It would be difficult to find a more popular—or more complicated—category than that of “better for you” ingredients. And it’s no surprise they’ve been trending astronomically in the past couple of years. The category incorporates everything from botanicals to lab-made, nature-identical components, and includes vitamins, minerals, co-vitamins, and extracts of botanical origin. Also trending in this category are such diverse ingredients as pre-/pro-/syn-/and post-biotics, mushrooms, bee pollen, and functional carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins.

Nutraceutical lipids, while still dominated by omega oils such as DHA and EPA from marine and algal sources or ALA from plants are making room in their orbit for such ingredients as co-enzyme Q-10, and carotenoids like lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, astaxanthin, and fucoxanthin. More common are the lipid-based vitamins, A, D (both ergocalciferol and cholecalciferol), E (as both tocopherol and the more powerful tocotrienol), and K. Phospholipids, such as phosphatidyl serine and phosphatidic acid have received special attention for their contribution to brain and cognitive health.

A rapidly growing class of nutraceuticals includes functional carbohydrates. These are housed elsewhere in this library, as are proteins isolates, but bear mentioning since, with many of them being utilized in smaller amounts (alpha-cyclodextrin, beta-glucans, and galactomannan being just three examples) are often found in concert with the nutraceutical lipids.

Medicinal mushrooms, such as reishi, turkey tail, and lion’s mane, have finally made their way over from the East to the US, being especially favored in beverages and as powders for inclusion in a variety of formulations.

And let’s not forget spices. Merging flavor with health allows for a stronger marketing position for better-for-you botanicals that double as herbs and spices derived from leaves, flowers, buds, seeds, bark, roots, fruiting bodies, and rhizomes.

Even before the global turmoils of 2020-2022, mental and cognitive health were in the national conversation. High stress, an endless deluge of information, and constant demands via smartphone plus an aging population of still-active older Americans concerned with their health and the health of the planet had researchers delving deep into traditional medicines.

Scientific research continues to revive and provide sources for emerging better-for-you botanicals and other ingredients from traditional medicines, such as those practiced in China, India, South America, Africa, and other countries. Crafting botanical-based, health-supporting foods and beverages must be done with verifiable and sound science support. This applies not just to efficacy but safety as well. This is especially important in today’s better-for-you industry because ancient remedies are not only being taken seriously by researchers, they are a major contributing factor to consumers seeking non-pharmaceutical health and wellness support.

In this section, you’ll find detailed listings for suppliers of a comprehensive spectrum of vitamins, minerals, nutraceuticals and similar ingredients, such as botanicals. Click below for references by company name, headquarters, and website. And remember, we update these listings frequently, so keep checking back.