Several experts with backgrounds in the sports nutrition industry shared some of the challenges and opportunities they see stemming from the global pandemic, and how companies and brands can navigate uncertainty, during a webinar hosted by the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) in September.

Spanning marketing, product development, and third-party testing of sports nutrition products, the panel assessed how the market has shifted and offered predictions on how the dynamics may evolve in the coming months and years.

Social distancing, a reprioritization of health concerns among consumers, and economic consequences of the pandemic all currently have deep and lasting impacts on the fitness routines, nutritional needs, and workouts of average athletes, or “active lifestylers.”

New Routines & Needs
Throughout the pandemic, athletes and those leading active lifestyles are generally working to maintain their routines as closely as possible, despite certain obstacles, including lack of access to gyms and economic insecurity.

Online metrics show that consumers are holding conversations online about a wide range of fitness topics, including running, bodybuilding, plyometrics, and more, according to Samantha Clayton, former Olympic athlete and vice president of sports nutrition and fitness for Herbalife Nutrition. “People are feeling much closer to athletes, due to the leveled playing field. Capturing content that merges consumers and athletes can keep the average person inspired to follow through with and advance their routines.”

This is evidenced by a proliferation of exercise courses, which have increased across all types, Clayton said. In total, there has been an 89% increase in actual course creation, and an 800% increase in actual enrollment, according to results from Udemy, a virtual platform that hosts courses.

Ellen Thompson, the editorial director of Fitness Trainer Magazine, discussed some of the broad, overarching trends that she’s seen while covering the entire fitness industry.

A variety of regulations on brick-and-mortar facilities related to social distancing, cleaning practices, limited occupation numbers, outdoor/virtual offerings, and more are currently affecting the operations of all businesses in the fitness industry, Thompson said.

“Despite these challenges, fitness consumers are participating in their routines through the lens of a smart device, and 68% of these businesses have actually seen increases in overall sales, which are occurring virtually through online sales, and instructors finding ways to meet clients where they are.”

“Fitness consumers, as defined by people who ordinarily work out three to five times per week, are working out now more than ever,” Thompson continued, indicating a widespread willingness to adapt to virtual settings. The number of consumers who stream workouts at least once per week in 2020 rose to 85%, from a rate of 7% one year prior. Some of the most common types of workouts included yoga, HIIT (high-intensity interval training), and boot-camp-style workouts.

This mass adoption of virtual options in lieu of going to the gym represents a more ideal entry point for the nutritional end of fitness that wouldn’t ordinarily be available, Thompson said. With changes to workouts, sports nutrition consumers are seeking to adjust their dietary intake to better fit their new routines.

While fitness consumers who were already working with nutritionists and coaches are connecting virtually at greater rates, merging workouts and nutrition into the same social media platforms could prove a worthwhile service for those new to the nutrition side of fitness.

“Someone who went from a 5-day split strength program to cardio and yoga needs an entirely new plan,” Thompson said. “People have more time for meal prep, and fitness consumers are looking for recipes and macro guidance which they can share with personal trainers easily.”

Overall, in light of the pandemic, many people have more free time and motivation to be discerning when it comes to the quality and safety of the ingredients in their dietary supplements. For these reasons, positioning a product today through transparency programs and third-party verification can render any ingredient a cut above the competition, according to Oliver Catlin, president and co-founder of the Banned Substances Control Group, a third-party testing organization that ensures sports nutrition products pass regulatory requirements, contain no drugs, and remain unadulterated.

Some products posing as dietary supplements may contain stimulants and drug-like compounds which could have serious health consequences. Especially among competitive athletes, conscious consumption of clean ingredients continues to be an important trend.

Products Seeing the Biggest Boom
Steve French, managing partner at the Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), discussed which products in the sports nutrition category have seen a groundswell of consumer preference over the course of the pandemic. Overall, consumers are placing a greater degree of concern over new areas of health and wellness, as they adapt to new types of workouts and lifestyles.

The biggest sales increases were for products with muscle-building attributes, including protein shakes, energy and nutrition bars, and other specialty supplements supporting muscle growth. However, many products shown to play preventive roles, such as recovery and performance support, are also seeing spikes. These include plant-based proteins, amino acids, sterols, flaxseed oil, and omega-3 DHA. Collagen sales, additionally, saw a major increase on par with the rise seen since 2015, approximately 103% year-over-year, French said.

“Health and wellness is becoming much more integrated into athlete’s lives than ever before,” noted Adam Branfman, director of Klean Athlete. While athletes have broadly been maintaining their intake of specialty products formulated for peak performance, there has also been an acceleration of products containing bare essential nutrients within the sports nutrition segment.

“These products are outperforming what you’d consider traditional pre-, during, and post- workout ingredients like creatine, proteins, collagen, and others,” Branfman said. “More sports products are seeing foundational nutrients incorporated into their formulas.”

Challenges to Product Development
Several areas of product development have had to overcome obstacles caused by COVID-19 restrictions. Companies have seen delays in the shipment of raw materials and other supplies, issues involved in clinical trials such as enrollment and staffing reductions, closures of university campuses, and the risk COVID-19 poses as a potential adverse event in clinical studies.

“Now may provide the best opportunity to invest in early stage research, in vitro, remote, and virtual studies, online data acquisition for efficacy tests, and virtual scientific conferences,” said Jim Komorowski, MS, CNS, chief scientific officer of JDS Therapeutics LLC and chair of the Council for Responsible Nutrition’s Sports Nutrition Working Group. “Many new research models are being developed for NIH-funded studies that we might be able to use in our programs.”

One silver lining of virtual adaptations to clinical trials includes the greater ease by which people can enroll. For example, there may be greater opportunities for new clinical trial participants who are elderly or disabled, who wouldn’t otherwise be interested in participating in an on-location study. However, for others, confusion about study procedures, the small likelihood that certain demographics will be able to be reached as potential participants through social media, and higher dropout rates will serve as challenges.

Additionally, in the wake of the pandemic, many publications and government databases have provided free-public access to all of their materials, Komorowski noted.