Joint Health: Innovating in a Mature Market

Joint health ingredients and products are not seeing the robust sales growth of previous years; however, unique positioning and formulations are still a draw, as are products geared toward an expanding senior demographic. Ingredients such as omega-3s, chondroitin, glucosamine, collagen, eggshell membrane and curcumin are supported by clinical research, but brand holders must use caution to follow regulatory guidelines and draw from sound science when highlighting claims in their marketing efforts. Takeaways include: *Joint health supplement sales rose 6.5 percent in the U.S. natural channel from 2015 to 2016. *Maintaining a claims substantiation dossier can aid brand holders in compliance preparedness. *Patents and trademarks can help protect joint health intellectual property (IP).