Products for athletes help them maintain the necessary energy levels and have a more balanced diet. However, such nutrition has become a key element in the diet of not only athletes, but also ordinary people who train in the gym or just watch their diet. Therefore, the production of sports nutrition today is becoming an increasingly profitable business. Let us consider it in more detail and tell you how the process of creating such products works.
What is sports nutrition made from?
The most popular ingredient is protein – a building material necessary for muscle recovery after a workout and an increase in muscle mass. Protein contains concentrated protein, which is obtained from products of plant and animal origin. Depending on this, the protein is divided into soy, whey, egg, vegetable and casein.
Take whey protein for example. The main raw material is cow’s milk which is separated into curd and whey. This whey is then processed into three forms of protein: concentrate, isolate, and hydrolyzate. Soy protein is made from soy flour, soy concentrate and soy isolate. All forms differ in the percentage of the main protein.
To create egg protein, the protein is dried to a powder, sometimes they add the yolk to the mixture as well. However, if the manufacturer indicates on the pack that there is “albumin” in the composition, this means that most of the fat has been removed from there.
For the production of casein, milk is heated to a temperature of about 32°C, after which an inorganic acid is added to it, which helps to reduce the acid level of milk to 4.3-4.6. After that, the milk is heated further to 40-45°C until even casein aggregates begin to form.
How sports nutrition is made
In order to preserve the nutrients of the ingredients, the sports supplement manufacturer uses harmless manufacturing techniques. For example, amino acids are obtained by microbiological synthesis. Specific enzymes that are involved in the biosynthesis of amino acids are the product of the vital activity of microbial cells. Thus, the primary structure is preserved, which is necessary for the production of amino acids. In other cases, substances are obtained from hydrolysates of the corresponding proteins. For example, tryptophan, necessary for the synthesis of vitamin B3, is destroyed by acid hydrolysis.
The presence of modern technologies has greatly facilitated the process of producing sports nutrition. So whey protein concentrate is made by filtering whey through fine membranes. Fat and lactose fractions also pass through these membranes.
Sports supplement manufacturers mainly use 3 supplement manufacturing technologies: dry blending technology, encapsulation technology, and tableting technology. For example, dry mixing technology includes three methods:
- Powdered ingredients are first dissolved in water (fat-soluble ones get emulsified), mixed and dried.
- Dry ingredients are mixed in certain proportions.
- Some of the components are mixed in dry form, and the rest are mixed in liquid form.
Each mixing process has its own advantages and disadvantages. The most versatile method is the dry mixing of the components, since it does not require the use of additional processes, unlike in the case with the first option.
Goals and objectives of the business project
Before drawing up a business plan, a supplement manufacturer should carefully study the market. The development of sports nutrition is closely related to the popularization of sports and a complete diet, so supplements should be intended for everyone who wants to lead a healthy lifestyle, and not just for professional athletes. Based on this conclusion, the following types of sports nutrition can be made: protein powder, creatine, BCAA, protein and energy bars, carbohydrate drinks.
Having a fairly wide range of products, the manufacturer can use various channels for marketing: retail and mass-range stores, highly specialized outlets, online stores, marketplaces, as well as gyms and fitness centers. Interest in a healthy lifestyle is growing every year, which means that the number of establishments serving as points of sale will only increase. This is a positive trend for the production of sports nutrition.
Sports supplements have found their permanence in the diet of even those people who are not associated with heavy loads and professional training. The trend of the sports nutrition market shows growth, given the increasing interest of people to lead a healthy lifestyle. And sport supplement manufacturers must adjust the production in such a way as to obtain high-quality effective products that cover the needs of people.