The sports nutrition market is as active as its end users are. This somewhat-hard-to-define market encompasses some of the natural products industry's biggest growth areas, which helps fuel sports nutrition's market game plan. Due to mainstream exposure from various pro and amateur sporting leagues, the sports nutrition segment rides marketing waves and slaloms past various regulatory situations on its journey, separating the weak products from the strong products over time.

Globally, sports nutrition was a $27.2 billion market in 2007, according BCC Research, which estimated product sales to reach $31.2 billion in 2008 and $91.8 by 2013, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.1 percent. Breaking the market into categories by delivery form, BCC tagged beverages as the high growth-rate category (25.6 percent through 2013), with foods (10.0 percent) and supplements (4.0 percent) rounding out the mix.

This breakdown is also reflected in the newest "Sports Nutrition and Weight-Loss Report" (2009) from Nutrition Business Journal (NBJ), which places the U.S. sports nutrition market value at a total $19.6 billion, with sports and energy drinks comprising the majority, 51 percent, and sports and weight-loss supplements claiming 13 and 8 percent, respectively.

One look at some of the big public companies with key sports nutrition divisions and brands lends proof to the strong sales growth in this category. Global nutritional sales in Abbott's nutrition division, which includes the popular EAS brand sports supplements, increased 11.0 percent in 2008?, up more than 15 percent internationally and nearly 7 percent in the United States. USANA, which markets heavily to the sports nutrition market, has logged six consecutive years of record sales, including its recently closed fiscal 2008. Similarly, Nu Skin Enterprises, which owns the Pharmanex brand supplements including products marketed to sports nutrition consumers, also posted record revenues for 2008; and Herbalife has pulled together a string of consecutive double-digit growth quarters and has many successful ventures and partnerships in the sporting world, including professional soccer teams and events in volleyball, cycling, running and other competitive sports.

Qualifying the market, BCC reported the United States is the largest consumer market for sports nutrition products, with taste, price, variety and brand trust as primary drivers of sales. The firm further noted increased demand for sports nutrition products from mainstream consumers is also highlighting convenience and taste as the big growth drivers.

The Star Players

Beyond basic nutrition, one of the hottest areas of sports nutrition is tied to that athletic goal of the lean, mean fighting machine. Thermogenesis, the process of sparking the body's fat-burning process, is quickly becoming the method of choice for all manner of athletic and active adults looking to "trim the fat."

Christine Smith, co-owner of Max Muscle's North Phoenix location, said one of her most popular products is Quadra Cuts, which features thermogenic ingredients such as Citrus aurantium (bitter orange) extract (as Advantra Z, from Nutratech) and green tea (EGCG) extract.

The adrenergic amines in C. aurantium extract help stimulate thermogenesis, reduce weight, increase the percentage of lean muscle in relation to total body mass, improve athletic performance and help suppress appetite. Bob Green, president of Nutratech, explained, "Advantra Z primarily impacts beta-3 receptors, which are found on every cell wall. It is the beta-3 receptors that are responsible for triggering thermogenesis."

Green said the market for thermogenics is strong and Advantra Z is enjoying double-digit growth. "Not because they are trendy, but because they work," he said, adding many weight-loss ingredients come and go, but those with potent thermogenic properties outlive the weight-loss fads. He further asserted thermogenic ingredients are "must-haves" for any product in the sports nutrition industry because thermogenesis is the only proven method of toning and weight-loss. "Products that make [weight-loss] happen without creating negative stimulant central nervous system and cardiovascular effects ... are the ones that [formulators] and informed consumers continue to gravitate toward, because they work."

The market for bitter orange and other thermogenics was wide open after the departure of ephedra in 2004, after years of off-and-on government investigation into ephedra's safety and adverse event record. FDA said dietary supplements containing ephedra alkaloids pose an unreasonable risk of illness or injury to users due to what it called stimulant effects that endangered the heart.

According to Green, the concept of bitter orange as an “ephedra substitute” and the inference that bitter orange is pharmacologically similar to ephedrine has caused some difficulties. Since the ban, FDA and others have tried to draw parallels between ephedrine and synephrine, a component in C. aurantium. Green was quick to emphasize C. aurantium is not a stimulant, but a thermogenic. "While both bitter orange and ephedra are natural thermogenic ingredients and somewhat similar in chemical structure, they are completely different pharmacologically," he said. "A good analogy is water (H2O) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). There is only one molecule of difference between the two, but you’d never want to drink the latter."

Scott Steil, president of NutraBridge, which represents the thermogenic ingredient 7-Keto, said the void in the market left by ephedra was a huge opportunity for companies like his with thermogenic ingredients. "Before the ban, about 80 percent of the category was ephedra-based, yet when ephedra disappeared, the market didn't fall by that same huge amount," he said, noting other ingredients stepped in to fill the space.  He said 7-Keto has enjoyed significant growth since 2004, and is on track to reach levels the company has not seen previously, despite the toughening economy. "There is no doubt that, overall, your base business will be down in such economic times, but from a supplier perspective, selling to sports nutrition companies, this can be offset by getting new customers," he said, adding 7-Keto is getting good penetration into the mass market, including recently being added to the Dexatrim brand. "Right now, people are willing to pay for products that are safe and have good published clinical data showing they work." In fact, Steil gave the lion’s share of credit to the scientific support backing claims made for 7-Keto (3-acetyl-7-oxo-DHEA or 7-oxo DHEA), which activates key thermogenic enzymes that help convert stored fat to energy. In a nutshell, the toxicology, pharmacokinetic and human safety studies show 7-Keto does not accumulate in the body over time, does not impact sex hormone levels and has no known side effects.  Steil reported most companies are looking to include thermogenics like 7-Keto in combination products. There is a concern about making additive claims for combination products that include more than one ingredient with science-backed claims. You can not simply add up the benefits found in each ingredient's science and make one additive claim for the whole product. For example, the weight loss found for each ingredient in a formula can not be added together as one big weight loss amount claimed for the whole formula. Steil said companies are instead increasingly looking for one science-backed ingredient to feature as the formula's keystone among other supportive ingredients, in order to comply with FTC guidelines. This keystone approach is the theory at play in the Max Muscle products Smith said were popular. Quadra Cuts features Advantra Z as well as green tea, guarana and Cissus quadrangluaris. As is the trend in many such formulas, chromium is added to the blend for its complementary benefits of increased lean body mass and reduced body fat. Similarly, the related formula Anabol Cuts features green tea (EGCG) extract, as well as a pair of branded ingredients from Gencor Pacific—Slimaluma™ (Caralluma fimbriata extract) for appetite suppression and Testofen™ (Fenugreek extract) for natural testosterone support. Other ingredients becoming popular amongst sports nutrition consumers seeking a well-toned physique are conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and L-carnitine. CLA is marketed as a body-shaping nutrient, increasing lean mass and reducing fat mass. In fact, Lipid Nutrition reports recent tests on its Clarinol brand CLA show it can help reduce fat in areas typically difficult to address, such as the abdomen and legs. It works by influencing the enzyme crucial to allowing fat to enter into fat cells. Patrick Luchsinger, marketing manager for Lipid Nutrition, said clinical evidence shows research-based supplements such as Clarinol CLA can help with fat reduction, lean muscle building and exercise efforts. "CLA can help maintain weight or prevent weight gain also, helping those with an active lifestyle to maintain their goals."Another major brand of CLA on the market is Tonalin, from Cognis Health & Nutrition, which has reported CLA's effectiveness in reducing body fat by as much as 9 percent has been confirmed in more than 17 clinical studies. According to Elizabeth Sloan, Ph.D., president of Sloan Trends, the market is primed for CLA to be a go-to ingredient for building muscle strength and improving body composition.Also dealing in fat delivery, L-carnitine is essential to transport long-chain fatty acids into the mitochondria for use as energy. While this mechanism has proven useful in many areas of health (heart, brain, sperm, etc.), leading carnitine provider Lonza noted this amino acid specifically helps athletes and active adults optimize their performance, including increased VO2max; delay fatigue by decreasing lactic acid accumulation and preserving glycogen; and improve recovery, including reduced muscle pain and damage by improving oxygen supply.Fellow amino acid glutamine is a very popular product amongst sports nutrition consumers, a trend verified by Smith, who said her customers are increasingly and consistently asking about and purchasing this ingredient. "They are very interested in branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs)," she said, reiterating how this group of nutrients is one of the cornerstones of sports nutrition that people sometimes overlook in the whirlwind of new fad products. This "non-essential" amino acid is actually quite important to athletes. After intense exercise, glutamine levels in the body are greatly depleted; thus, supplementation is crucial for regular sports enthusiasts. In this way, glutamine becomes an essential tool for recovery, which is a hot area of sports nutrition.In a similar vein—striated muscle, really—BCAAs also address the effects of regular, intense exercise. A set of the three essential amino acids leucine, isoleucine and valine, the BCAA collective are metabolized in muscle, where they can potentially help to improve endurance and inhibit the breakdown of muscle that exercise can cause. There also are theories growing on the ability of BCAAs to cross into the brain, where they may limit post-exercise fatigue. At any rate, the entire group of amino acids still holds favor for its historical sports nutrition use as building blocks for proteins.The theme of recovery and energy is like a banner in the locker rooms of athletes’ minds. As much as protein and amino acids are captains on most sports nutrition teams, creatine is a regular all-star player. Provided in the diet primarily from meat, creatine is synthesized in the body from the amino acids arginine, glycine and methionine. It has been studied for benefits to various muscular and neurological problems, but in the sports world creatine's ability to contribute to energy production in muscle tissues for use in intense exercise. The buzz around creatine is the emergence of a stable creatine ingredient. Using testing technology from the pharmaceutical industry, Jeff Golini, president of All American Pharmaceuticals, discovered creatine powders were converting to creatinine when mixed with liquids. This conversation was the root of the oft-reported side effects of creatine supplementation, including cramps, diarrhea and bloating. By adjusting the pH level, Golini created a creatine that would remain stable even in liquid. The resulting Kre-Alkalyn brand stabilized creatine is now one of the buzz products in sports nutrition. Kre-Celazine takes the stable creatine and bonds it to esterified fatty acids for joint health products designed to improve flexibility and mobility. Joint health is a consistent focus in sports nutrition, due to the hard toll many sports exact on shoulders and knees. Of course, glucosamine and chondroitin remain popular ingredients in this area, as athletes address post-exercise inflammation and even ongoing cartilage problems. A few other ingredients catching their attention in this area of recovery are coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) and ribose. Like carnitine, CoQ10 is an important component in the mitochondrial production of energy. While its use has been mainly in certain heart patients, the growing idea in sports nutrition is CoQ10 can improve aerobic performance in endurance athletes, but research in this area is still in its infancy. However, research on ribose has progressed nicely. Sports nutrition consumers are taking to this naturally-occurring pentose sugar because of research showing it can enhance the recovery of myocardial or skeletal muscle ATP and TAN levels following intense exercise. More specifically, ribose availability in muscle tissues is key factor in limiting re-synthesis of ATP.Delivering the GoodsSince its rookie year, sports nutrition has been dominated by pills and powders. However, new ways of delivering the popular ingredients in this category are starting to shine in the marketplace. Nutritional bars, of course, have been long a vehicle for convenient protein delivery, but new technologies are helping nutrition bars pack in many other nutrients that were not previously used in such formualtions. Effervescent tablets are another convenient delivery form being utilized for sports ingredients, such as carnitine and creatine. This reflects the popularity of drinking one's nutrients among sports nutrition users. The dominance sports and energy beverages have achieved in this market has beverage formulators trying to come up with innovative formulas using the most popular ingredients, which often relies on new technologies, such as microencapsulation, to protect and stabilize certain ingredients in liquids. One of the hottest product categories is gels, which can help deliver ingredients for energy and performance in convenient packages that are easy to store and use on the run, on the bike and many other fields of play. This concept of shots has even inspired a new sports-focused breakfast product, Rokit Fuel Cereal. Initially popular in the cycling world, the cereal is comprised only of natural whole foods including nuts, seeds, fruits and spices. Designed as an energy source for hurried sports and outdoors enthusiast who might otherwise skip breakfast, the cereal comes in a convenient single-serve pouch to which a liquid (water, milk or milk alternative) can be added before consumption. In addition to innovative delivery forms, manufacturers are "delivering the goods" in terms of quality by trending away from fad marketing and ingredients not backed by science. This shift has been dictated, in large part, by the increased FTC and FDA activities against unsubstantiated and misleading claims, as well as potentially unsafe ingredients in the sports nutrition market. "There is a huge shift in this market from companies who would go out and launch products with unsubstantiated claims, to companies now saying 'we're not taking the chance; either we are going to do it the right way or not at all," Steil said.