Inside Nutraceuticals: How Plant-Based Nutrition Is Shaping the Future of Food and Beverage

The modern grocery store now features a wide range of nutraceutical products, from protein waters and energy shots to botanical gummies and fortified, shelf-stable plant-based beverages.

This shift reflects rising demand for nutraceuticals and functional foods, as consumers look for convenient ways to support health through everyday choices. At the same time, manufacturers must balance innovation with regulatory compliance, clean label expectations, and real nutritional value.

In this blog, we’ll define nutraceuticals, examine plant-based functional food ingredients, review key regulatory and clean label considerations, and show how NutriFusion blends support next-generation food and beverage development.

What Are Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods?

Nutraceuticals are products made from natural food sources, usually in more concentrated forms (extracts or formulations), which are created to support health and wellness beyond the typical benefits of basic nutrition. Nutraceuticals are available in many different forms (capsules, powders, drinks, and fortified foods), and are marketed as solutions to particular nutritional requirements. Research indicates that nutraceuticals are unique products that fill the gap between conventional nutrition and supplements. However, there is a wide variance in regulatory definitions of nutraceuticals.

Functional foods are a type of food that offers a variety of health benefits. Functional foods include whole foods that are naturally high in bioactive compounds, as well as foods that have been engineered to contain additional ingredients (such as plant sterols, fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamins) in order to promote certain health objectives. Examples of functional foods range from common fortified cereal products to complex, innovative products such as ready-to-drink functional beverages containing bioactive ingredients.

Since there is no single definition for these two terms, producers should use a disciplined approach to claims, formulation, and transparency. NutriFusion provides fruit and vegetable blends that are rich in phytonutrients and micronutrients to be used as functional ingredients by manufacturers’ research and development teams in the creation of supplements, beverages, foods, pet food, and fortified products.

Why Plant-Based Nutraceuticals Are Surging

As a leading segment of the world’s nutraceuticals industry, plant-based nutraceuticals are shaped by a variety of global macro trends influencing this fast-growing area of product development.

According to a quantitative data report, the majority of consumers continue to show interest in using food to support a healthy lifestyle, and they are looking for foods they can trust as “real,” backed by certified ingredients that meet their expectations of quality. As a result, there has been an increase in the availability and demand for new plant-based functional food ingredients such as botanicals, prebiotics, probiotics, proteins, and other bioactive constituents, many of which are derived from plants.

As more consumers pursue dietary lifestyles such as veganism or flexitarianism, or seek to avoid certain allergens, food manufacturers are forming partnerships to create products made from fruits, vegetables, botanicals, and other plant-based ingredients. In addition, research also shows a steady upward trend in plant-forward product innovations that extend from beverages and snack bars to supplements and dairy alternatives.

NutriFusion directly participates in this overall trend toward plant-based foods with GrandFusion blends, nutrient-dense, plant-based powders from fruits and vegetables that are formulated to be bioactive, bioavailable, and ideal for delivering clean-label nutrients in nutraceutical applications.

How Plant-Based Nutraceuticals Are Reshaping Food and Beverage

The application of plant-based nutraceuticals is expanding into many new mainstream product categories beyond just pills and powders. A growing number of products created using plant-based nutraceutical concepts can be found in the following categories:

• Functional Beverages: Enhanced waters, refrigerated juices, ready-to-drink teas, and milk products (dairy and plant-based) fortified with vitamins, minerals, fibers, and botanicals.
• Better-for-you Snacks and Cereals: Products with antioxidants, plant-based proteins, micronutrients, and fiber.
• Hybrid Supplement Formats: Gummies, shots, chews, gels, drink mixes, and squeeze pouches, all of which bridge supplements and food products.

These new formats have become more user-friendly and increasingly credible in the eyes of consumers. NutriFusion has invested in plant-based nutrient solutions for foods, beverages, nutraceuticals, and pet nutrition to meet the demand for a wide variety of product formats. 

Through work with supplement and nutraceutical brands, NutriFusion’s GrandFusion blends are used in capsules, gummies, powders, drink mixes, tablets, and liquid applications, all of which leverage the same concentrated nutrients sourced from fruits and vegetables.

Functional Food Ingredients: From Concept to Toolkit

Functional food ingredients are bioactive components that provide additional benefits beyond basic macro- and micronutrient content. Some researchers identify examples such as plant proteins, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and probiotics, among others. Each of these ingredients may be associated with specific physiological benefits.

Rather than creating products consisting of single “hero” compounds, many nutraceutical brands now use combinations of micronutrients and phytonutrients together with supportive matrices such as healthy fats and dietary fiber. This production strategy may help improve overall product performance while also enhancing consumer confidence.

Our work at NutriFusion has evolved along these lines. The GrandFusion 6, 12, and 21 nutrient blends, which include B-complex nutrients and formulations specifically designed for pets, have been developed to deliver concentrated fruit- and vegetable-derived vitamins that support versatile, broad applications. In addition, the GrandFusion blends are designed to endure the rigors of manufacturing, remain stable through processing, and can provide a meaningful percentage of the Daily Value in small dosages.

As the flavor and performance characteristics of food and beverages are critical, our R&D teams have specifically formulated our ingredients to minimize the impact on taste and functionality. Micronutrient systems based on plant sources are no longer occasional additions to product formulations. R&D teams now treat plant-derived micronutrient systems as part of their standard toolkit, just as they would protein solutions or prebiotic fibers. The ability to utilize these formulations allows brands to produce food products that comply with clean-label requirements while providing high-quality nutrition.

Clean Label Nutrients and Consumer Trust

The clean label movement is reshaping the nutraceuticals market, with multiple consumer research studies showing that consumers want:

• Short ingredient lists that are easy to understand.
• Ingredients they are familiar with and can recognize at first glance.
• Very few or no artificial additives.
• Clear and precise information about the sourcing and processing of the ingredients.

These changing attitudes toward nutraceuticals and functional foods are leading many manufacturers to shift away from synthetic additives and preservatives toward naturally occurring antioxidants, bioactive plant materials, and nutrient systems that qualify as clean-label nutrients.

At NutriFusion, we have designed our GrandFusion blends to meet these consumer expectations by providing our customers with:

• Nutrients that come from plants.
• No synthetics, artificial additives, or preservatives.
• Non-GMO whole food sources.
• Simple ingredient statements made only from fruits and vegetables.

The GrandFusion product line improves both the nutrition facts panel and the ingredient deck, allowing manufacturers to create clean-label products that meet the expectations of today’s consumers. Clean label nutrients are no longer just “nice to have”; they are increasingly viewed as “must-have” for manufacturers that want to lead their categories in the future.

R&D Roadmap for Next-Generation Plant-Based Nutraceuticals

For R&D teams working with nutraceuticals, the first step is to define a clear benefit platform, such as energy and focus, immune support, healthy aging, or everyday wellness, and to ground it in credible evidence rather than disease-treatment promises. R&D teams then select functional food ingredients and clean-label nutrients that match this platform, favoring whole-food-derived vitamin systems, fibers, and other plant-based bioactives.

The next stage focuses on stability and sensory performance, looking at processing conditions, overages, and interactions with other ingredients. Labels and claims should align with regulatory guidance and internal risk tolerance, using transparent, consumer-friendly language.

NutriFusion supports this roadmap through GrandFusion blends and custom R&D collaboration that help brands integrate plant-based nutraceuticals efficiently into new and existing SKUs. This approach helps turn plant-based nutraceuticals into scalable, clean-label nutrition systems.

Partnering to Build the Future of Plant-Based Nutraceuticals

NutriFusion® focuses on whole-food, plant-based nutrient blends for clean-label nutraceutical products and highlights ingredients supported by published scientific evidence and regulatory documentation.

NutriFusion® provides manufacturers with the tools they need to improve nutritional content and increase the marketability of their food, beverage, supplement, and pet products while remaining consistent with a non-GMO, plant-based, and synthetic-free philosophy.

Explore NutriFusion®’s Supplements & Nutraceuticals Solutions to bring real plant-based nutrition into your next product.

 

NutriFusion

NutriFusion develops all‐natural fruit and vegetable powders that are nutrient-dense, for when you do not have access to fresh produce, and even when you do, to improve your vitamin intake. Sourcing only whole, non-GMO foods, NutriFusion offers consumers a concentrated micronutrient and phytonutrient-rich food ingredient blend. With a farm-to-table philosophy, NutriFusion’s proprietary process stabilizes the nutrients from perishable fruits and vegetables, allowing a longer shelf life and access to vital nutrients.

NutriFusion fruit and/or vegetable powders are for use in foods, beverages, supplements, and pet foods. NutriFusion can help! Visit us at www.nutrifusion.com.

 

 

References

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6. McClements, Isobelle Farrell, and David Julian McClements. 2023. “Designing Healthier Plant-Based Foods: Fortification, Digestion, and Bioavailability.” Food Research International 169:112853. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2023.112853. 
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