The sports & weight loss (SNWL) seg-ment delivered the best and worst ofperformances in 2005. Although theU.S. SNWL market overall grew 7% to $16.8billion, startlingly, four of the six categoriesdeclined in sales in 2005. Low-carb foods gaveone last gasp of growth in the January 2005diet season before declining -31% for the cal-endar year 2005. Low-carb foods are continu-ing a process of gradually reforming into carb-conscious, carb-controlled or low-glycemic—a category less tainted with the stigma that nowattaches to the faddish business of low-carbfoods. On the other hand, sports & energy bev-erages stood tall, growing 27% to total over$7 billion in U.S. consumer sales thanks to anoticeable uptick in Gatorade and captivat-ing performances from all of the top energydrink brands.

The days of dependable double-digit growthfor nutrition bars are now long gone, and thecategory struggled again with sales down 4%in 2005 following a 2% decline in 2004. Weightloss supplements slid by -5% despite multipleentrants and an array of ingredients andblends, still unable to recover its status afterthe ephedra ban of 2004. Sales of weight losspills declined from $2.1 billion in 2003 to $1.6billion in 2005. There is speculation that someconsumers accustomed to the ephedra ‘rush’may have defected to energy drinks for theirenergy-boosting effects. With diminished con-sumer enthusiasm for weight-loss pills in thepost-ephedra era, and sustained attentionfrom government regulators on this ‘lighten-ing rod’ category, it is fair to say that the nutri-tion industry has lost its identity in weight loss to some extent. News that the OTC and Rxmarkets will soon spring new products on theweight-loss and obestity markets only high-lights the challenge for supplements.

Sports Nutrition & Weight Loss VI: Sales maintain a decent pace in sports nutrition, butweight loss has trouble getting back on track after ephedra and low carb eras; market figures,trends and NBJ’s list of top sports nutrition & weight loss (SNWL) companies in 2005		1 - 12
Scientists get excited about beta-alanine: Could this be the next creatine?		13 - 14
University of Nottingham prepares to commercialize new spin on L-carnitine; Energ8 to launchcarnitine-carb supplement. Research also relevant to obesity and diabetes		14
CytoSport milks sales in protein drinks category, launches 'lite' version of Muscle Milk		15
Bar Tech Manufacturing finds its niche in slab bar production as more marketers requireflexibility to satisfy a wider range of textures and tastes		16
Crunching numbers: BioNutritional Research drives sales with engineered protein		17
Wellements is happy with its transition from sports to lifestyle as Bora Bora sales blossom,protein goes mainstream, and new natural and organic products come on line		18
Think Products rethinks its brand positioning to all-natural and gluten-free		19
Nutrex Research, VPX Sports and NOW Foods reflect on successes and challenges in thecore sports nutrition market		20 - 22
At 100 stores and growing, retailer Max Muscle embraces its new franchise format		22 - 23
Vitamin Shoppe’s CEO shares opinion on changing retail venues		24
Internet is the fastest-growing channel for SNWL: NBJ checks in on the leaderBodybuilding.com and looks at MuscleMaster and GotBody as up-and-comers		24 - 26
Japanese beverage leaders Ito-En and Kagome take to America		27 - 31

AARP Ajinomoto Atkins Bar Tech Manufacturing Big-Boards.com BioNutritional Research Group Inc Bodybuilding.com Cadbury Schweppes CNP Professional Cytosport DSM EAS Energ Ltd Europa Sports Products Experimental and Applied Sciences Federal Trade Commission Forward Foods LLC GNC GotBody.com GSK Heinz Higher Power Inc. Ideasphere IMS Health International Society of Sports Nutrition Iovate Health Sciences IRI Inc iSatori Technologies Ito-En Ltd. Jenny Craig Kagome Kellogg North America Marketdata Enterprises

Max Muscle Sports Nutrition Metaphysique Inc Miami Research Institute Muscle Link MuscleMaster.com Najafi Companies National Cancer Institute Nestle Next Proteins Inc Nor Cal Sports Nutrition North Castle Partners Now Foods Nutrex Research Opinion Dynamics PacificHealth Labs Prime Health Dietary Supplements Proteinfactor.com Red Bull Roche Ross Abbott Sportsproonline.com The Natural Whole Food Bar Think Products Thompson Medical Co Trust for America’s Health Unilever plc University of Florida University of Nottingham University of Oklahoma Vitamin Shoppe VPX Sport Weight Watchers Wellements