The market for digestive health supplements grows as savvy consumers seek more than relief from symptoms.
Increasingly sophisticated consumers are looking for realistic solutions instead of panacea for their digestive complaints. Manufacturers, ingredient suppliers and retailers welcome the opportunity to educate their audiences on ensuring good gut health by understanding the root causes and risks of common digestive ills, such as gas, bloating, heartburn and more.
The worldwide digestive health enzymes market is witnessing upsurge demand in developed economies due to growing health concerns and rising standard of living. According to Research Markets reports, demand for digestive health enzymes is expected to grow as people become more aware about the benefits of these enzymes and are able to increase their spending on personal health.
In the United States, this demand also continues to grow as more attention is paid to the role of the gut and the body’s overall health. While the market for this kind of product appears healthy, the variety of products are evolving as consumers want choices in alleviating their immediate symptoms, as well as improving their overall gastrointestinal health by learning new ways to care for themselves to improve their gut health.
Current State of the Digestive Health Market
According to Stacey Gillespie, director of product marketing with New Hampshire-based MegaFood, the market for digestive health products is robust.
“The digestive category is experiencing healthy double-digit growth in both the dietary supplement and food segments and is predicted to continue to grow over and above all categories in the next five years.“
She added that the growth of probiotics is attributed to new entries into the category, as well as increasing consumer interest and awareness. Amanda Brown, sales representative with American Laboratories Inc. in Nebraska, noted that the diversity and plentitude of digestive health products on the market means that there are many solutions to addressing digestive problems.
“Digestive health products are still one of the top sellers in the market place,” said Brown. There are many different digestive health issues an individual could encounter and fortunately, there are many products on the market that help provide a solution.
She explained how a person who may have trouble with lactose intolerance, for example, could introduce the digestive enzyme, lactase, into their diet to ease the effects of the body not being able to properly digest lactose.
“I believe this is a particular industry that will continue to grow as more people are becoming educated on the benefits of introducing digestive enzymes into their normal diet,” Brown said.
Tim Mount, CN, CCMH, director of education and marketing manager with NeoCell in California, described how collagen is often overlooked as a useful supplement for the support of digestive health. He said several studies performed by the National Institutes of Health identify the important role collagen plays in various tissues of the gastrointestinal tract.
Jennifer Oliveri, marketing manager with the Ginger People Group in California, stated that more than 30 percent of Americans report regularly experiencing some sort of gastrointestinal condition.
“In 2014, dispensed gastrointestinal prescriptions topped 60 million, making it one of the top therapeutic categories,” Oliveri said. “At the same time, the over-the-counter (OTC) digestive health market has grown steadily since 2013. Supplements in this category account for nearly two billion dollars in annual sales.”
Oliveri pointed out that while antacids and antidiarrheals have comprised the largest segment in the past, more people are shifting from reactive remedial approaches to improving overall health and wellness through better diet and products that support prevention, including probiotics, prebiotics and herbal supplements.
“Products carrying digestive health claims have steadily increased over the past few years, now accounting for almost four percent of total new product launches in the U.S. market,” she said. “The focus on digestive health and, subsequently the market, will continue to accelerate well into the next five years.”
But, Mike Smith, vice president with Specialty Enzymes & Biotechnologies in California, said he believes one viable means of treating gastrointestinal illnesses is ignored by the press. “Digestive enzymes largely fly under the radar as far as mainstream media are concerned,” he stated. “As long as antacids like Tums and H2 blockers like Pepcid are profitable, there is little incentive for major pharmaceutical corporations to market digestive enzymes,” he continued. “Yet—digestive enzymes grow year after year, 2015 being no exception. Unlike most dietary supplements, with digestive enzymes you can actually feel the relief from indigestion, bloating and abdominal discomfort. When something works, people talk.”
Ryan Reisman, education director with Texas-based Himalaya Drug Company, said that during his 16 years with the company, digestive health has been a strong component of their business.
“When I managed my first health food store back in the 1990s, digestion was a big topic for just about any customer who walked in the door. Now after 16 years with Himalaya, I still see this category growing, and not just because companies are coming out with new or clever products or marketing. When I even look at an old chestnut of our industry like our Triphala, we saw double-digit growth. Digestion is a huge concern to consumers. The market is as strong as ever.”
Mark Stowe, a retailer and owner of the Nutrition Cottage, said he believes slightly differently. A licensed nutritionist, he runs his family-owned establishment in Boynton Beach, FL, which has been in existence since 1968 and is the oldest, independent natural foods store in South Florida. He noted that most of his customers with digestive issues complain of reflux, indigestion, bloating and elimination problems. Stowe counsels them to pick the worst offender in their diets and eliminate it gradually. He also urges his customers to change the times of day in which they eat certain foods.
Although Stowe said there might be trends in digestive health, his philosophy is to address the core problems. He does believe, however, that one growing problem that affects health is the lack of sufficient probiotic cultures in the gut caused by a number of reasons including over use of antibiotics. “Antibiotic resistance due to over use often leads to an out-of-balance digestive system in which the good bacteria are destroyed and over-run by destructive bacteria. I like to compare it to a battle scenario where the troops are diminished and weakened and can no longer put up a fight.”
Dan Hillestad is vice president of sales and marketing for Hillestad Pharmaceuticals, a dietary supplement manufacturer in Wisconsin founded by his parents Don and Lucy in 1959. The company specializes in dialysis support supplements, but also carries a complete line of nutritional products for general use, including probiotics. Hillestad Pharmaceuticals relies on direct sales marketing and retail stores to sell its products throughout the United States and Canada.
One of the top trends, according to Hillestad, is the increase of educated consumers. “Consumers are very aware of what kinds of products would be best for their particular health issues,” he said, adding that consumers understand the specific signs associated with different types of digestive issues and what nutritional action might be taken.
Trends in Ingredients
Industry experts have differing opinions on the trends affecting the digestion category.
According to Gillespie, specialty probiotic strains supported by research and those combined with prebiotics and foods, also known as synbiotics, are experiencing the highest rate of growth.
At American Laboratories Inc., Pancreatin has always been a prevalent digestive product, explained Brown. “Pancreatin is a naturally occurring enzyme in the hog pancreas that we isolate in our manufacturing process and extract into a powder form,” she explained. “It is a great all-encompassing digestive enzyme product consisting of protease enzyme for protein hydrolysis, amylase for starch hydrolysis and lipase for fat hydrolysis.”
Brown added that there are other popular ingredients such as plant enzymes that include papain (papaya) and bromelain (pineapple). She said both of these enzymes are broad specificity protease enzymes that hydrolyze proteins into absorbable amino acids. The plant enzymes also have systemic health benefits on top of being helpful in digestion.
Collagen supplements help support gastrointestinal functioning, according to Mount. “Collagen supplements are known to stimulate collagen synthesis in the body and may nutritionally support the optimal functioning of the stomach and intestines by affecting the underlying mechanical operation of the extracellular matrix found in smooth muscles,” he said.
“NeoCell Collagen, including the line of hydrolyzed Super Collagen products, provides a high-dose collagen peptide supplement that may be of interest to anyone interested in nutritionally supporting digestive health,” Mount explained.
Oliveri cited how the ingredients studied by the Ginger People as gaining popularity include fiber, fermented foods and living cultures as well as polyphenols. She noted that despite efforts to get people to up their fiber intake, the average American still consumes less than half their RDA (recommended daily allowance).
“While whole foods are still the best source for a variety of fiber, and most of the innovation is focused on fortifying products beyond cereals and snacks, there have been a few new supplements aiming for cleaner labels,” she said. “Most of those still rely on inulin or psyllium as their fiber source.”
She also pointed out that the increase in fermented foods and living cultures is not just taking place in the refrigerator case, but supplement brands have focused on working out how to get the best of these from whole foods into capsule form.
“Get Real Nutrition touts using fermentation and sprouting to pack their new digestive supplement range with living cultures,” Oliveri explained. “The challenge for probiotics and prebiotics is the ongoing debate about whether they’re actually effective at improving gut health.”
She also explored how polyphenols are now being promoted as digestive health aides—these substances are most often recognized as the components that gave permission to drink red wine and eat dark chocolate. “Polyphenols are also now being promoted for their beneficial effects on digestive health. Cue lots of berry- and spice-centric new product launches,” she said.
According to Smith, the current trend for enzymes is to create condition-specific products. For example, as a result of increasing public concern about gluten sensitivity, many enzyme companies have introduced DPP IV enzymes blends (dipeptidyl peptidase IV),” he noted. “This can help those individuals with sensitivity to gluten and also protect against hidden gluten in some processed foods.”
“Specialty Enzymes has introduced its own version, SEB-Gluten Relief,” stated Smith. “This product is a powerful enzyme blend that includes seven different proteases.”
According to Reisman, The Himalaya Drug Company has relied on an ingredient-base that comes from ayurveda, the system of medicine in India. The company’s most successful ingredient is triphala, which is a combination of three fruits, or three sours, from the myrobalan fruit tree family. “It’s a cornerstone of digestive health in India,” said Reisman. “Ayurveda thought good health began with less stress and better digestion, so a lot of times an ayurvedic practitioner will send you away with triphala, reboot your digestive system and say, come back in six weeks and let’s see what symptoms you have left.
“We also do a product called LaxaCare for good bowel health which includes Indian jalap, chicory and licorice, and one called GastriCare which calls out triphala, trikatu (digestive peppers), Chinese mint and papaya,” he explained.
According to Stowe, while the upper digestive tract expresses its imbalances in a very different set of symptoms than the lower, the two systems nevertheless operate in cooperation with each other. He noted that despite which symptoms are experienced, such as reflux in the upper and bloating in the lower, true digestive health can only be achieved by addressing the needs of both the upper and the lower gastrointestinal tract.
He added that to regain balance one needs to reestablish better control with large numbers of probiotics and then reinstate the body’s production of good bacteria by the use of a particular combination of targeted prebiotics and probiotics using an individualized trial and error approach. He also cited aloe vera and digestive enzymes along with the probiotics. “This might be for a period of time, as it takes time to help the body correct the imbalances such as indigestion in the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract at the same time,” Stowe explained.
His best-selling products to soothe these and other symptoms include multiple digestive enzymes that are either plant or animal based. He pointed to bromelain, pancreatic enzymes, betaine hydrochloride, ox bile, lipase and papain, as ingredients that provide relief such as indigestion in the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract at the same time are sought out by his customers.
According to Hillestad, “Probiotics are high on consumers’ lists of products to address digestive health as well as to maintain good health over the long term.” Hillestad Pharmaceuticals uses the two strains of the most common probiotics, which are Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum, he said. Since these are generally the most abundant in the body they are the most helpful in achieving and maintaining digestive health.
One of Hillestad’s best-selling probiotics for the past 50 years is the chewable form, which is easy to take and contains these probiotics as well peppermint flavoring, complex enzymes and digestive proteins.
New Products on the Market
MegaFood recently introduced a line of MegaFlora probiotic supplements specifically geared to help women improve their colon health, Gillespie said. These supplements include prebiotic and antioxidant-rich foods sourced from a variety of U.S. farm fresh partners and go by the names of MegaFlora for Women, MegaFlora for Over 50 and MegaFlora for Baby & Me.
To enhance digestive health, she explained that each product includes prebiotic foods (dandelion, burdock and beet root) in addition to digestive super foods turmeric and ginger.
Panc-Zyme is a product that American Laboratories has introduced as an all-inclusive pancreatin digestive aid, stated Brown. “It is a unique enzyme complex consisting of protease (including trypsin and chymotrypsin), amylase and lipase enzymes.”
In August 2015, The Ginger People launched Ginger Rescue, a drug-free nausea relief and digestive support product powered by active ginger compounds, said Oliveri. The convenient and tasty chewable tablet comes in two strengths: Ginger Rescue Strong and Ginger Rescue Mighty Mango for kids. Ginger has been used for centuries to treat upset stomachs, and its worldwide use in modern times serves as testament to its efficacy. Research shows the number of active compounds in ginger is responsible for its potent anti-nausea and gastro-protective effects. The amount of these helpful compounds varies, depending on ginger variety, origin, harvest and processing methods.
The Ginger People regularly invests in the research of actives in different ginger formats and existing products on the market. From certified lab results, their innovation team created a Ginger Actives Scale to give consumers clear information for choosing the product with the highest actives.
At Specialty Enzymes, Stowe explained that they consider the health of the entire gastro-intestinal tract, not just digestion. As a result, “We created a blend called ClenzSEB PB. This is not only a digestive blend, but one that includes probiotics and special enzymes to help cleanse and maintain a healthy intestinal system and the flora that inhabit it.”
Innovations and Research in Digestive Health Products
“Innovation in delivery and packaging of probiotics is trending in the industry right now,” said Gillespie. “Some examples of innovation MegaFood has seen include delivering a dose of powdered probiotics for a child through a straw or new barrier packaging to maintain shelf stability of temperature-sensitive probiotics.”
Another trend she identified is the delivery of probiotics with fiber-rich prebiotic foods. This is innovative because of the challenges involved with combining live probiotics with food. “Fresh foods are inherently high in water content and most probiotics die off when exposed to high water activity,” she explained.
“The research and development team at American Laboratories Inc. is always researching the latest and greatest equipment to manufacture our current products to the highest possible quality standards,” added Brown. “Our manufacturing processes are also reviewed on a regular basis to ensure the product is being produced efficiently while still maintaining the quality of material our customers have become accustomed to. She cited that some new products being developed and researched include products that relate to digestive health, immune support and systemic health.
“Gluten breakdown is another area the digestive health industry is looking for advancements,” she noted, explaining that American Laboratories has formulated an enzyme blend called Glyprozyme that is to aid in the breakdown of gluten proteins commonly found in wheat (and related) derived products.
Brown predicted products such as Glyprozyme and others related to systemic health will continue to grow in the industry.
According to Stowe, there is growing demand for a combination of enzymes and probiotics.
“At Specialty Enzymes, we have several proprietary blends that include probiotics as well as many custom blends that we make for other companies,” he stated. “Given the growth of probiotics, the combination seems only natural.”
The systemic enzymes are an exciting area of investigation, he explained. Systemic enzymes are predominantly protease enzymes.
“Two of the more important protease enzymes include nattokinase (NattoSEB) and serratiopeptidase (Peptizyme SP).” he said. “They exhibit profound fibrinolytic and anti-inflammatory activity. The potential for use in inflammatory and cardiovascular conditions is significant.”
Gillespie pointed out that inconsistency in source material and processing methods has given the herbal supplement industry a bad rap. However, improved traceability systems, sustainable farming initiatives, and high-tech processing is contributing to a greater ability to produce highly effective, clean, and consistent dietary supplements made from real food.
“The Ginger People Group,” she said, “in particular is interested in further investigation into pharmokinetic studies of ginger in order to convert current research into practical applications for improving our collective health.”
Reisman stated that his company believes in their mainstay product of Triphala because it is simply approaching the issue of digestive health from a different angle than with enzymes and probiotics.
“This is such a multi-faceted industry as far as the digestive line-up goes. Enzymes are always strong in the industry. Probiotics are always strong. And both of those things are great. We just approach it with a different angle with Triphala,” he stated. “It simply rebuilds digestive capacity and gets rid of some of the undigested food in your intestines that interferes with your normal digestive process. We keep promoting it and leading with it, because it’s a way to better digestion and better regularity without side effects.” VR
For More Information:
American Laboratories Inc. (402) 339-2494
Ginger People Group, (831) 233-6249
The Himalaya Drug Company, (713) 234-3226
MegaFood, (800) 848-2542
NeoCell, (619) 886-1525
Specialty Enzymes & Biotechnologies, (909) 613-1660
