The liquid nutraceutical space is a rapidly growing sector of functional health.
Thanks to increasing consumer awareness surrounding health and wellness, demand for convenient and easy-to-consume nutritional products and a rise in the ageing population, the market value is expected to increase from $21.56bn in 2023 to $46.23bn by 2030.1
Further to this, the liquid nutraceutical market can help to solve two key challenges that traditional supplements face: poor bioavailability and difficulties consumers have with pill-swallowing.
Although consumers increasingly seek health solutions, this desire is often met with ‘pill fatigue’ and supplement overload. Pill fatigue has many causes, but it is primarily linked to the frequency, number or size of tablets people have to take.
Poor bioavailability is another concern. Bioavailability is key to nutrient absorption, dictating the proportion of an ingested supplement that actually enters the bloodstream and reaches cells. Even if a supplement is rich in nutrients, without effective bioavailability the body cannot utilize its benefits. Securing high bioavailability in supplementation is key to ensure that consumers receive optimal benefits.
With these pain points evident, it is clear there is a need for science-backed liquid nutraceutical formulation. NutraIngredients sat down with Uroš Gotar, chief innovation officer and president of the scientific board at Tosla, a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) partner that provides leading brands with flexible, full-stack nutricosmetic and nutraceutical product development and comprehensive production services, to find out more.
Q: What is the nutraceutical market currently looking like?
A: The ingestible supplements market is becoming more sophisticated and more demanding at the same time.
On one side, you have strong growth across categories like longevity, cognitive performance, gut health, and beauty-from-within. On the other, you have a much more informed consumer who expects real results, transparency, and a product that fits into their daily life.
This combination is raising the standard across the industry. It is no longer enough to launch a product with a strong ingredient story. The winners are those who can translate science into something practical, reliable, and consistently used.
Q: What are the emerging trends in consumer behaviour?
A: Consumers are becoming more selective and pragmatic, prioritizing fewer, high-performing products that deliver clear value – driven by factors like value for money, effectiveness, taste, and ease of use. Recent data also shows a shift toward highly targeted, problem-specific solutions, with consumers seeking precise outcomes, for example, joint pain relief – where knees account for 45% of concerns, followed by hips (22%) and back pain (12%) – highlighting demand for tailored functionality.2 Overall, convenience, simplicity, and proven results remain key, with growing expectations for trusted, effective solutions that directly address specific consumer needs.
Q: Tell us about the shift towards liquid delivery systems and experiential supplementation?
We are seeing a clear shift towards formats that deliver both performance and experience.
Consumer research shows that ease of use is now one of the key decision drivers in supplement choice, alongside scientific credibility. Liquids address both. They are easy to consume, fit naturally into daily routines, and allow for a much more engaging sensory experience.
What is important to understand is that experience is not separate from efficacy – it supports it. If a product tastes good and feels intuitive to use, people stay consistent. That consistency is what ultimately determines whether the product delivers results.
Q: How do you manage collaboration internally between R&D, marketing, and market insights – and how does that influence commercial success?
A: We treat product development as a fully integrated process.
R&D, market insights, and commercial teams are aligned from the beginning. We do not develop formulations in isolation and then try to fit them to the market. Instead, we start with a clear understanding of the consumer need, combine it with scientific and technical feasibility, and build from there.
This alignment allows us to move faster and reduce the risk of misalignment between what is developed and what the market expects. From a commercial perspective, it translates into higher product success rates and stronger partner relationships, because the final product is both scientifically sound and market-relevant.
Q: How do you partner with clients to drive sector or industry innovation?
A: Partnership is central to how we operate. We do not see ourselves as a supplier. We see ourselves as co-creators. That means working closely with our partners from the early concept stage through to validation and scale.
In many cases, we also work alongside ingredient manufacturers. Our collaboration with Geltor is a good example. Ingredient innovation alone does not reach consumers. To create value, it needs to be transformed into a finished product that people can use consistently.
Our role is to bridge that gap – to take scientific breakthroughs and turn them into commercially viable products.
Q: Can you tell us about two of your flagship products? And what consumer problems are you fixing with these?
A: One example is our signalling collagen shot developed in collaboration with Geltor.
It addresses a common challenge in ingestible supplements: combining advanced, next-generation ingredients with a format that people are willing to use every day. The product delivers efficacy in a convenient liquid format, while ensuring a pleasant taste and consistent user experience.
Another example is our broader portfolio of sugar-free liquid formulations enabled by VELIOUS™ technology, from collagen-based formulas and multivitamins to targeted solutions for stress relief and overall wellness. Here, the consumer problem we solve is clear: how to combine multiple high-performing actives into one formulation without compromising on taste, stability, or user experience, which are key barriers to consistent daily use.
At Tosla, this is enabled by our formulation engineering approach – where we design liquid systems that protect ingredient integrity, maintain performance over shelf life, and translate complex science into formats consumers genuinely enjoy using every day.
In both cases, the objective is the same: to remove the barrier between formulation performance and daily use.
Q: Can you take one of your flagship products and take us through the process of clinical validation before it was brought to market?
A: In the process of clinically validating our award-winning Lumina 365, we began with a clear hypothesis. We defined the product’s intended outcome and selected its ingredient composition based on both scientific rationale and market need – in this case, enhancing skin tolerance to UV radiation. From there, we designed a study that mirrors real-life usage conditions, including relevant dosage, delivery format, and duration, using a double-blind, placebo-controlled framework over an eight-week testing period.
We focus on measurable endpoints that are meaningful both scientifically and commercially. In the case of Lumina 365, we specifically evaluated the reduction in UVB‑induced skin redness, demonstrating an improvement in Minimal Erythema Dose. These results provide clear, functional proof of the product’s ability to enhance skin resilience and protection.
Crucially, we validate the finished product, not just its individual ingredients. This approach provides our partners with a far stronger and more credible foundation for claims and market positioning.
What changes do you see coming in the medium term (3-5 years)? And what will your focuses be as a company?
We will see three major developments.
First, a continued shift towards integrated products: solutions that combine multiple benefits into one simple, effective format. Second, a much stronger focus on validation. Product-level clinical evidence will move from a differentiator to a requirement. And third, the role of the CDMO will continue to evolve. Companies will look for partners who can support the full lifecycle, from concept to scale, not just manufacturing.
Our focus at Tosla is to strengthen that position as an innovation platform. That means continuing to invest in formulation, validation, and large-scale production capabilities, while helping our partners build products that are not only effective, but also consistently used. Because ultimately, that is what defines success in this industry.
Find out more about how liquid nutraceuticals are shaping the supplement space.
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