With an enhanced product portfolio, additional production capacities and packaging options, SternLife believes it is strengthening its market position. The private label supplier in the health, sport and lifestyle nutrition sector focuses on creative product concepts which offer its customers brands and private labels considerable value-added potential.

"We dont simply manufacture products for private labels,” said Managing Director Florian Bayerlein. “e see ourselves as the driver of ideas and impetus for our customers. Our market and nutritional experts know which raw materials and active ingredients are on trend, and which healthy and tasty products are currently popular with consumers. This is the basis on which we develop new concepts and implement them together with our customers."

The company cites as an example the protein products which cater for one of the current mega trends. Innova Market Insights has labelled this latest 2017 top trend "Body in tune". It demonstrates: protein products have long ceased to be marketed only to athletes and people with weight problems. More and more consumers are resorting to high-protein products to boost their personal well-being.

"For the target group of the millennials who are known for their healthy lifestyle, we have developed, for instance, protein mixes. With them, consumers can make pizzas, bread and bars themselves,” said Bayerlein. "This enables drug store and supermarket private brands to open up new trendy segments and extend their customer base – particularly as the pizza and bread mixes are gluten-free and vegan, too. The high-protein bar mix is also available as a vegan option."

SternLife says it has developed a special protein shake for suppliers of sports and health foods. Special feature: the basic mix can be tweaked by adding various functional compounds to suit specific target groups. A mix of BCAAs, L-glutamine, vitamin C and magnesium turns it into what the company says is the perfect post-workout shake for athletes. By contrast, compounds with functional plant extracts like green tea or green coffee boost the metabolism and help with weight loss. For health enthusiasts the shake can be enriched with an extra portion of super food, thereby imbuing it with a natural plus of antioxidants, vitamins and trace elements.

The latest nutritional trends, sound expertise about the interaction between individual active ingredients and the latest application technology are the ingredients SternLife says it uses to generate creative product ideas. This is likewise expressed in the companys new brand image.

"The tag line Inspiring Nutrition in the corporate logo underscores our aspiration to be perceived as the source of ideas for our customers,” said Bayerlein. “We want to inspire and develop profit-making concepts. Against this backdrop, our experts work closely with R&D specialists from our sister companies in the Stern-Wywiol Gruppe.”

The selecion of suitable active ingredients combined with the right declaration and claims are essential for successful product development, SternLife believes, as is in-depth knowledge of the raw materials markets.

"We develop exclusive products for each customer,” said Antje Wetzel, Head of Product Development. “We put together the optimum formulation from a selecion of over 1,000 raw materials to win over our customers. We seek out the best possible synergies between the raw materials and combine them from different sources. For instance, we use various proteins in order to ensure an optimum nutrient profile."

Many products can also be manufactured to organic standards and can, furthermore, be customised to suit specific diets – for instance gluten- or lactose-free options or vegan products.

Besides sports and health foods, SternLife also develops individual solutions for food supplements as well as products for targeted clinical nutrition to cater for different clinical pictures. The dosage forms range from powders and bars over drinks and shots to capsules and tablets.

The products are tested in flexible pilot facilities. During tastings – often together with its customers – the SternLife experts tailor flavour, texture and dosage form to the target group. Of course, they also take national preferences into account. After all, nutritious foods and food supplements must be convincing both in terms of their function and their flavour, the company says. After comprehensive tests the private label products are manufactured in the companys own production facilities in northern Germany and packaged in line with customers wishes.