Natural Products Expo West 2026 set a high bar for trending ingredients in the dietary supplement arena. Food and beverage may get all the attention at the biggest show in the natural products space, but a treasure trove of nutraceutical innovation exists — if you know where to look.
With two decades working in the functional food and supplement space, spotting ingredient trends comes naturally to me (pun intended). Let’s look at what caused the most buzz on the show floor and what it means for future innovation.
Hormonal balance, cognitive health formulations lead the way for women’s health
For those not privy to the larger-than-life displays present on the show floor, suffice it to say women’s health stood front and center in Anaheim. Rightfully so — women have been woefully underrepresented in clinical trials. The tides are turning, however, and innovation in this space is skyrocketing with new products focused on each life stage women encounter.
Make Time Wellness, cofounded by Emma Heming Willis and Helen Christoni, launched three new products at Expo West focused on brain health and menopause. Willis founded the brand because of her own brain fog challenges. And both women have had family members with dementia. The brand’s premise is to make time to take care of yourself — a reminder for us all.
Both the Brain, Body & Beauty stick packs and Menopause & Brain Health gummies contain citicoline (marketed as Cognizin by Kyowa Hakko), which has numerous clinical for its support of several facets of cognitive health. The menopause-supporting formula also contains black cohosh extract, which has been shown to reduce symptom severity.
Make Time Wellness debuted three new products at Natural Products Expo West 2026 — Brain, Body & Beauty stick packs and Menopause and NAD+ and Rhodiola gummies. Photo Credit: Make Time Wellness
Two other companies featured hormonal balance supplements on the show floor. O Positive showcased its Women’s Endocrine Superfood Powder, a multivitamin blend with myoinositol, artichoke and kelp leaf extracts and diindolylmethane, collectively labeled as its Hormone Positiv Blend.
Season34, which launched a line of nine dietary supplements for menopausal women earlier this year, formulated its hormonal balance product with black cohosh, ashwagandha extract (marketed as KSM-66 by Ixoreal Biomed), soy isoflavones (marketed as OptiFlavone by Bio-gen Extracts) and Rhapontic rhubarb extract. Isoflavones are molecules similar in structure to estrogen that have demonstrated beneficial impacts on menopausal symptoms.
Supplement brand Season34 offers several products supporting the concerns of menopausal women, including hormonal balance, cognitive health, metabolism and urinary health. Photo Credit: Devon Gholam
Nicotinamide ribose, NAD+ ingredients synonymous with longevity
If anything caught my attention more than women’s health at Expo West this year, it was longevity. Product after product highlighted ingredients geared toward living a longer life.
Nicotinamide ingredients showed up the most, including:
Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) in Cymbiotika’s liposomal NAD+ liquid supplement.
Nicotinamide riboside hydrogen malate in Youtheory’s Cellular Renewal capsules (part of its new longevity lineup).
Nicotinamide riboside chloride in Goli’s Renew NAD+ gummies, launched to the public at the show after TikTok-only availability leading up to Expo West.
NAD+ is a coenzyme implicated in several cellular processes; and levels of this molecule decline over time, hence supplements delivering NAD+ are linked with healthy aging. Nicotinamide riboside is a precursor to NAD+ that may help with inflammation.
Several supplement brands exhibiting at Natural Products Expo West 2026 formulated their longevity products with NAD+ and nicotinamide riboside ingredients. Photo Credit: Devon Gholam
If you look closely at the packaging, Goli touts “healthy aging,” yet Youtheory and Cymbiotika use “healthy aging” and “longevity” on their packaging. What exactly is the difference between longevity and healthy aging? I set out to ask supplement industry insiders — you can hear all their answers (and their suggestions for living a long, healthy life) in this Supplement Journal video highlights article. I imagine clearer definitions of these terms will emerge in the coming years.
Mushrooms and magnesium go mental
Adaptogen and nootropic ingredients were plentiful, with mushrooms and magnesium leading the way. London Nootropics showcased adaptogenic coffee featuring mushroom extracts from Hifas da Terra alongside other ingredients such as rhodiola, ashwagandha and L-theanine.
Magnesium paired commonly with another key trend — hydration. Several drink mixes touting the inclusion of magnesium were available for sampling. . Very few brands called out the type of magnesium, whether citrate, bisglycinate or another form, used. Different forms of this element have differing bioavailability, and some are better suited for specific need states versus others.
Mushrooms were common in products supporting mental well-being, along with magnesium and ashwagandha. Photo Credit: Devon Gholam
Focus on fluid delivery for vitamins and minerals
Liquid supplements showed up prominently throughout the Natural Products Expo West exhibit halls. While exhibitors highlighted quite a few liquid multivitamins, most liquid supplements featured one or two key ingredients, especially letter vitamins and minerals.
Liquid product formats appear popular for iron supplementation. Two brands, Salus and Kidstar Nutrients, promoted liquid iron supplementation for children. Iron is critical for brain development, and one in five children is affected by iron deficiency before reaching preschool age.
Liquid supplements on display at Natural Products Expo West 2026 mostly focused on one or two ingredients, especially vitamins and minerals. Photo Credit: Devon Gholam
Sea moss and shilajit show up big
It seems many notable ingredients as of late begin with the letter S, like shatavari, which has gained popularity for its role in women’s health. Two other ingredients, sea moss and shilajit, showed up in several formulations.
The origin of shilajit isn’t entirely clear. “Some believe that it is formed from dead plant residues or animal excrements, and some others believe it is a mineral secreted from rocks gradually,” according to a recent review article about the resinous substance. While there are a handful of clinical trials on shilajit, this ingredient warrants further investigation as well as standardization of its chemical composition.
Sea moss, or Irish sea moss (Chondus crispus), is a red algae commonly used in supplements supporting immune health and hair, skin and nails. Despite having seen it in formulations in recent months, no clinical trials were easily located elucidating the benefits of this ingredient.
Shilajit and sea moss showed up in several dietary supplement formulations at Natural Products Expo West 2026. Photo Credit: Devon Gholam
Beauty-from-within makes a comeback
Just when I thought the beauty-from-within trend was on a downward slide, two ingredients caught my eye that made me think twice. Nutricosmetics are flourishing as natural ingredients proliferate within both dietary supplements and personal care products.
Specnova launched RiboBeauty, an ingredient comprising red and blackcurrant extracts, biotin, and strawberry and elderberry powders. A clinical trial being submitted for peer review showed participants experienced significant improvements in wrinkles, skin texture and hair shedding after taking 500 mg daily for 12 weeks.
Kaneka Probiotics promoted its Latilactobacillus sakei proBio 65 postbiotic for skin health. Derived from pickled vegetables in Asia, the postbiotic showed positive results in a recent clinical trial. Healthy women who took 10 billion heat-treated cells daily for 8 weeks experienced improved skin moisture and elasticity.
