Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, supporting muscle recovery and providing energy and our team at Glanbia Nutritionals are experts at creating protein-building amino acid product to meet today's consumers’ workout needs.
Opportunities in protein-building amino acid products
Awareness of amino acids is high among more active consumers. In the US, four in five adults who exercise at least three hours per week are aware of amino acids or branched-chain amino acids—a number that’s been growing over the past four years (1). While 31% use them regularly or sometimes, the figure is much higher for sports performance consumers, at 61% (2). This points to specific opportunities in promoting the benefits of amino acid products to both active lifestyle and healthy lifestyle consumers, especially since two in five non-users say they’re interested in pre and intra workout products and half are interested in post-workout products (3).
What Are Amino Acids?
Amino acids are organic compounds that contain an amino group, a carboxyl group, and a side chain that’s unique to each amino acid. When multiple amino acids are linked together by peptide bonds, they form a protein (which is why you might have heard that amino acids are the building blocks of proteins).
In the body, proteins are constantly being broken down and reassembled to meet the body’s needs. Amino acids are essential to synthesize new proteins, as well as other compounds such as hormones and neurotransmitters. The key role of amino acids in protein building has important implications in the sports nutrition world.
Top Uses for Amino Acids
The most important uses for amino acid products are probably muscle recovery and energy. The post-workout period is a critical time when the body must repair any muscle damage that occurred during exercise. Sufficient amino acid levels in the body are needed to support this process. Amino acids also act as a source of energy that can be burned by the body for fuel.
Glanbia Nutritionals helps brands strengthen their products with AminoBlast® ingredients
Amino acids are a winning ingredient in sports nutrition products. They provide real benefits that consumers are looking for by supporting protein synthesis during the muscle recovery process. We know amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, but they also act as an energy source to help fuel workouts, which is creating new usage occasions such as pre-workout energy for intermittent fasters.
Fortunately, as consumers’ interest in healthy and active lifestyles has been increasing, so has their awareness of amino acids—providing brands with an exciting opportunity to help health-minded consumers reach their goals. Glanbia Nutritionals’ protein-building amino acid portfolio uses innovative AminoBlast Technology to make it simple to include amino acids in ready-to-drink beverages, ready-to-mix powders, bars, and gels.
AminoBlast amino acids are designed for improved clarity over traditional amino acids and easy dispersibility in water—even cold water. No clumping, floating, or sedimentation make AminoBlast BCAAs and EAAs ideal for ready-to-mix powders, as well as ready-to-drink beverages.
Learn more about how we deliver innovative nutrition solutions for our customers here.
References
(1-5) Glanbia Nutritionals, Performance Nutrition U&A Study: US, July 2022. N = 501.