As GLP-1 therapies gain traction for weight management and metabolic health, they are reshaping consumer nutrition habits and supplement demand. Appetite suppression and reduced nutrient absorption associated with these medications have led many users to seek targeted nutritional support, creating new opportunities for the nutraceutical industry. To meet these evolving needs, formulators are focusing on products that combine efficacy, tolerability, and convenience—particularly in areas such as multivitamins, protein, fibre, and probiotics. Leveraging its expertise in plant-based excipients and oral dosage innovation, Roquette is helping supplement manufacturers design solutions that enhance nutrient delivery, improve digestive comfort, and support the well-being of GLP-1 users while aligning with clean-label and sustainability goals.
GLP-1 consumer insight & supplement strategy
How is your company leveraging consumer insights around GLP-1 users to develop supplements that support nutritional gaps and manage potential side effects such as digestive discomfort or nutrient depletion? Looking ahead, which trends in consumer behaviour, GLP-1 adjunct supplementation, or oral dosage innovation do you see shaping the next generation of nutraceutical products?
As GLP-1 use drives lower food intake, many consumers are seeking nutrient-dense products and dietary supplements to stay healthy while being on a GLP-1 therapy. 30% of US consumers using GLP-1 treatments claim they take supplements to manage their health during medication.[1] Supplement options high in protein, fibre, and key vitamins to support balanced nutrition are seen as relevant during weight loss. Protein and fibre are consumed to prevent muscle-loss and to help maintain a healthy digestion while vitamins and nutrient supplements are used to balance off potential nutritional gaps due to lower food intake.
Key challenges for consumers seeking to take dietary supplements are typical side-effects associated with GLP-1 such as loss of appetite and nausea. Supplements with an unpleasant taste or having to consume multiple doses to cover the nutritional demand may then seem like a burden.
We offer various solutions for different formats of supplements from tablets to softgels, capsules and gummies, including advanced functionalities such as bi-layer, delayed release or taste masking so dietary supplement producers can fine-tune and adapt their offering.
Targeted nutritional support
Which specific supplement categories—such as protein, fibre, probiotics, or multivitamins—have you found to be most critical in complementing GLP-1 treatment, and how do you translate this understanding into product development?
Each supplement category listed is considered critical for overall well-being and might be affected by a GLP-1 diet. For example, we have been focusing on the challenges associated with delivery and absorption of vitamins and minerals. Essential vitamins and minerals often can be obtained via a balanced diet; however, GLP-1 users often experience a reduction in appetite, slower gastric emptying, gastrointestinal symptoms leading to a reduction food in-take and malabsorption of micronutrients.[5]
Malabsorption and deficiency of essential micronutrients over a prolonged period leads to adverse effects on every organ and function in the body.[6] As an excipient manufacturer, our understanding of drug delivery formats allows us to develop and tailor excipient technologies to help formulators not only to overcome typical formulation and manufacturing challenges but also provide solutions to meet consumer needs in reducing gastrointestinal discomfort (from supplementation or GLP-1 use) and increasing absorption. Our portfolio contains matrix ingredients and coatings to modify/delay the release of the high doses of micronutrients from supplementation into the stomach which can significantly reduce additional gastrointestinal discomfort and enhance absorption by reducing vitamin-mineral absorption competition through specified release profiles or targeted delivery along the GI tract.
Vitamins and DS can be moisture sensitive. This is where our polyols and special low moisture grades are useful.
Beyond solutions for vitamins and minerals, we support probiotic formulators with our coating solutions that can be applied at lower temperatures to minimise loss of the probiotic.
And last but not least, we offer pea proteins and soluble fibres as well!
Diverse oral dosage portfolio
Can you describe your capabilities across oral solid dosage forms, including bi-layer tablets, delayed-release particulates, and taste-masked formats, and how these formats enhance consumer compliance and experience? How are you leveraging plant-based ingredients, cellulose derivatives, or other innovative materials to create formulations that meet both consumer preference and regulatory standards?
Our non-GMO, plant-based soft capsule technologies meet brand owners’ needs for diverse label claims. Our technology enables customers to develop softgels in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colours, all while improving the product’s thermal stability and quality, leading to a more appealing product for consumers.
To tackle the rise of “pill fatigue” especially for consumers using GLP-1, we can enable convenient, high-quality, orally disintegrating, or chewable tablets or create bilayer tablets with immediate and controlled release properties. Our innovative technologies deliver tablets with a creamy mouthfeel, reduced grittiness, and tooth packing for an enhanced consumption experience. Our extensive portfolio can also help to reduce “pill fatigue” and increase ease of use by reducing challenges often associated with single, bi- and multi-layer tablet formulations. They allow for highly compressible and smaller tablet formulations that may impart a modified release profile to target nutrient release along the GI tract, to help with reducing gastrointestinal discomfort and vitamin-mineral absorption competition.[7]
We help our customers prioritise naturally sourced, vegetarian ingredients for hard capsules to meet consumer preferences. We also offer coatings and hydrocolloids for the perfect taste-masking or delayed release capsules that consumers will enjoy.
Our plant-based ingredients enable low-sugar, on-the-go vegan supplement gummies that stay appealing in their containers. “Added sugar” is the number one ingredient consumers in the US tend to avoid, mentioned by 39% of consumers.[2] With our starches, pectin and seaweed extracts, we can help our customers create gelatin-free products with excellent sensory experience and chewability to make high-quality gummies consumers will love. Our polyols offer a sugar-free alternative to make starch-based sugar-free gummies.
Advanced formulation expertise
How do your controlled release technologies and multi-active formulations help improve nutrient absorption, reduce pill burden, and mitigate the common side effects experienced by GLP-1 users?
Controlled release and multi-layer tablet formulations can help reduce “pill fatigue” by allowing for combination of actives and less frequent dosing. Roquette’s broad portfolio allows formulators to create products that are multifunctional. Vitamins and minerals that tend to compete for absorption can be separated into different layers and release can be modulated so the body can absorb the competing micronutrients at different times or in different parts of the gastrointestinal tract. Consumers would not need to take multiple supplements and space out their intake to improve absorption/ reduce interference. Delaying the release of a single layer multivitamin tablet can also reduce gastrointestinal discomfort since the high dose of micronutrients are not all being released in the stomach immediately. An effect of GLP-1 drugs is slower gastric emptying and lower secretion of gastric acid,[8, 9] which would reduce and delay the processing of the high concentration of micronutrients from an immediate release formulation into absorbable forms for uptake in the intestine. By modifying the release profile, micronutrients can be delivered into the stomach at lower levels and at a consistent rate to accommodate the limited volume of gastric acid in the stomach so more of the micronutrients can become absorbable in the intestine.
Manufacturing optimisation
In what ways does your formulation and process innovation support enhanced manufacturing efficiency, higher yields, and cost reduction without compromising product quality?
The thermal stability of our vegan soft capsule technologies outperforms competing technologies and animal-based counterparts, maintaining structural integrity throughout the product life cycle. They enable up to 1.5 times higher production rates than other vegetarian technologies, up to 25% better capsule yield, and better leakage performance, leading to less waste.
We understand that your capsule manufacturing process requires consistency and quality. Our 60+ years’ experience in cellulosics and polyols enables us to tailor our products to your specific needs. With our portfolio of hydrocolloids, we can help you tailor the properties of your capsule.
Tablets are an ideal format since they are cost-effective, versatile and shelf stable. We deliver technologies to make robust tablets, while also decreasing the size and cost. Tailored solutions also enable superior chewable, and orally disintegrating tablets. Our industry-leading cellulosics and polyols improve powder flow and tablet quality, and allow efficient direct compression processing for robust tablets with less dust formation.
Our coating systems help reduce manufacturing bottlenecks caused by the traditional coating process by cutting coating time up to 50%. The systems enable coating solutions to be made at higher solid levels than traditionally used polymers, all while maintaining low viscosities to adapt to existing coating equipment. Our coating solutions are an alternative to traditional sugar coating offering a sugar-free solution and are naturally derived.
We partner with supplement manufacturers and brand owners to enhance extended-release tablets and immediate release formulations. We have applications and innovations labs across the globe to provide our customers with technical troubleshooting on our products and offer insights and solutions into new and existing formulation challenges. We extend an invitation to our customers to collaborate with us in our labs to expedite product troubleshooting and development. Our innovative portfolio, including cellulosics and mannitol grades, tailor the speed of dietary ingredient release to maximise benefits and convenience for consumers.
Sustainability in product development
How is your company integrating sustainability into nutraceutical product design, from sourcing responsibly produced raw materials to offering vegan or vegetarian-friendly capsule and soft gel formats?
Roquette has consistently strived to meet the needs of its customers and consumers while upholding our values and commitment to sustainable development. After the launch of our life+nature program in 2023, we have strengthened our organisation in terms of sustainable development. Through initiatives such as our 2030 decarbonisation plan — validated by SBTi —we have established ourselves as a responsible and dynamic player. Thanks to major initiatives such as the construction of biomass boilers, water management plans, biodiversity preservation programs, and ISO (14001 and 50001) certifications processes, we will continue to make progress in the years ahead.
As a result of these efforts, Roquette has been awarded the EcoVadis Gold Medal for 2025. We continue to pursue our objectives in terms of CO2 reduction, water and waste management, biodiversity, and product sustainability.
We also invest in sustainable sourcing by several initiatives. Among others, Roquette is committed to zero deforestation.[3] We ensure that wood pulp suppliers providing the raw materials for our cellulosics at our sites are certified and hold at least one forest management certification such as FSC or PEFC which validates their commitment to sustainable forestry practices. Roquette’s seaweeds are sourced from around the globe through our Seaweed Responsible Sourcing Program (SRSP). As one of the largest global buyers and harvesters of brown seaweed for alginates, we support marine conservation and the people who depend on oceans.
Footnotes:
1: Innova Ozempic & UPF Survey 2025 (US)
2: Innova Innova Health and Nutrition Survey 2025
3: https://www.roquette.com/-/media/roquette-financial-information/2025/roquette-group-2024-annual-report.pdf
4: CDP: Carbon Disclosure Project - www.cdp.net
5: Mozaffarian, Dariush et al. “Nutritional Priorities to Support GLP-1 Therapy for Obesity: A Joint Advisory From the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, the American Society for Nutrition, the Obesity Medicine Association, and the Obesity Society.” American journal of lifestyle medicine, 15598276251344827. 30 May. 2025, doi:10.1177/15598276251344827
6: Saunders, John, and Trevor Smith. “Malnutrition: causes and consequences.” Clinical medicine (London, England) vol. 10,6 (2010): 624-7. doi:10.7861/clinmedicine.10-6-624
7: “Nutrition’s dynamic Duo.” Harvard Health Publishing. 01.July. 2009. https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/Nutritions-dynamic-duos
8: Shankar, Aditi et al. “GLP-1 receptor agonists and delayed gastric emptying: implications for invasive cardiac interventions and surgery.” Cardiovascular endocrinology & metabolism vol. 14,1 e00321. 4 Dec. 2024, doi:10.1097/XCE.0000000000000321
9: Basile EJ, Launico MV, Sheer AJ. Physiology, Nutrient Absorption. [Updated 2023 Oct 28]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK597379/