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Transparency separates successful AI nutrition innovation from hype

Amid a growing use of AI in ingredient and product innovation, industry experts caution that transparency is key to building trust with customers, regulators, and consumers. They urge companies to communicate clearly how AI was used and reiterate the essential role of research to validate insights. In the final installment of our series on AI in nutrition, Nutrition Insight meets with Brightseed and independent marketing and R&D experts to explore how successful companies separate genuine innovation from hype. 
Man drinking fiber supplement
Fiber demand soars in GLP-1 companion products, synbiotic gummies & precision prebiotics
Fiber no longer belongs solely in the realm of gut health, but has expanded to support diverse claims as ingredient innovation is continually refined. Driven by social media trends like “fibermaxxing,” growing consumer needs for GLP-1 companion products, and demand for multi-benefit formulations, the fiber market is expanding with new functionalities. Nutrition Insight speaks to Roquette, Beneo, Ingredion, and TopGum Industries about how scientifically backed fibers are expanding beyond traditional applications into functional beverages, weight management platforms, and better-for-you confectionery.
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SOFI 2026: Danone targets affordable nutrition amid rising inflation
The 2026 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report underscores the urgent need to close the hunger gap, which, although it is slightly easing globally, is under threat from the unaffordability of healthy diets, conflicts, El Niño, and other climate shocks. 
Runner in a pink shirt sprinting past a blue and tan wall with text reading “The Science of Recovery at 1 g/day.
The Science of Post-Exercise Recovery at 1 g/day
Help active consumers optimize their potential by powering exercise recovery. This infographic from Balchem explores new clinical research, showing how OptiMSM improves restoration of damage muscle tissue after exercise and improves resistance to oxidative stress at one-third of the dose previously studied. Uncover the science for next-level active nutrition.

This Technical Paper is brought to you by Balchem.
Whey Collagen The Protein power couple
Whey & Collagen: The Protein Power Couple
A perfect match. Whey and collagen blends are stepping into the spotlight, driven by economic strains in the whey market but also by the undeniable, increasing awareness of collagen peptides and their benefits. Discover how the right blend can offer comprehensive joint support, promote holistic well-being—spanning beauty from within, gut comfort, and even improved sleep—or drive metabolic wellness through effective glucose spike management and natural GLP-1 production.
By adding value through price optimization, formulation advantages, and additional health benefits, blending whey protein with premium, science-based collagen peptides such as Peptan® or Nextida® GC holds the potential to be a game-changer. Whether you are developing sports nutrition beverages, functional foods, or holistic health supplements, this session will reveal how leveraging this dynamic mix can help your products stand out on the shelf.
Marina Crocker, Hilmar
Hilmar: Tight supply and growing demand boost US whey protein competitiveness in Europe

Marina Crocker, senior director of Product Category and Marketing at Hilmar, highlights how a tight global supply and rising demand have improved the competitiveness of US whey proteins in Europe. As a result, the company debuted as an exhibitor at Vitafoods Europe this year, showcasing protein coffee and functional drinks. Crocker links the growing demand to GLP-1-driven protein consumption and increasing interest in protein-fortified foods and beverages.

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Solaray’s Unlimit shifts from single “hero” ingredients to longevity stacks
Solaray Unlimit longevity supplements
With supplements transitioning from single “hero” ingredient formulas toward multiproduct ecosystems, Solaray unpacks how its recently launched longevity product line helps to extend consumers’ healthspan. The brand underscores the importance of designing products that target multiple areas of aging through clinically studied ingredient formulas, rather than standalone health goals. Nutrition Insight speaks to Rachel Kilroy, senior director of product development at Solaray, about the company’s recently launched eight-product supplement system, Unlimit. The new product line focuses on three relevant areas of longevity: cellular energy, muscle health, and bone density.
Engineers develop smart ring that could monitor glucose levels through sweat
smart ring
US-based engineers have created a wearable ring that can monitor different chemical biomarkers simultaneously. The ring can monitor glucose, uric acid, lactate, ketones, and alcohol levels from sweat, creating potential applications for health care monitoring, including diabetes. The researchers say that the ring extends “beyond commercial smart rings by continuously assessing biochemical changes and advancing the development of next-generation personalized and miniaturized health care technologies.”
Nutrition 2026: Research advances neuromuscular health, infant nutrition &...
Woman taking supplements
Leaders from the scientific community and nutraceuticals sector are convening at this year’s Nutrition 2026, an annual conference hosted by the American Society for Nutrition between July 25–28 in National Harbor, Maryland, US. Nutrition Insight explores the presentations hosted by Kyowa Hakko, a2 Milk Company, and PLT Health Solutions, who highlighted their advances in citicoline for neuromuscular health, cow’s milk free of A1-type beta-casein, and longevity and mobility.
Morinaga Milk study links bifidobacteria to lower inflammatory responses
Gut bacteria
Morinaga Milk has published insights on how bifidobacteria could help regulate inflammatory responses. It found that having a higher amount of the bacteria in the gut was linked to immune cells being less likely to show inflammatory responses. Additionally, the immune cells that were exposed to bifidobacteria-derived components were less likely to show excessive responses to inflammatory stimuli.
OmniActive introduces Fenavari botanical blend for menopause symptom support
Women of different generations
OmniActive Health Technologies has introduced a proprietary, clinically studied botanical ingredient, Fenavari, for the women’s health category. The combination of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) and shatavari (Asparagus racemosus) is designed to help support women through normal hormonal changes during perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial found that Fenavari addressed seven key concerns with midlife hormonal changes, including fewer instances of hot flashes and night sweats, and maintenance of healthy hormonal balance. 
Unilever Foods growth slows in Q2 as McCormick combination advances
Unilever office building.

Food Ingredients First

Unilever delivered its strongest quarterly volume growth in more than a decade in Q2 2026. However, Foods remained the company’s slowest-growing business group, underscoring both the rationale for, and the execution challenge behind, its planned combination with McCormick. At group level, first-half underlying sales growth reached 4.8%, driven by 4.2% volume growth and 0.6% pricing. Growth accelerated in Q2 to 5.8%, with volumes up 5.5%. First-half turnover rose 0.5% to €25.6 billion (US$29.1 billion), as operational gains and acquisitions offset adverse currency movements.
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Researcher on nutrition ingredient
Tech & Innovation
Nutrition experts urge scientific validation of...
AI can compress discovery timelines in nutrition innovation and generate a wealth of new ideas. However, industry experts underscore that successful use of the technology requires scientific validation of AI-generated insights, high-quality data, human oversight, and clear communication on its use to customers. In the second installment of our series on AI in nutrition, Nutrition Insight speaks with representatives from Brightseed and Nuritas, as well as independent marketing and R&D experts, about the challenges companies face in working with the technology and how to overcome them. 
Blood prick test
Nutrition & Health News
American Nutrition Association backs finger-prick GKI test...
The American Nutrition Association (ANA) calls for the wider use of evidence-based biomarkers in personalized nutrition care to manage chronic diseases. It highlights the potential of a new real-time biomarker test for metabolic health based on a blood sample drawn from a finger prick. However, the organization tells us policy changes and medical nutrition training are key to ensure equitable access to these tests. Detailed in a paper in Frontiers in Science, the new biomarker test called the glucose ketone index (GKI) could potentially help track and manage the metabolic dysfunction behind cancer, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and neurodegeneration.
Food products good for health and planet, globe abstraction with greenhouse gases on chalkboard, planetary health diet concept
Key interview
EAT-Lancet diet shift could cut global agriculture CO2...
An international team of over 40 researchers suggests that a global shift to healthy, sustainable diets can reshape global agriculture. They compared a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario with a transformation scenario involving the adoption of the EAT-Lancet diet, finding that the change could reduce agriculture-related net CO2 emissions by 85% by 2050. 

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Beauty-boosting nutritionJul2026

Innova Market Insights data reveals that consumers are increasingly prioritizing skin health, with many already using supplements to support it. This growing interest is driving innovation in the beau...

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Gut friendly fiber Jul 2026

Innova Market Insights data indicates an 11% average annual growth in sports nutrition and supplement launches featuring fiber ingredients, high/source of fiber claims and/or digestive health claims, between April 2021 and March 2026. Sports bars led the top subcategories, followed by probiotic supplements, while sports protein-based RTD launches are emerging. Oligofructose was the most widely used fiber ingredient, while tapioca fiber and chicory root fiber are gaining ground.

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Cognitive supplement trendsJul 2026

Innova Market Insights data indicates that cognitive supplement launches are on the rise, with 4% increase in growth from April 2021 to March 2026. This relates to consumers’ interest in improving focus, and especially brain health claims, which were gaining momentum in women’s supplement claims.

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Marina Crocker, Hilmar
Video04:53
Hilmar: Tight supply and growing demand boost US whey protein competitiveness in Europe

Marina Crocker, senior director of Product Category and Marketing at Hilmar, highlights how a tight global supply and rising demand have improved the competitiveness of US whey proteins in Europe. As a result, the company debuted as an exhibitor at Vitafoods Europe this year, showcasing protein...

Dr. Torsten Grothe, Mibelle Biochemistry
Video05:11
Mibelle Biochemistry: Water-soluble collagen booster expands skin health from within applications
Jordi Riera, Kaneka Probiotics
Video09:21
Kaneka Probiotics: KABP-051 and the future of weight management and psychobiotics
Whey Collagen The Protein power couple
Webinars39:17
Whey & Collagen: The Protein Power Couple
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