BEIJING, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Vegetarian capsules are becoming a new trend in international dietary supplement market in 2020, as increasing health awareness has driven more consumers to natural product marketplace.
Vegetarian capsules, both hard and soft shells, are made from vegetable materials such as cassava starch.
Compared with gelatin capsules that are derived from the hydrolysis of collagen from bovine, fish or swine, vegetarian capsules can better meet the demands of vegans and people of certain religious or ethnic groups who are forbidden from using animal products.
Such plant-derived capsules are free from chemical additives and cause little pollution during the production process. Besides, the inertia of the plant-sourced ingredients has made vegetarian capsules suitable for a variety of fill materials such as fish oil, plant extract and other nutrients that are easily oxidized, so that the nutrients can better be maintained.
As people are pursuing healthier life, they tend to choose more natural, healthier and safer products. In the field of dietary supplements, many manufacturers and brand owners, including Healthy Care, BioBalance, doTERRA, Walgreens, Sam's Club, Colfarm, Benemax, Healtheries, and Sports Research, have thus begun to seek out plant-based alternatives to gelatin capsules to meet evolving consumer needs.
Also, the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed consumers to re-evaluate their health, life habits and related consumption propensity.
"We continue to see an ongoing shift in shopper thinking when selecting from natural and conventional products," said Kathryn Peters, executive vice president at SPINS, a wellness-focused data technology company.
As the public remain focusing on health and well-being, natural products will continue to outperform other products as consumers continue to invest in better-for-you items to eat, use on their bodies and to maintain their homes, added Kathryn.
Huge differences will be found in enterprises and brand owners that use vegetarian capsules in dietary supplements and those using conventional capsules, said an official with VegeGel, one of the world's leading producer of starch plant-based capsules.
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