Mapping The Nutraceuticals World

With rising interest in healthy aging, more people are looking for clinical research that supports products designed to help them live healthier for longer.

The coenzyme NAD+ is essential to the body's metabolic processes, but it declines with age, so supplements that boost NAD+ have garnered considerable attention in the scientific community.

ChromaDex, which is publicly traded on the Nasdaq, offers the consumer product brand Tru Niagen. This patented form of nicotinamide riboside (NR) is a precursor to NAD+.

Tru Niagen sales totaled nearly $70 million last year, accounting for the majority of the company’s $83.6 million in revenue.

In this interview, ChromaDex CEO Rob Fried discusses NAD+ and emerging research, the company’s evolution to become a consumer-focused nutraceutical, the future of aging, critical challenges in today’s dietary supplement market, and more.

Spoiler alert: Fried is calling for more accountability and collaboration to enforce quality standards and establish greater trust with consumers.

In addition to being CEO of ChromaDex since 2017 and the founder of Tru Niagen, Fried is an Academy Award and Emmy Award winning motion picture producer. Before his combined 7 years in the health industry, he held senior roles at entertainment companies Savoy Pictures (CEO), Columbia Pictures (Executive Vice President) and Fried Films (founder, CEO). He has also founded and served as CEO of internet companies Feeln (now Hallmark Movies Now), WHN (a leading e-commerce service provider), and Healthspan Research LLC.

In 2017, Fried led ChromaDex’s acquisition of Healthspan Research LLC, a consumer company offering Tru Niagen products, and raised funds with Horizon Ventures to offer Tru Niagen direct-to-consumer. He holds a BS from Cornell University and an MBA from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business.

Loren Israelsen from the United Natural Products Alliance shares insight on how agency priorities might change and how businesses can prepare.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is in process of a massive reorganization designed to streamline operations within a unified Human Foods Program (HFP) to largely replace the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN).

What does this mean for the dietary supplement industry?

In the proposal, now under review at Health and Human Services (HHS), the Office of Dietary Supplement Programs (ODSP) will report to a newly created “Office of Food Chemical Safety, Dietary Supplements, and Innovation,” (OFCSDSI), which FDA said “will work to modernize and strengthen oversight of food chemical safety, advance dietary supplement safety, and enable the Human Foods Program to support and effectively regulate food ingredient innovation.”

As the agency’s first Deputy Commissioner of Human Foods, Jim Jones is a 30-year veteran of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with a deep background in chemical safety. Jones and his staff met last December with several major trade associations representing the supplements industry, including Loren Israelsen, founder and president of the United Natural Products Alliance.

I talked with Loren recently about FDA’s restructuring and how priorities might change under an overhauled Human Foods Program with new leadership.

— Sean Moloughney, Editor, Nutraceuticals World, [email protected]

One of the biggest challenges for dietary supplements has been proving that products actually work.

The traditional model for clinical research is expensive, slow, and not representative of diverse populations. As its name suggests, the company Radicle Science aims to address those concerns with a much different approach, leveraging new tools and technology.

For this podcast we talked with founders Pelin Thorogood, executive chairwoman, and Dr. Jeff Chen, CEO, to learn more about their work and overall mission.

If you’d like to offer feedback or suggest a topic, you can email us at [email protected]

Born as a DTC multivitamin brand with strong focus on transparency, Ritual entered retail stores for the first time in 2022 with Whole Foods, and expanded in 2023 with Target and Amazon.

Now an omnichannel brand and a Certified B Corp, Ritual has expanded its menu of products to include a Synbiotic for gut health, as well as a Skin Hydration supplement called HyaCera. The company just launched its BioSeries extended release melatonin for sleep.

Ritual has set some big goals as it relates to traceability and environmental footprint, and has conducted life cycle analyses to measure the carbon impact of all its products. To learn more we talked with the company’s Chief Impact Officer Lindsay Dahl ....

Women In Nutraceuticals (WIN) is a nonprofit group established in 2022 with a mission to “empower women to unlock their personal and professional potential,” ultimately looking to “achieve economic and societal equity to change the global industry.” 

WIN recently conducted an industry Leadership Survey to get a global benchmark of where the industry is today in terms of gender equity. Results confirmed that women are underrepresented in senior leadership and executive boards. 

To learn more about the results we talked with WIN President Heather Granato, a 30-year veteran of the natural products industry, currently serving as vice president, partnerships and sustainability, in the Food EMEA division of Informa Markets.

To learn more about the survey results, read: Women In Nutraceuticals Leadership Survey Sets Representation Baseline

—Sean Moloughney, Editor 

Mushrooms seem to be everywhere, and in everything. Reishi, Shitake, Cordyceps, Lion’s Mane, Turkey Tail, Chaga, and others are all finding their way into dietary supplements and other nutritional products.

The closer you look at the Kingdom of Fungi, which is separate from plants, the more fascinating it seems to become.

To better understand the complexities of medicinal mushrooms, where this market is headed, and where it needs to go, I talked with Bill Chioffi, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer for Nammex, which supplies organic certified mushroom extracts.

Bill has worked in the Natural Products Community since 1994 including with Gaia Herbs and the Ric Scalzo Institute for Botanical Research at Sonoran University of Health Sciences.

If you have questions or feedback send us a note at [email protected].

Suggested Reading: A Kingdom of Their Own: Fungi Shine While Mushrooms Emerge as Market Stars

Questions and Topics Covered:

1:00 — Consumer interest in mushrooms has really exploded in the last few years or so. We see them in everything from traditional supplement capsules, to all sorts of food and beverage formulations, and on restaurant menus. What’s your sense of why this market seems to have gotten so hot so quickly?

2:49 — I’d appreciate your help in understanding some terms. First, what are the defining characteristics of a mushroom? Understanding they live within the Kingdom of Fungi, what makes a mushroom a mushroom as opposed to some other type of fungus?

7:53 — Are there other parts or terms associated with mushrooms that warrant attention or clarification? I also want to talk about substrates.

11:42 — From a regulatory and labeling standpoint, should myceliated grain be distinguished from a mushroom extract from a fruiting body? Are they different products?

14:36 — NAMMEX (North American Medicinal Mushroom Extracts) has been growing mushrooms for more than 45 years. The founder Jeff Chilton has been studying them even longer than that. NAMMEX extracts are made from certified organic mushrooms, grown naturally on substrate materials native to each particular mushroom. Can you explain your cultivation and processing methods and how this compares to what else is available on the market today?

19:30 — You’ve noted a clear need for more standardization. Can you explain the quality control standards and testing protocols NAMMEX has in place?

24:47 — Who should be involved in the process for developing official methods of analysis and what should that effort look like?

26:35 — There are so many different varieties of mushrooms all with their own history of use and potential health benefits. Where do you see the most runway for innovation?

29:44 — What’s the most fascinating species you’ve encountered? 

There are all sorts of legal and regulatory issues affecting the dietary supplements market today. FDA restructuring, drug preclusion, facility inspections, FTC’s new Health Products Compliance Guidance, and updated Green Guides for environmental claims are just a few. 

 Top legal and regulatory experts will be tackling these issues and more at the 11th Legal, Regulatory & Compliance Forum on Dietary Supplements in NYC on June 28 and 29 with preconference workshops on June 27..

The Forum is a collaboration between the American Conference Institute and the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN).

To discuss the agenda and how a changing legal and regulatory landscape is impacting industry practices, I talked with conference co-chairs Megan Olsen, senior vice president & general counsel, Council for Responsible Nutrition, and Taneesha Routier, director of regulatory affairs, XYMOGEN.

If you have feedback or want to suggest a topic you can email us at [email protected]

Guest Questions:

1:10 — This year is the 11th Legal, Regulatory & Compliance Forum on Dietary Supplements, which will take place June 28-29 in NYC. What were your goals and intentions as chairs for this year’s program?

3:40 — The Forum features representatives from FDA’s ODSP and FTC. What do you expect to come from their presentations and exchanges?

7:02 — Drug preclusion is an issue on everyone’s mind. How will the Forum approach this topic?

9:28 — How might FDA reorganization of the Human Foods Program impact the agency’s process for inspection of manufacturing facilities?

10:55 — Overall, how might industry and FDA better collaborate to increase inspection frequency and efficiency?

11:56 — What do you anticipate hearing from FTC about its New Health Products Compliance Guidance and its warnings to industry about ensuring proper claims substantiation?

13:56 — FTC has updated Green Guides. Delta Airlines is facing a class action lawsuit related to its carbon neutral claims. How big an area of focus are environmental claims in the dietary supplement industry for FTC and the plaintiff’s bar?

17:23 — We’ve heard publicly recently about a few cases of counterfeit products impersonating brands on Amazon. The Forum will include representatives from the Justice Department and Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit. How big an issue is product integrity in today’s marketplace? 

This November marks 25 years since the debut issue of Nutraceuticals World (NW), which launched 4 years after passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA).

NW Founding Editor Ellen Schutt—now the managing director of the Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s (GOED)—reflects on advancement of the nutraceutical market and remembers fellow colleagues Robin Pask and Steve Lipscomb.

She also offers her perspective on omega-3 innovation, science, sustainability, and communication strategies.

GOED’s biennial event, the GOED Exchange, will take place Jan. 23-25, 2024 in Athens, Greece.

To send us  feedback, email us at [email protected]

Caitlyn Vanderhaeghe is the President and CEO of KidStar Nutrients, based in Vancouver, BC, Canada, which aims to deliver the highest quality nutritional supplements for kids.

She co-founded KidStar Nutrients after one of her daughters was diagnosed with iron deficiency, and she wasn’t satisfied with what was available on the market.

“I went on a hunt for great quality products, and to be honest I came up empty-handed,”  Vanderhaeghe said.

The core of the KidStar line is iron products for that reason, and the company aimed to fill a gap in the market for single-ingredient nutrient deficiencies, such as omega-3s and vitamin D3, which are commonly lacking in the diet.

The company also offers its StarMulti—Multinutrients Plus Organic Fermented Whole Foods, a complete multivitamin and mineral formula that comes in sugar-free chewable tablets.

Vanderhaeghe’s experience spans over a decade of supply chain management and ingredient sourcing in the natural products industry—first with her mother’s company, Lorna Vanderhaeghe Health Solutions, which was acquired by Jamieson Laboratories in 2014 and is now known as Smart Solutions.

Caitlyn's mission is to continue educating parents about kids' nutrition and iron deficiency while providing clean nutrients for kids and families.

You can email us with feedback at [email protected]

Dietary supplement issues discussed include:

• The drug exclusion rule in DSHEA and the impact on CBD, NAC, NMN, and other ingredients; 
• FDA restructuring of the Human Foods Program and industry’s relationship with its regulators; 
• FDA’s “Dietary Supplement Ingredient Directory”;
• CBD and potential for a regulatory fix through the Farm Bill, or other legislative packages;
• FTC notices sent to companies about claims substantiation and its Health Products Compliance Guidance;
• Counterfeit products imitating dietary supplement brands and the potential impact on consumer trust;
• Results from a consumer survey and efforts to cover dietary supplement costs in Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA).

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