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Celebrating the winners of the inaugural Vitafoods Europe Innovation Awards

Industry leaders raised a glass to the winners of the inaugural Vitafoods Europe Innovation Awards at a ceremony in Barcelona last week.

Recognising excellence across ingredients, finished products, partnerships, and initiatives in the nutraceutical sector, the awards – supported by sponsor Eladiet and Official Digital Marketing Services Sponsor Smartcore – celebrated the companies and organisations shaping the future of nutrition and health.

From ingredient innovations to consumer-ready products, there were hundreds of forward-looking entries across seven categories – with the judging process extended to accommodate the high volume of submissions.

After many hours of deliberation, the judges chose a winner in each category, announcing the results at a highly anticipated ceremony during Vitafoods Europe at Fira Barcelona, Gran Via.

Read on to learn more about the winners.

Sports Nutrition and Active Lifestyle Ingredient

Scooping first place in the Sports Nutrition and Active Lifestyle Ingredient category was Lactiplantibacillus plantarum TWK10, made by Synbio Tech Inc.

The award recognises an organisation or company that has developed the most innovative ingredient that significantly improves products with sports nutrition and active lifestyle applications.

The company says its ingredient is backed by extensive scientific evidence, including eight clinical trials for sports performance and muscle strength, which enabled a health claim in South Korea.

Immune and Gut Health Ingredient

ADM won the Immune and Gut Health Ingredient category for its heat-treated ES1 postbiotic.

This award recognises an organisation or company that has developed the most innovative ingredient that significantly improves products with immunity and/or gut health applications.

The company says its low-cost ingredient can be used in various applications with demonstrated excellent functionality in extreme processing conditions.

Highly commended was NutriLeads BV’s Benicaros.

Cognitive and Emotional Health Ingredient

Taking top spot in the Cognitive and Emotional Health Ingredient category was Morinaga Milk Industry Co’s B. breve MCC1274.

The company describes it as the first Bifidobacterium breve strain in the world patented for cognitive health, supported by extensive scientific data including seven clinical trials on the gut-brain axis, showing memory maintaining function with a single strain.

Lactobacillus gasseri CP2305, from ADM, and RelaxPLX, from Monteloeder by Suannutra, were highly commended.

Healthy Ageing Ingredient

Givaudan’s Lifenol took first prize in the Healthy Ageing Ingredient award, which recognises an organisation or company which has developed the most innovative ingredient that significantly improves products with healthy ageing applications.

The company won for its unique standardisation process of hop extracts that it says delivers a low-cost solution for menopausal and bone health, a common problem in women’s health.

Most Innovative Consumer-Ready Nutraceutical Finished Product

Ourvita’s Probiotic Baby Oil was named Most Innovative Consumer-Ready Nutraceutical Finished Product.

The award recognises an organisation or company that has developed the most innovative consumer-ready nutraceutical finished product/food/drink providing scientifically substantiated health benefits.

The company says its European patented technology provides a unique solution for the production of baby products, including probiotic oil, without irreversible compaction of the probiotic in a range of applications.

Most Innovative Industry Partnership

The Most Innovative Industry Partnership was icesupp by icesupp Ltd.

This award recognises organisations and/or companies that have collaborated or co-created, either through cross-industry partnerships or by contract manufacturing, to produce and launch an innovative nutraceutical ingredient, consumer finished product, or delivery format.

It went to founder University of Reading, and three National Healthcare Trusts and Care UK, for their partnership to develop, produce, and launch a product meeting a clear patient/consumer need and the first nutritional supplement to be taken up by NHS.

Sustainability

The Sustainability award recognises an organisation or company for a measurable supply chain system that demonstrates environmentally, economic, and/or socially sustainable practices in the production of nutraceutical ingredients or finished products.

Nexira scooped top spot in the for inavea, its acacia programme in Chad, which has demonstrated clear social, economic, and environmental benefits driven by a commitment to sustainability embedded in the company’s culture.

Zooca – The Calanus Company was highly commended for its Zooca Calanus Oil.