Performance Nutrition Product Development for a Leading Brand

With the help of Prinova’s expert product development team, a leading dietary supplement brand was able to extend their line with a huge launch of performance nutrition products at an unparalleled speed-to-market. 

When a leading dietary supplement brand wanted to expand beyond lifestyle and wellness into performance nutrition product development, they needed expert guidance to help them get there. Specifically, they would need a partner that could execute winning formulas, knockout flavors, and multiple product forms — while also handling the demands of a rapid timeline. 

The customer envisioned a line of flavored pre- and post-workout products available in two convenient forms: ready-to-mix (RTM) powders and ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages. While they had previously developed RTM powder formulas in-house, they needed deeper expertise in performance nutrition and RTD beverages to bring their ideas to life.

Crafting an effective base formula that would successfully translate across delivery formats was crucial. Not only would this provide a consistent consumer experience, but it would also simplify the customer’s supply chain. 

Vibrant flavors are essential to their innovative and premium brand reputation, and Prinova’s comprehensive flavor services would ensure that formulation and flavoring went hand in hand. This close collaboration promised to improve the quality of the final product and further consolidate the supply chain. 

On top of these requirements, the customer was committed to an ambitious go-to-market timeline, which demanded that product development and commercialization be fast-tracked. 

With deep expertise in ingredients and applications, in-house flavoring, vertically integrated capabilities, and impressive flexibility, Prinova was an obvious choice.

The elevated standards of performance nutrition presented a great opportunity to strengthen and mature the customer’s lifestyle and wellness brand. To seize that opportunity, the product needed to successfully deliver a range of benefits rooted in science and paired with great flavor.

Technical formulation experts at Prinova immediately set to work designing a complex formula to target benefits for pre- and post-workout, including hydration, muscle-protein synthesis, energy, and endurance. 

After agreeing upon the base formula, the customer participated in on-site sensory evaluations at the Prinova lab. There, formulation experts made real-time revisions to address sensory challenges and respond to rapidly developing strategic directives. Ultimately, they approved five distinctive and enticing flavor options. 

Differences in processing conditions required the base formula to be optimized into separate SKUs for RTM and RTD with all the overages needed to meet label claims. Using Prinova’s in-house aseptic processing technology, the team analyzed final combinations of flavor and formula to ensure that commercial runs would produce the same sensory characteristics approved in the lab.

The customer then received the fully transparent formulas, enabling them to evaluate Prinova’s InsideTrak delivery options and determine the most efficient and cost-effective way to buy within their supply chain plan. 

By choosing premixes, the customer received more than 20 functional ingredients for each SKU as a single item at their internal manufacturing site, along with multiple customized flavor blends with bitter blocking, masking, flavor, and sweetener components.

Relying on Prinova’s guidance and expertise, the customer brought an enormous line extension to market in record time. The trendsetting flavors of these products have earned rave reviews from consumers and set new standards in performance nutrition product solutions.

One of the biggest wins in this project was how Prinova simplified the customer’s supply chain with customized premixes and flavor/sweetener blends. These solutions mean fewer manufacturing inputs and fewer variables for the procurement team to manage.

Because of Prinova’s expertise in compensating for processing conditions — particularly for vitamins and minerals with low inclusion rates — the customer has added confidence that their products are compliant with necessary regulations and meet label claims.

As the customer’s brand continues to grow, Prinova’s transparent formulas and InsideTrak options will make it easy for them to scale their products and analyze supply options for efficiency and cost-effectiveness.