CHECK OUT OUR MEDIA MENTION IN NUTRITION INSIGHT
10-March-2025
At the recent Natural Products Expo West (NPEW) trade show in California, US, weight management solutions took center stage. Nutrition and food companies highlighted their alternatives to GLP-1 medications and complementary products to support users on these drugs in their weight loss journey and overcome side effects.
Nutrition Insight explores nutrition innovations, trends, and the impact of key macronutrients protein and fiber on weight management with Gnosis by Lesaffre, Now, Euromed, Aker BioMarine, Glanbia Nutritionals, COMET Bio, and Rivalz Snacks.
Ulrich Irgens, general manager at Gnosis by Lesaffre, says that everyone is looking at weight management and GLP-1, with pharmaceutical companies building a whole market segment on weight loss.
“We see now that you can achieve weight loss effectively with a drug. It’s invasive and expensive, and we see that the moment you get off it, there is a yo-yo effect where you regain much of the lost weight.”
“That means there’s an opportunity for the nutritional and supplement industry if we could get our head around weight maintenance. Instead of chasing the trends of losing weight, to focus on maintaining the weight that has been lost,” Irgens stresses. “If you can link that over time into blood glucose management, for example, there are other opportunities.”
Jim Emme, CEO of the supplement, food, and cosmetics brand Now, says that the GLP-1 and weight loss trends significantly impact the food and supplement industries.
“We’ve seen data in the last two days at the show here that any active product, whether that’s sports products, proteins (plant-based and whey), amino acids, and energy products are all contributing to that,” he details.
“We’re also hearing about trends with multivitamins because people are eating less and getting fewer nutrients. Therefore, they need to take a slightly higher dose than they might from a traditional supplement. That’s influencing it as well.”
Emme says the company believes the trend will have a global impact. “We’re sold in 92 countries, and we get exposure through our business partners and the regions that teach us these things. We believe that those things, at the current state of business, are going to influence things for decades to come.”
Research-based ingredient innovations
Spanish-based botanical extract developer Euromed presented a new solution at NPEW, perFix, a persimmon extract with proven efficacy in weight management and body composition. It promotes fat loss while preserving muscle mass. Euromed detailed that a daily dose of 400 mg of the extract helps to promote fat excretion and reduces waist, hip, and abdominal size.
Andrea Zangara, the company’s head of scientific communication and medical affairs, says this is the first standardized persimmon extract for weight loss. He predicts that post the GLP-1 craze, the industry should focus on upgrading weight management products.
“People don’t want any more products that do dramatic weight loss. They want targeted weight loss.”
Euromed develops its products based on the Mediterranean diet, focusing on traceability, product safety, and efficacy. Zangara adds: “We try to find something specific; who would have guessed, for example, that a fig could lower glycemia? It’s a superfruit. Or that a persimmon could help you lose considerable fat and maintain muscle mass.”
In the field of krill oil, producer Aker BioMarine also teased upcoming research linking its oil to weight management benefits.
The company’s CEO, Mats Johansen, says half of Aker BioMarine’s business is in aquaculture, which looks at metabolism. “In salmon, it’s so much easier to look at it because you kill the salmon and cut it up, and you can look at things differently than you can do in humans.”
“Taking that knowledge to humans, we’re looking at how that same metabolism effect can work with us,” he continues. “We have just finished a study; we haven’t published it yet, so I can’t tell the details, but we’re looking at fasting people — people who fast and lose weight.”
On average, the groups lost between three and four kilos during the study period. However, in the krill oil versus the placebo group, you can see that the weight loss is in fat, not in muscles like in the placebo group. That’s interesting data, which will be published in three or four months. It can be an important supplement to go together with the GLP-1s.”
Other GLP-1 alternatives presented at the show include Gencor’s Trpti, an OEA (oleoylethanolamide) designed to support weight management and metabolic health. Gencor told us that Tripti naturally activates GLP-1 in the body instead of creating instead of GLP-1 receptor agonist medications, which mimic the hormone.
Powerful protein
In addition to natural alternatives to GLP-1, NPEW exhibitors showcased a range of complementary products. For example, ADM showcased several solutions that address common side effects of these anti-obesity drugs, such as proteins to help support muscle mass retention.
James Stone, VP of Global Marketing & Insights at Glanbia Nutritionals, notes that protein is a significant trend in the functional beverage and nutrition market, partly driven by GLP-1 drugs.
Protein is, hands down, the macronutrient of choice. All generations are driving protein, but it’s driven by a desire to reduce sugar and carbohydrates,” he details.
He adds that the company conducts proprietary attitude and usage research on GLP-1 users to develop better complementary food and beverage solutions that help consumers manage their journey and get all the nutrients they need.
“What we’re finding is collectively, regardless of what generation or sex you are, it’s about more protein, less carbohydrates, and less sugar, but it’s also about digestive health and hydration. They’re all coming together,” says Stone.
“One of the strongest growth categories in our market is ready-to-drink protein drinks; there’s a reason why. I can take a 16-ounce protein drink, get 30 grams of protein in that drink, and get electrolytes and some fiber, and it’s easy to consume. If somebody’s on GLP-1, they’re already reducing the volume that they’re eating, so they can drink a little bit and then put it in the fridge and drink it again. All of a sudden, it fits your life very conveniently. I think that’s going to be a continued catalyst.”
In addition, he notes that younger generations further drive the protein market, as they are thinking about aging earlier “than every other generation before them.” Stone says that consumers are being told early on that the macronutrient mix is key to slowing down the aging process — “it’s about more protein, less carbohydrates, less sugar, and getting the right fat.”
Prebiotic fiber potential
With an ongoing spotlight on protein, consumers and nutrition companies also see a growing potential for prebiotic fibers in weight management and loss. This macronutrient can help support satiety, reduce products’ glycemic index, and benefit gut health issues, a common side effect of GLP-1 medications.
Comet Bio’s CEO, Loula Merkel, teases ongoing research on the company’s proprietary soluble dietary fiber, Arrabina, based on arabinoxylan. Arrabina was developed to address the need for a low-dose prebiotic fiber that can be used across a wide range of food and beverage applications.
“We have a prebiotic verified claim confirmed by a third party, but we also have been doing research, including an ex vivo trial we completed last year. Based on that, we’re currently doing a clinical trial looking at other unique benefits of Arrabina that would have to do with metabolic health and some of the very on-trend markers, such as satiety. We should have results by the end of the year.”
Compared to other fibers, Merkel says Arrabina is well-tolerated and “very stable in all sorts of formats for food and beverages.”
he adds: “If you put a prebiotic into some high-temperature formats, they tend to break down into simple sugars. Our product doesn’t do that. It’s a very stable fiber and survives without overdosing, without any fiber degradation.”
Rivalz Snacks, which develops health-focused snacks with AI, combines protein and fiber in its vegan stuffed snacks. These were recently certified as low-glycemic-index snacks, meaning that they offer a source of sustained energy without blood sugar spikes and crashes.
“When designing the product, we wanted to design it around metabolic health — a high-protein, high-fiber, low-glycemic snack. We were able to achieve that, passed our clinical trials, and we’re officially low glycemic,” says Rivalz Snacks’ CEO, Peter Barrick.
“When we started the company, we founded it on taste, nutrition, and affordability. As you look at the salty snack category, the snack aisle is filled with snacks high in carbohydrates and high glycemic products.”
Rivalz Snacks launched a new flavor at NPEW 2025, Weekend Tailgate BBQ. The company also achieved US Department of Agriculture Smart Snack compliance, an evidence-based nutrition standard for school snacks and beverages.
