Healthy INSIDER Podcast

Supplement brands that follow procedures to ensure adulterated materials aren’t circulated to other companies will help clean up the industry, create better products and safeguard consumer loyalty. However, shifting operations to reject and destroy ingredients without paying vendors can be scary and risky, especially without these details outlined in supplier agreements. In this podcast, Jim Emme, CEO, NOW Foods Health Group, discusses how brands can help reduce adulteration with help from the Botanical Adulteration Prevention Program (BAPP).

Discovering the person behind personalized nutrition – podcast

Many personalized nutrition brands capitalize on the blood tests that can indicate a consumer’s dietary shortfalls, but to truly understand a person's needs, other factors need to be considered as well, according to Diana Morgan, head of scientific and regulatory affairs, Care/of. She encourages brands to also consider a person’s diet, lifestyle, physical activity, sleep, stress level, medications and environment. In this podcast with Sandy Almendarez, content director, Informa Markets, Morgan dives into personalized nutrition for supplement brands.

Today's Ashwagandha Advantage podcast, featuring master herbalist and formulator Blaire Edwards, discusses how targeting women's health concerns, such as chronic stress – which may suppress the immune system, disrupt digestion, sleep, and hormonal balance, and cause sexual health dysfunction – can benefit from regular intake of ashwagandha.

Revered for its ability to address the underlying consequences of stress and support vitality, ashwagandha is poised to provide a solution for a variety of women's health needs.

Consumer and environmental demands mean supplement and functional brands must address how their practices affect the environment. But the “how” of implementing these regenerative agriculture, processing and packaging procedures can intimate companies. Fear not, says Erin Callahan, director, Climate Collaborative; brands don’t have to save the entire world today, but they do need to take the first step.

Influencers who champion supplement and functional food products to their followers give those brands great opportunity for exposure to a welcoming audience, but companies must be selective when choosing influencers—yes, more than one—who will speak about their offerings, notes Amy Summers, owner and president, Pitch Publicity. In this podcast with Sandy Almendarez, content director, Informa Health & Nutrition, Summers covers best practices when using influencers.

What’s the story with CBD safety? The United Nations reported it’s completely safe for human consumption. The US FDA says otherwise. INSIDER senior editor Todd Runestad sits down with Stuart Tomc, senior VP business development, for CV Sciences—the only brand to have submitted a self-GRAS dossier to the FDA. Listen up as they discuss:

- How has the market changed from before the first farm bill and after this second farm bill

- Why the CV Sciences’ self-GRAS for CBD means

- Considerations that any CBD company needs to go through to firmly establish themselves on the right side of the law, even as the law evolves.

Consumers want personalized nutrition products, but often lack access to the medical test that measure nutrient statuses. Supplement brands can help, says industry veteran Michael McBurney.

Personalized nutrition—where brands offer products that can help a specific person based on his or her individual needs—could, and arguably should, be the future for supplement brands that strive to help consumers meet nutrition goals. However, access to devices that test nutrient statuses is holding consumers and the industry back from the breakthrough that’s needed to propel this market. Michael McBurney, Ph.D., adjunct professor, department of human health and nutritional sciences, University of Guelph, describes what supplement/functional food brands can do create an market where personalized nutrition is an option for more people. In this podcast with Sandy Almendarez, content director, Informa Markets, McBurney covers personalized nutrition for supplement brands.

The supplement market is robust with household penetration at over 80 percent, according to Bob Sanders, executive vice president, health care and home care practice leader, IRi (Information Resources Inc.). Still, supplement brands have opportunities to grow their reach among consumers who already rely on supplements for nutrition, Sanders noted in this podcast with Sandy Almendarez, content director, Informa Markets.

The new generation of supplements consumers is entering the market, and it all starts with herbs. We sit down with Michael McGuffin, president of the American Herbal Products Association, to dig into the fecund earth of the herbal market. Listen to Todd Runestad, senior editor, INSIDER, as they discuss:

- How hippies, Mormons and German multinationals came together to form an industry

- Common herbs in different healing traditions around the world

- Cannabis, hemp and CBD. Of course you knew we’d talk about this!

Dustin Gersch, owner, Paleo Powder Seasonings LLC, created Paleo Powder AIP Coating Mix, which works like traditional breadcrumbs, but uses cassava pulp as a carrier for the seasoning blend to offer a grain- and gluten-free, certified Paleo and non-GMO coating for at-home chefs. The AIP Coating Mix is seasoned with Himalayan pink salt, garlic and onion powders and Italian seasoning and mimics traditional offerings in terms of mouthfeel, taste, color and texture.

Along with Paleo Powder Seasonings, Gersch is a financial planner and the father of two kids under 3 years old. His story is one of hustle and dedication. In this podcast, Gersch and Sandy Almendarez, content director, Informa, discuss Gersch ideation and product launch process, including the challenges he’s faced.