Whether you’re looking to source ingredients, investigate the latest research, find manufacturing partners, network with industry professionals or participate in focused education, Ingredient Marketplace offers something for everyone. Held April 27 through 29 at the Orlando World Center Marriott in Florida, this year’s gathering features GMP (good manufacturing practice) training, an expanded show floor, unique programming including Probiotics Marketplace, a keynote by Mike Roussell, Ph.D.—the Diet Doctor—on the “Mind of the Sports Enthusiast," a Reverse Happy Hour networking event sponsored by Gelita, and the debut of innovative “Mind of the Consumer" research in partnership with Natural Marketing Institute (NMI).

In keeping with the “Mind of the Consumer" theme, Kemin Human Nutrition & Health (Booth K33) will offer its insight into potential customers. Kemin knows it can take extensive consumer research and targeted communications to help inspire consumers to incorporate supplements into their lifestyles. As such, the company recently conducted attitude and usage (A&U) surveys for its key product platforms.

Through a survey in conjunction with NMI regarding consumer interest in Neumentix™ Phenolic Complex K110-42, Kemin’s new cognitive health ingredient, Kemin gleaned insights on brain health consumers. A few high-level findings include:

• When shown a Neumentix product concept, 52 percent of business professionals said they are likely to purchase the product.

• Tablets, capsules and softgels are the preferred forms of brain health supplements.

• Understanding the four Neumentix suggested mechanisms of action is important to 86 percent to 89 percent of consumers.

Consumer insights allow Kemin to provide its customers with product marketing concepts, in addition to its usual focus on high-quality science. These insights will also help tailor, target and build ingredient brand awareness directly with consumers.

During Ingredient Marketplace, Kemin will offer an inside look at consumer insights on AssuriTEA™, FloraGLO®, Neumentix™, Slendesta®, XSurge™ and ZeaONE™.

Another exhibitor, Orlando-based scientific and regulatory consulting firm Burdock Group (Booth H44), has added two scientists to support the regulatory and nutritional science needs of food and feed manufacturing clients. Lu Zhao, Ph.D., and Wendan Wang, Ph.D., joined the company’s scientific staff as associate scientists.

Zhao and Wang will work with clients to substantiate claims, support food and feed additive petitions, review product labels, and assist with translating and interpreting novel food laws in China, and for Chinese food ingredients entering the U.S. market. Zhao and Wang are both fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese, and have experience in U.S. and China food law and regulations.

Zhao joins the Burdock Group scientific team with more than seven years of experience in the food and nutritional space. He completed his master’s degree in food science from the China Agricultural University and earned his doctorate in nutritional science from the University of Florida (UF). Zhao has authored 10 scientific, peer-reviewed publications in top academic journals in food science and nutrition.

Wang has more than six years of experience in conducting pre-clinical studies within food, nutrition and toxicology science, specifically in diet and breast cancer metastasis in murine models. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in food quality and safety from China Agricultural University, and earned her doctorate in food science and human nutrition from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC).

Burdock Group will be on hand at Ingredient Marketplace to meet with manufacturers interested in this niche, as well as other scientific and regulatory matters.

Bioenergy Life Science (Booth G37), maker of patented Bioenergy Ribose®, announced Olympic and world-class triathletes Greg and Laura Bennett will be speaking at the SupplySide Storefront Live Presentation event April 29 at 10:30 a.m. They will share one key to their success, which is Bioenergy Ribose, a 5-carbon sugar and the building block of ATP, the source of all our cellular energy. They will explain how Bioenergy Ribose works and why it works for them, particularly as relates to endurance and recovery.

The high-profile husband-and-wife endurance athletes have worked on the course as individuals and off the course as a team for over a decade. "As a professional athlete in my 40s now, taking Bioenergy Ribose gives me the energy and quick recovery that I had in my 20s," Greg stated. “Other people might be interested in just keeping up with athletes half my age, but I'm beating them."

And Bioenergy Ribose isn’t just for the elite athlete. A recent study suggested its ingestion led to greater performance than the controller (dextrose) over 3 days of high-intensity exercise. More importantly, Bioenergy Ribose helps previously untrained individuals or individuals who do not exercise regularly to adapt to physical stress by reducing muscle strain and cellular damage associated with strenuous exercise. Bioenergy Ribose also significantly lowers the perceived exertion of untrained individuals, which led to better workouts and more performance gains in the study.