Summer 2023 Supplement Trends & Manufacturing Predictions

When it comes to making predictions about dietary supplement manufacturing for the summer, it’s not all that difficult. Not only is the summer synonymous with swimsuit season, but it’s a time of year when people are wearing shorts, tee shirts, tank tops, and sandals. In other words, they’re showing more of their bodies than they usually do, so they naturally want to look more fit. That means they’ll want dietary supplements that promote weight loss benefits. But 2023 may see a more intense version of this annual occurrence. Why? Consider the following.

Weight gain, the pandemic, and 2023

According to the report, State of Obesity 2022: Better Policies for a Healthier America, about 42% of American adults are obese, and obesity rates continue to climb nationwide and within population groups. What’s more, 19 states have adult obesity rates over 35%, up from 16 states last year. A decade ago, no state had an adult obesity rate at or above 35 percent.[i]

Furthermore, Harvard Medical School points out:

“There was a great deal of stress during the first year of the pandemic, and stress is associated with increased cortisol. Increased cortisol has been associated with an increased intake of hyper-palatable foods, which are foods high in salt, fat, or both. There is also evidence that our bodies metabolize food more slowly when under stress. In addition, stress and high cortisol levels are associated with increased belly fat…[ii]”

[Continue reading or click below to listen to the podcast I recorded about this topic...]

In addition, a study published in 2022 conducted a national assessment of weight gain in adult Americans after the first year of the pandemic with 3,473 participants. The results showed that 48% of participants gained weight, 34% remained the same weight, and 18% lost weight. Not surprisingly, weight gain was significantly higher in those with anxiety (53%), depression (52%), or symptoms of both (52%).[iii]

For many people, behavior changes associated with the pandemic played a role in weight gain and the increase in obesity rates. The American Psychological Association’s Stress in America survey indicated an average gain of 29 pounds among those who gained weight.[iv]

So now that we’ve gained pandemic-related weight, what do we plan to do about it? Well, if anything good has come out of the pandemic, it’s that people have become more focused on their health. In fact, according to a poll of 2,000 U.S. adults over 30, two out of three Americans indicated that the experience over the past two years has taught them how important their health is, half of them added they’ve gained weight and that weight loss is a “top health goal” for them for 2023.[v]

Weight loss nutraceuticals

Now we know that, in 2023, more people than ever are likely to start following some weight loss program, which may include dietary supplements as part of their strategy along with diet and exercise. So, which nutraceuticals are good options to consider as part of a weight loss supplement? There are dozens and dozens of potential choices, and there’s no possible way to realistically scratch the surface in this article. However, I will present two interesting and unusual choices to consider.

Resveratrol for weight loss

Resveratrol, an antioxidant found in red wine and from other sources, made its introduction into the dietary supplement marketplace well over a decade ago, generating excitement due to its potential role in cardiovascular health, longevity, and human research demonstrating its effectiveness for inflammation, immune health, muscle health, cognitive health, and much more—including weight loss.[vi] [vii] [viii] [ix] [x] [xi]

Research has shown that resveratrol is capable of shrinking fat cells and influencing the body to make fewer fat cells.[xii] It also impacts the fat cell in such a what that it makes less fat, and even increases the breakdown and release of fat.[xiii] Additionally, resveratrol has even been shown to improve fat-burning in muscles.[xiv] Of course, these benefits sound good, but do they translate to actual weight loss? The answer appears to be yes.

In one study, people following a nutritious diet and using 500 mg of resveratrol supplements for weight loss before each meal (3 times daily, for a daily total of 1500 mg) lost weight (~8.6 lbs), fat mass (~4 lbs), waist size (~2 inches) and reduced their body mass index (1.3) over 3 months. To be clear, the placebo group followed the same nutritious diet but didn’t experience these benefits.[xv]

Another study combined resveratrol with the OTC weight loss aid Orlistat (e.g., Alli®). In that study, subjects ate 500 fewer calories per day than their usual diet and used a combination of resveratrol 100 mg/3 times daily (before meals) and Orlistat 120 mg/3 times daily (before meals) lost weight (~12.4 lbs), fat mass (~4 lbs), waist size (~5 inches) and reduced their body mass index (~2) over 24 weeks. The placebo group only experienced a fraction of these benefits.[xvi]

By the way, it wasn’t just these studies that have shown that resveratrol helps promote weight loss. Scientists reviewed and analyzed the results of 36 randomized clinical trials [xvii] (the best type of studies), and found that resveratrol supplementation significantly decreased body weight, body mass index, fat mass, and waist circumference.

Postbiotic: HT BPL1 50B

Depending upon your preferred definition, a postbiotic may be one of two things. The first is a metabolite produced by a probiotic. For example, many probiotics produce the short-chain fatty acid, butyric acid or butyrate—this would be one of several metabolite-type postbiotics. The second is a thermal-treated probiotic that is no longer alive but still confers a beneficial effect—a sort of zombie probiotic if you will. An example of the latter, a thermal-treated postbiotic, is Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis (HT BPL1 50B).

A randomized, parallel, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial compared live Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis to the postbiotic version, HT BPL1 50B, and a placebo to study postbiotics for weight loss. The result showed that the postbiotic HT BPL1 50B was more effective than either. Specifically, HT BPL1 50B decreased visceral fat (3-7 cm2), waist size (~2 cm), and body mass.[xviii]

What is the advantage of using a postbiotic in product formulations? Unlike a probiotic, you do not have stability problems. Since it is no longer alive, there is no concern that it will die off and lose potency. Also, unlike many other probiotics, a postbiotic will play well with other nutraceuticals, so it is a good candidate for inclusion in a combination formula.

Wrapping Up

In preparation for summer swimsuit season, it looks like many Americans will be trying to lose weight in 2023 as a follow-up to pandemic-related weight gain. It may include adding dietary supplements as part of their strategy, along with diet and exercise. While many potential nutraceuticals are worthy of consideration and a dietary supplement formulated to promote weight loss, two excellent, evidence-based candidates are resveratrol and the postbiotic Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis (HT BPL1 50B).

How NutraScience Labs Can Help You

With the global value of the weight loss supplement market predicted to exceed $86 billion by 2027,[xix] brand owners need to prepare well in advance to meet the demand. Even though the summer season is more than 9 months away, supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic still exist. Now is the time to contact an experienced supplement manufacturing service provider, like NutraScience Labs, about creating weight management supplements that contain the nutraceuticals mentioned in this article!

Our team has more than 120 years of nutraceutical industry experience and successfully provided over 2,300 new and existing brands with best-in-class contract manufacturing, packaging & label design, and order fulfillment services. We will work with you every step of the way to ensure your weight management supplement meets your exact specifications so you can bring it to the market when consumers are looking to purchase it.

Call 855-492-7388 to speak with one of our senior account managers or send us your request to receive a free supplement manufacturing price quote.

References:

[i] State of Obesity 2022: Better Policies for a Healthier America. Trust for America’s Health.

[ii] Frates EP. Did we really gain weight during the pandemic? Harvard Health Publishing. October 5, 2021.

[iii] Khubchandani J, Price JH, Sharma S, et al. COVID-19 pandemic and weight gain in American adults: A nationwide population-based study. Diabetes Metab Syndr. 2022 Jan; 16(1): 102392.

[iv] Weir K. The extra weight of COVID-19. Monitor on Psychology. 2021; 52(5):26.

[v] Melore C. Bring on 2023: 2 in 5 people believe they’ll return to their ‘pre-pandemic body’ next year. StudyFinds. October 29, 2022.

[vi] Labinskyy N, Csiszar A, Veress G, Stef G, Pacher P, Oroszi G, Wu J, Ungvari Z. Vascular dysfunction in aging: potential effects of resveratrol, an anti-inflammatory phytoestrogen. Current medicinal chemistry 2006; 13(9):989-96.

[vii] Borra MT, Smith BC, Denu JM.Mechanism of human SIRT1 activation by resveratrol. J Biol Chem. 2005 Apr 29;280(17):17187-95.

[viii] Wong RHX, Evans HM, Howe PRC. Resveratrol supplementation reduces pain experience by postmenopausal women. Menopause. 2017 Aug;24(8):916-922.

[ix] Espinoza JL, Trung LQ, Inaoka PT, Yamada K, An DT, Mizuno S, Nakao S, Takami A. The Repeated Administration of Resveratrol Has Measurable Effects on Circulating T-Cell Subsets in Humans. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2017;2017:6781872.

[x] Alway SE, McCrory JL, Kearcher K, Vickers A, Frear B, Gilleland DL, Bonner DE, Thomas JM, Donley DA, Lively MW, Mohamed JS.Resveratrol Enhances Exercise-Induced Cellular and Functional Adaptations of Skeletal Muscle in Older Men and Women. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2017 Nov 9;72(12):1595-1606.