As the pandemic continues to bulldoze its way through all parts of life — health, finances and social — the probiotics industry must adapt. Indeed, the International Probiotic Association (IPA) converted quickly to digital conferencing and online outreach to keep its members and the public informed.
To that end, one recent webinar titled Probiotics & the COVID-19 Market Transformation addressed the challenges and opportunities unleashed by the virus. IPA along with Natural Products Insider collaborated in this SupplySide education series to bring valuable insights on industry changes.
Generous support was provided by: BIO-CAT, Deerland Probiotics & Enzymes, LALLEMAND HEALTH SOLUTIONS, PROBIOTICAL, SABINSA, and Specialty Enzymes & Probiotics
2 hour presentation, 3 umbrella topics
- Consumer demand in probiotics with insights on the pandemic impact on ingredient and finished product sales
- The science around probiotics for today’s health challenges: immunity, stress, digestive upset, skin disorders and rising obesity
- Logistics, legal and regulatory implications of probiotic and prebiotic formulations
The sessions were moderated by George Paraskevakos, IPA’s Executive Director and Heather Granato, Vice President, Content, Health & Nutrition for Informa Markets. Together they deftly managed the schedule and speaker introductions as well as maneuvered around global tech considerations.
George began by presenting updates on IPA’s reach and activities in 2020 with emphasis on consulting for numerous countries on national regulatory policies regarding probiotics and prebiotics.
Webinar speakers
Session 1: Consumer demands in probiotics
Matthew Oster, head of consumer health, Euromonitor International profiled the immunity seeker and talked about insights on recent trends across immune health.
Ewa Hudson, director of insights, Lumina Intelligence tracked probiotic reviews across the marketplace and across the globe to present a clear picture of consumer sentiment.
Session 2: Probiotic science
Thomas Tompkins, Ph.D., research director, Rosell Institute from Microbiome and Probiotics within Lallemand Health Solutions Inc. talked about gut-brain interactions and the newest research on psychobiotics and application in these stressful times.
Dr. Vicente Navarro, CEO, Bioithas (Valencia) discussed various issues that COVID-19 has impacted in dermatological diseases such as acne and atopic dermatitis.
Flavia Prodam, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor in nutrition, Department of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Piedmont, Italy addressed issues of obesity and the microbiome. With fast foods and snack sales up during pandemic, obesity is a concern; new research with Bifidobacterium Breve strains was reviewed.
Session 3: Logistics, legal and regulatory implications of probiotic and prebiotic formulations.
Jeremy Bartos, Ph.D., senior vice president, research and development, MeriCal advised on supplement formulation specifics.
David Keller, DPM, MBA, owner, Keller Consulting Group talked about food vs. dietary supplements considerations.
Ivan Wasserman J.D., managing partner, Amin Talati Wasserman LLP described pitfalls in claims and labelling and prevention of regulatory action.
Webinar on-demand
This excellent webinar wove various aspects of the probiotics industry as they intersect with this unprecedented pandemic. Presented live on October 22, 2020, the recording will be available for 60 days hence to interested members of the public. Don’t delay!