Athletic & Sports Performance Nutrition Solutions

The science and quality of nutrition to support athletic & sports performance has come a long way. 

According to historians, the first studies of sports nutrition were conducted in the 1930s in Sweden on carbohydrate and fat metabolism.³

Fast forward to today when the global sports & active nutrition market is a $38.2 billion* industry and expected to reach $56.8 billion in 2027.⁴

Although the athletic & sports performance consumer has continued to evolve over the last several years, one thing remains true: this consumer is driven by measurable performance goals, and nutrition is an integral part of making these goals happen.

Glanbia Nutritionals has never lost its connection to this consumer and has contributed to the science of nutrition that has continued to evolve with these athletes. Let’s look more closely at four of these athletic & sports performance-driven goals:

Strength & Muscle - Protein is Power

Gaining strength and muscle isn’t a novel goal. We can look back to the ancient Olympics and read fun stories about famous athletes like Milo of Croton who, according to ancient sources and legends, enjoyed showing off his strength and trained by carrying a newborn calf on his back every day until the Olympics took place.⁵ The academic field now known as sports nutrition has unquestionably evolved as the years have gone on, but the end goal of gaining strength and muscle has stayed the same.

Protein has long been associated with its role in muscle building and still leads sports nutrition claims with new product launches globally.⁶ Whey protein, which tops North American sports nutrition launches with protein⁶, is a high-quality protein source that is considered a complete protein because it contains all nine of the essential amino acids (EAAs). EAAs are “essential” because they cannot be produced by the body and must be obtained from dietary sources. Besides complete proteins like whey, it can be beneficial for an athlete to consume amino acids on their own like the branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs). BCAAs make up three of the nine EAAs and have received special attention, since they are metabolized primarily in skeletal muscle, unlike other amino acids which must first pass through the liver before reaching the muscles. BCAAs lead amino acid launches globally⁶ and are associated with preventing muscle protein breakdown during vigorous exercise. 

Glanbia Ingredient Spotlight

We offer a robust portfolio of ingredient solutions like our Bodybuilding Bioactive NXP-GF™ to support strength and muscle. Check out more of what we have to offer below. 

Energy & Endurance - Caffeine & Beyond

In addition to strength and muscle, athletes are drawn to ingredients that can increase their energy and muscle endurance to support an optimal workout. We learned in our 2022 Performance Nutrition U&A Study that pre-workout product consumption is up since 2018, with energy drinks being the most preferred pre-workout format for active consumers.⁷ As far as current usage, most of these active consumers currently use pre-workout products in the form of an energy drink, protein bar or sports beverage like protein water.⁷

Common ingredients that fall into the area of energy and endurance include branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), essential amino acids (EAAs), creatine, beta-alanine, nitric oxide, taurine, caffeine, and green tea, among others. 

Although caffeine is one of the most heavily used performance ingredients by active consumers⁷, botanicals and non-stimulant energy ingredients like beetroot and ginseng are also becoming popular. This makes sense, since the biggest reason active consumers stop consuming energy drinks is because they don’t like how the product made them feel.⁷ A majority (61%) of active consumers also say they want a pre-workout product which provides energy from natural sources.⁷ This presents another opportunity for formulators. 

Glanbia Ingredient Spotlight

We offer a robust portfolio of ingredient solutions like our Bodybuilding Bioactive FitNox^® to support energy and endurance. Check out more of what we have to offer below. 

Rest & Recovery - Protein, Amino Acids, Fluids & Electrolytes

As every athlete knows, a speedy recovery after exercise is essential to being ready to go for the next workout. 24 hours – or an hour or less in the case of an athlete in competition – isn’t a lot of time to replenish the body’s stores of necessary nutrients. 

In our research, around 40% of consumers that use post-workout products responded that they use beverages (RTD and RTM) and protein bars to recover from exercise.⁷

Popular nutrients associated with exercise recovery include protein, amino acids, fluids and electrolytes. Protein is a critical nutrient in supporting muscle recovery, since intense resistance or endurance exercise can speed protein breakdown. This can lead to prolonged muscle soreness and fatigue. High-quality protein provides the amino acids needed to support the process of muscle protein synthesis and enhance net protein balance. It can also be beneficial to add amino acids on their own like the branch-chain amino acids (BCAAs) – leucine, isoleucine and valine – for speedy recovery. Leucine is particularly popular for triggering the protein synthesis process. 

Also essential to exercise recovery is proper hydration through sufficient intake of water and electrolytes. The University of Florida recognized this in 1965 when Gatorade was born. The researchers found that their football players were losing electrolytes in their sweat, upsetting the body’s balance.¹⁰ Electrolytes, including sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium, and calcium, play key roles in maintaining fluid balance, which is why they’re an essential part of proper hydration.

Glanbia Ingredient Spotlight

We offer a robust portfolio of ingredient solutions like our functionally optimized Nano-Free Solutions and Protein Cheese that support rest and recovery. Check out more of what we have to offer below. 

Mental Focus & Alertness - Caffeine, L-Theanine & B-Vitamins

Athletes are realizing that mental wellbeing is just as important as physical wellbeing. In fact, in our recent U&A study, 8 in 10 active consumers believe just that.⁷ A new billion-dollar industry that is continuing to grow and requires great mental focus and alertness is Esports. If ancient Greek athlete Milo of Croton could only see how athletic & sports performance has expanded to include video games! However, Esports is no joke. It has become a global phenomenon with revenue in 2022 expected to grow 21.8% over 2021 values to reach nearly $1.4 billion.⁸

Professional gamers are athletes with specific performance nutrition needs. At the largest Esports tournaments where prize money is high, gamers need to perform their best. This creates an opportunity for manufacturers to develop products that support the nutritional needs of professional gamers but also connect with their large audience, many of whom are gamers themselves. Some of the nutritional needs of gamers include those targeted towards energy (i.e. Caffeine, B-vitamins, Creatine), focus (i.e. L-theanine, L-glutamine, Panax ginseng and Choline) and visual health (i.e. Lutein and Vitamins A, C and E).

The gaming nutritional market is very much in its infancy and underserved – over half of brands sell only one product, and 52% of the market is made up of ready-to-mix powders (which are predominantly energy powders).⁹

Glanbia Ingredient Spotlight

We offer a robust portfolio of ingredient solutions like our NutraShield™ Triple Layer Natural Caffeine that will be sure to boost your mental focus and alertness formulations. Check out more of what we have to offer below. 

Conclusion

From our origins in Irish dairy farming to our position today as a global leader in nutrition, the drive to transform and perform has fueled Glanbia Nutritionals’ evolution. We have a full portfolio of ingredient solutions that target your consumers’ strength & muscle, energy & endurance, rest & recovery, as well as mental focus & alertness goals. Get in touch to create your next athletic & sports performance product. Let’s build better product performance together.

1) Excerpt from Fundamentals of Sport and Exercise Nutrition, Marie Dunford, 2010 
2) Image: www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-1904-olympic-marathon-may-have-been-the-strangest-ever-14910747/
3) https://us.humankinetics.com/blogs/excerpt/origins-and-history-of-sport-nutrition
4) Euromonitor, World Sports Nutrition + Meal Replacement & Supplement Nutrition Drinks, Sept 2022 *Global 2022 Retail Sales
5) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milo_of_Croton
6) Innova Market Insights, Emerging Sports Nutrition Ingredients, 2022
7) Glanbia Nutritionals Performance Nutrition U&A – US, 2022 
8) NEWZOO | Global Esports & Live Streaming Market Report | 2022 Mintel 
9) Nutrition Integrated, A virtual world for performance nutrition, Dec 2021
10) https://research.ufl.edu/publications/explore/v08n1/gatorade.html