Joint and Bone Health are Connected

“The boomer and senior population is growing, so joint and bone health are top of mind for that demographic,” says Mintel’s Krista Faron, senior new-product analyst. “When it comes to supplements, calcium, vitamin D and magnesium dominate for bone health. Glucosamine, chondroitin and omega-3s are dominating the joint category. These traditional ingredients will continue to dominate but unexpected forms will emerge.”

For example, Bonemilk, a milk product with extra calcium plus glucosamine, was just recently launched. However, Minute Maid Active with glucosamine — despite the marketing heft of a leading mainstream brand — was pulled from the shelves after two years on the market. Formulators are also taking traditional joint-health ingredients and re-orienting them to the performance field, as with Vuel grape sports drink, a joint-rejuvenating beverage containing glucosamine, MSM and electrolytes.

“Once you move away from pills, joint health is an untapped area for joint-health drinks and foods,” Faron says. More consumers are now turning to foods — up 29 per cent— and beverages — up 11 per cent — fortified with joint-health ingredients, according to Nielsen data.

A compelling option is type II collagen, an ingredient that provides a naturally occurring matrix of chondroitin sulphate, hyaluronic acid and hydrolysed collagen type II, as well as glucosamine and other proteoglycans. Its dollar sales in 2007 were up 98.75 per cent, accoding to Nutrition Business Journal.

MSM, third in ingredient sales for the category, is worth $5 million. “A strong evidence base supports the utility of MSM for the promotion of joint health,” says Tony Keller, president of TandemRain Innovations, supplier of ActivMSM. “With ActivMSM being FDA GRAS, we see a significant opportunity for the entry of MSM into conventional foods and beverages, extending its joint-health pedigree and ushering in new applications for cardiovascular health. The suggestion of MSM being a sulphur metabolism modifier also opens up platforms for skin/hair/nails applications.” Beyond these major players, there is no shortage of ingredients looking to get in on the joint-health action.