Last week’s headlines included news that the Singapore government is pouring hundreds of millions into healthy longevity research, Alzchem’s efforts to keep pace with creatine demand, and the announcement of the finalists for the 2026 NutraIngredients USA Awards.
Singapore pours $350M into brain, physical function research
The Singapore government is pouring SGD$350m (US$273m) into healthy longevity research, with brain health and physical function the key focus of the initiative.
Known as the Grand Challenge on Maximising Healthy and Successful Longevity, Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung announced the launch during the National Medical Research Council Awards Ceremony and Research Symposium 2026 on Friday (May 22).
The Grand Challenge is part of the National Research Foundation’s Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2030 (RIE 2030), aimed at supporting research in areas of the highest strategic and economic value. Healthy longevity, in this case, is one of them.
“We will further invest in research that focuses on the ageing population. Longevity is something to celebrate, especially in Asia,” said Ong. “But it also brings new challenges, such as cognitive decline and loss of physical function. We want to live long, but we also want to live well.”
According to the NRF, this Grand Challenge will focus on three areas, namely brain health, physical function and socio-environmental innovations.
Alzchem confronts capacity pressures as demand for creatine booms
Once a niche sports supplement, creatine has surged into the mainstream, straining production lines and leaving German supplier Alzchem struggling to keep pace with demand.
“Creatine is skyrocketing,” said Robert Alber, vice president of human nutrition at the Alzchem Group. “New trends in sports and applications outside sports (e.g. female health, longevity, cognitive function) have led to quickly increasing demand [...] for our two brands Creapure and Creavitalis. This is limiting our possibilities to fully supply all new inquiries.”
To address shortages, Alzchem has invested €120 million to construct a new production facility in Germany, which is scheduled to come online late next year.
As the only manufacturer of creatine monohydrate outside of Asia, Alzchem holds a strong position in the Western creatine market. Its flagship ingredient Creapure, which is manufactured in Trotsberg in Bavaria, is widely recognized as the highest purity creatine on the market, consistently guaranteeing a minimum of 99.9% purity.
This has made Creapure popular among elite athletes concerned with cross-contamination with banned substances, while broader interest in creatine’s potential health benefits—from women’s health to cognitive function and healthy aging—has expanded its appeal to mainstream consumers.
“We’ve always said that creatine will grow in popularity, and we were preparing for that, but while we were expecting growth, we didn’t expect it to be this exponential,” Alber said. “We’ve just finished conducting a new market assessment with our team, and in the past two years, demand has tripled globally.”
NutraIngredients USA Awards 2026 finalists
The finalists for the NutraIngredients USA Awards 2026 were announced, with winners across the 16 categories set to be revealed on Monday, July 13, 2026, during a special awards presentation at The Hampton Social - Streeterville in Chicago.
Focusing on true innovation, long-term market success and cutting-edge research, the NutraIngredients USA Awards honor the best and brightest in ingredients, finished products, companies, people and initiatives in the nutrition and dietary supplements industry.
2026 marked the highest number of entries ever received for the competition.
