as a Gen X female leader. Sandy Almendarez, editor in chief, INSIDER, shares a bit of the Millennial perspective.

In a market with an increasing interest in transparency, technology solutions are now coming to the fore to help streamline the supply chain. Whether they’re using blockchain or other tech, companies are looking for ways to bring the dietary supplement industry to another level. In the lead-in to SupplySide West, Heather Granato, vice president of content, spoke with Skye Lininger, president of dietary supplements at TraceGains (tracegains.com), about the opportunities ahead to use technology to improve communication across the industry, while being mindful of concerns about data protection and privacy, as well as the recent acquisition of the Vitature platform and what that could mean to supply chain buy-in.

The term “organic” has a federal definition and decades of history, and sales growth rates for organic products continue to outpace those of conventional goods. Meeting the current and rising demand will take greater investments in the supply chain from all parties, with an emphasis on helping farmers through the transition to support long-term sustainable growth. In the lead-in to SupplySide West, Heather Granato, vice president of content, spoke with Brise Tencer, executive director of the Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF.org), about the state of the organic industry and the role that manufacturers can play to support organic farming and a healthy supply chain.

Concerns about getting older can take many forms, from fear of burdening others to lack of energy and even running out of money to support oneself. Steve French, managing partner, Natural Marketing Institute, lays out what consumers fear most about getting older, and the surprising demographic that is most likely to try to do something about it, such as take a nutrition product.

In this episode, INSIDER editor-in-chief Sandy Almendarez and French, discuss:

• How consumers consider physical, social, financial and technological health all part of healthy aging.

• How the top aging fears focus on cognitive health and financial security, and the type of health products consumers are taking to address these fears.

• The market growth in fortified and functional foods is driven by Millennials, but matures still have the highest supplement usage rate.

In this SupplySide West edition of the Healthy INSIDER Podcast, Rachel Adams, managing editor, and Amanda Archibald, registered dietician and principal at the Genomic Kitchen, tackle the question: How do we translate nutrition science to the plate?

Consumers have always been in the driver’s seat when it comes to product development, as brand marketers try to anticipate and meet their needs. However, in an increasingly speedy world, what should marketers consider as they look at the trends and driving forces currently upending the nutrition marketplace? In the lead-in to SupplySide West, Heather Granato, vice president of content, spoke with Peter Wennstrom, founder and expert consultant with The Healthy Marketing Group (thehmt.com), about some of these global game changers and how brands are adapting.

In this podcast interview, Tara Lin Couch, Ph.D., of EAS Consulting Group, weighs in on brand owners—or so-called own-label distributors of dietary supplements—effectively partnering with contract laboratories to perform a variety of testing services.

Today’s range of functional beverages include everything from enhanced waters, juices, cold-brew coffee, RTD teas, etc. with an increased emphasis on the inclusion of shorter ingredient lists, with simple and recognizable names.

With so many natural products having broad appeal across age ranges, tailoring the verbiage, channel and takeaways to different demographics can incrementally improve market acceptance.