SupplySide West and Food ingredients North America (FiNA), produced by Informa Markets, celebrated its 25th anniversary. More than 1,100 exhibitors and 15,850 registered attendees gathered Oct. 31-Nov. 4 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas to focus on what’s next in the industry.

The 2022 show featured more than 40% of registered attendees experiencing their first SupplySide West and 19% of registrations from outside the United States and Canada. Overall registration was up more than 40% from 2021 as travel restrictions have lifted and in-person business rebounds.

“The SupplySide team is proud to support the health and nutrition industry’s success for 25 years,” said Danica Cullins, senior vice president of SupplySide at Informa Markets, in a statement. “Seeing so many first-time attendees and new brands at this year’s show makes us all excited about what is coming for this growing industry. One thing we know for certain is SupplySide will continue to bring together visionaries at the forefront of innovation.”

The show’s exhibitors highlighted a range of ingredient solutions that support the beverage market. The following are highlights of those suppliers:

Cargill shared its latest research in regards to American consumers’ interest in plant-based dairy alternatives. According to the study, a majority of Americans reported an uptick in plant-based dairy alternatives during the past 18 months. The survey was fielded in two waves, first with baseline research completed in February 2021. Then in July 2022, Cargill repeated the survey to pinpoint changes in consumer attitudes. In the most recent survey, fewer consumers reported following vegan or vegetarian diets (9% in 2022 vs. 14% in 2021). The research noted an even larger dip in the number of consumers actively avoiding animal-based dairy products. In 2021, four in 10 consumers were dairy avoiders; in the July 2022 survey, that number had dropped to less than three in 10. The company’s proprietary research also notes consumers’ increasing appetite for plant-based dairy products, with six in 10 respondents reporting a jump in consumption over the last few years. These results highlight the role that flexitarian lifestyles are taking in consumers’ diets, the company notes. Cargill and joint venture partner PURIS recently introduced PURIS 2.0, a pea protein solution. PURIS 2.0 can be used at higher concentrations without diminishing product quality, it notes.

EverGrain by AB InBev highlighted its EverPro barley rice protein, an upcycled barley protein. EverPro has 85% protein content and a complementary amino acid profile to pea protein that enables a PDCAAS of 1.0. Prototypes of EverPro-fortified protein shakes and hot coffee were available to sample. EverGrain’s prototypes focus on clean, high-protein beverages that push protein levels upwards of 25 grams, it says.

Florida Food Products (FFP) shared some of the hottest new beverage concepts of the year at the show. FPP visitors could sample an assortment of trending, healthy, and functional beverage innovations created for SSW. The team served samples of the new Cascara solution, available bartender-style with a variety of different mixers available. All beverages showcased FFP’s extensive portfolio of clean label beverage ingredients with trending must-have benefits, including a nootropic mood-boosting functional beverage with L-theanine; a zero-proof cucumber Margarita that offers up a real tequila flavor without the actual alcohol, while featuring FFP’s Real Cucumber Juice Concentrate; a Javo nitro cold brew with FFP’s ready-to-drink nitro-infused solution; a charged green mate lemonade made with yerba mate and natural caffeine from green tea; and pineapple strawberry hydration plus energy stick packs that feature caffeine fueled by green tea as well as natural fruit flavors.

FruitSmart showcased two novel fruit beverage concepts. The concepts were created from premium cold-pressed fruit-based ingredients, and blended with botanicals and macronutrients such as protein. On hand was a raspberry protein and fiber drink blending red raspberry, apple, pear, and elderberry juice with pea protein and apple fiber. This creates a great-tasting product that provides satiety, immunity and gut-health benefits, alongside better blood glucose control and optimal fructose absorption in the small intestine, it stated. The super-fruits beverage was made from dark sweet cherry, blueberry, raspberry, and elderberry juice, with extract of turmeric, ginger, acai and vanilla.

Kemin Human Nutrition and Health featured its range of naturally sourced functional ingredient solutions to support vision, cognition, immune and gut health, beauty from within, sleep, and weight management. The company offered sample concepts that included a range of ingredients, including Luxiva CBD distillate, a USDA-certified organic, hemp-based ingredient solution; Macu-LZ, which provides customers with a lutein and zeaxanthin isomers combination that can be used to aid eye stress, vision support, cognitive support and beauty from within solutions; DailyZz, a natural, proprietary spearmint and green tea botanical dried extract blend that promote healthy, better quality sleep; Neumentix, a naturally sourced nootropic ingredient from a patented spearmint line bred to be high in antioxidant polyphenols; and BetaVia, an algae-sourced beta glucan that helps support the immune system while protecting against oxidative stress. 

Kyowa Hakko USA featured its IMMUSE postbiotic and Cognizin citicoline branded ingredients in educational and interactive outreach during the show. IMMUSE postbiotic is a clinically researched immune activator supported by nearly 30 published studies, including 14 human trials. Cognizin, Kyowa Hakko’s branded form of citicoline, is a potent brain health nutrient and nootropic. At SupplySide West, Kyowa Hakko emulated a clinical study that targeted e-gamers and was conducted by neuropsychologists using a variety of tests simulating cognitive functions and keyboard actions, including a finger tap test. Tradeshow attendees could participate in the “Tap Challenge,” available through an app, to see how quickly they could tap a button over a 20-second timeframe.

SupplySide West 2023 will return Oct. 23-27, 2023 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.