The director of the R&D center of Enzym Group, geneticist Olena Krasovska, spoke about how consumer demands are changing and what opportunities this opens up for manufacturers of ingredients and food products.
According to Market Reports World, the global market for bioactive ingredients exceeded $40 billion in 2026, and by 2035 it may grow to $67 billion. One of the most promising segments is women aged 40+, whose needs have long remained underrepresented in the functional food market.
Hormonal changes associated with perimenopause and menopause are often accompanied by loss of muscle mass, decreased bone density, and changes in cognitive functions. That is why the industry is beginning to reassess the potential of already known ingredients.
One example is creatine. Today, it is increasingly considered not only as a sports ingredient, but also as a component for supporting muscle, bone tissue and cognitive health during the aging process.
The role of collagen is also being rethought. Modern research shows that individual collagen peptides can perform a signaling function, influencing the synthesis of your own collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid. This opens up new opportunities for maintaining the health of the skin, joints and vascular system.
Another promising area is glutathione - one of the key intracellular antioxidants. Its level naturally decreases with age, but its traditional use is complicated by low stability and bioavailability.
That is why biotechnological approaches to creating functional ingredients are becoming increasingly important. Enzym Group is exploring the possibilities of fermentation technologies for the production of new generation yeast ingredients that can support the antioxidant status of the body and help reduce the impact of oxidative stress - one of the factors of accelerated aging.
According to industry analysts, more than 75% of consumers in the world already choose products with bioactive components, and the number of new launches of functional products continues to grow every year.
According to Olena Krasovska, the market is gradually moving from individual ingredients to complex solutions focused on specific consumer needs. In this context, the combination of ingredients to support muscle mass, antioxidant protection and connective tissue health may become one of the key areas of development of functional nutrition in the coming years.
For food manufacturers, this means new opportunities: from creating clean label solutions based on fermentation to developing functional products with proven biological value.
Enzym Group is convinced that the future of functional nutrition does not belong to individual ingredients, but to complex biotechnological solutions created around the real needs of the consumer.
