According to Erik Bakkers, Innovation & Marketing Director at Van Eeghen Functional Ingredients ‘the natural trend is here to stay and has found its way into the active & performance nutrition. A nice example is the Canadian brand Vega, which created concepts for protein and meal replacement shakes with fruits and vegetables. The product communicates the different fruits & veggies nicely on the back of the package. The addition of fruits and veggies to plant-based protein fits very nicely into the all-natural concept and targets a new group of consumers that are also looking for healthy products to support their active lifestyle. An interesting question is: ‘Why fruit and vegetable ingredients appeal to the consumers?’ One reason could be that they represent the natural source for vitamins and minerals. The intrinsic health benefits of these ingredients are clear and don’t need much explanation. Consumers understand right away that these ingredients add value to the product. With the current need to target new groups of active and healthy consumers searching for products that can help them give better performance, more energy and smooth recovery, natural fruit & vegetable solutions are becoming more and more relevant’.

Dr. Jonathan Bortz, Director of Scientific & Commercial Development, at Balchem Corporation (USA), and principal of Van Eeghen Functional Ingredients, will speak on Next Generation Minerals for Sports Nutrition at the:
8th Active, Performance & Sports Nutrition Summit 2018, 12-14 June 2018 (Rotterdam, The Netherlands)
Fantastic annual active, performance & sports nutrition industry networking platform
Target audience: Food, Beverages, Bars, Dairy, Health, Convenience, Sports & Supplement industries
4-in-1 Tracks: Bars & Snacks, Dairy & RTD’s, Beverages & Supplements
Participation: 250+ experts. Exhibition: 40 places.

Erik Bakkers and his Van Eeghen Functional Ingredients team will also be present at the upcoming June Summit.