Dr Wei Bing, deputy general manager of CPT’s supply chain department, highlighted ongoing opportunities in China’s sports nutrition sector that formulators can tap into during her presentation at the recent Healthplex Expo (HNC 2026) held in Shanghai on June 15.
1) Catering to women and the seniors too
Sports nutrition products now have to cater to a wider range of individuals, beyond just men and the typical gym goers.
Women and seniors have become a sizeable part of the sports community.
In fact, the number of women taking part in sports has exceeded that of men in China, based on research conducted by CPT.
Yet, many products on the market are primarily designed for men, focusing on muscle-building needs.
“In the past, the industry paid special attention to muscle building, fat reduction and recovery. Now we have to consider the overall supply of energy and metabolism, etc., since the profiles of individuals doing sports are constantly expanding and needs have changed,” said Dr Wei.
Sports nutrition-related clinical trials involving women athletes are also far and few between, despite women being intrinsically different from men in their physical characteristics and sporting activities.
Only 6% of sports science research concentrated specifically on women.
Dr Wei highlighted that sports nutrition trials have focused on parameters such as speed, but studies involving women will need to assess other areas, including menstrual cycle regularity, bone health, energy metabolism and even the state of emotional health.
On the other hand, an aging population also means greater opportunities for the elderly to take part in sports.
At the same time, there are certain misconceptions around sports nutrition supplementation for the elderly.
An example is protein supplementation. Dr Wei said that there were concerns about how greater protein intake could burden the kidneys.
“However, increasing research shows that the elderly are at a higher risk of developing sarcopenia. They require more protein to support their muscles,” she said. “The sports nutrition needs for the elderly should not be overlooked to ensure a better quality of life.”
2) Precision sports nutrition
Precision matters in sports nutrition due to differences in physiological characteristics, sporting activities and varying levels of sports intensity.
On top of this, formulators can design products depending on individuals’ health status, including their gastrointestinal absorption rate, to create differentiated products.
“These factors together can form the design for product design,” said Dr Wei.
The microbiome, for example, is another area that researchers can explore when developing new products.
While the human genome contains approximately 23,000 genes, the gut microbiome, which consists of 100 trillion microbes, contains about 2 to 3 million unique genes.
Dr Wei believes that further research on this would help drive the development of differentiated precision nutrition for different individuals.
3) Using data from digital wearables
Technology advancement has allowed the widespread use of digital wearables and the real-time collection of different health markers - such as glucose levels, oxygen levels, and sleep quality.
Dr Wei believes that advancements in digital wearables can serve as data for new product development.
“Unlike before, where wearables could only measure data limited to heart rate and blood glucose levels, there are a lot more indicators that can be measured nowadays, including sweat sensors...These modern technologies can help us develop products that meet the needs of the public.”
However, she also said that data should be used with caution due to a gap and lag time between real-time trends and data feedback.
Using the continuous glucose monitor as an example, she cautioned against overt reliance on such tools and stressed that human analysis is still needed to derive a more accurate understanding of blood glucose readings.
“We cannot design a product formula simply based on one set of readings recorded on the wearables and devices,” she said.
In this case, she advises formulators to monitor how athletes are reacting to nutritional products during their routine training and competition and design products accordingly.
4) Taste, convenience, emotional value
Conventionally, product taste, convenience and stability are the key factors that sports nutrition companies pay attention to when creating new products. However, there is another dimension that they can explore - the emotional value that their products bring to consumers.
“In the past, companies tended to focus on what they could provide consumers in terms of taste and nutritional value. These days, I believe we have to think about the roles that we can play in consumers’ lives,” she said. “In fact, consumers buy not only our products, but also our values. If you are especially responsible and they think you are an ethical company, they will resonate with your products.”
For example, companies can design products that provide therapeutic relief, little moments of joy in life, or even involve consumers during the product design stage to show that they value consumers.
On the other hand, with the growing recognition of foods that are conventionally used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, CPT is also exploring how such ingredients can be incorporated into sports nutrition products.
