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One in five consumers globally use creatine,1 with increasing awareness of its benefits influencing its rapid expansion. Here’s a look at the creatine trends and opportunities for the European market.
Creatine plays a critical role in supporting the muscles during high-intensity exercise. A naturally occurring compound (made from the amino acids arginine, glycine, and methionine), creatine in muscle tissue binds with a phosphate group to form phosphocreatine.
During exercise, phosphocreatine donates its phosphate group to continually replenish ATP—the body’s main energy source—ensuring a steady supply of energy for the muscles. As a supplement, creatine is popular among sports performance consumers for its ability to enhance exercise capacity, supporting greater gains in muscle size and strength.
Creatine trends in the European market include broader availability (particularly at retail outlets), growth in fitness culture, and increasing consumer awareness of its performance benefits. These factors have led to significant recent sales growth in creatine products, with continued high growth ahead.
The leading form of creatine used in European creatine products (and the most widely studied) is creatine monohydrate, while other forms, such as creatine hydrochloride and tri-creatine malate, remain niche.
| Format | Sales Share |
|---|---|
| RTM powder | 70.0% |
| Capsule/traditional tablet | 26.0% |
| Gummy | 2.5% |
| Chewable tablet | 1.1% |
| Effervescent tablet | 0.4% |
Ready-to-mix (RTM) powder is the most prevalent format, accounting for 70% of creatine products in the European market, with most of it unflavoured.2 Among flavoured RTM creatine, orange, lemon, melon, and apple predominate.3
| Flavours | Sales Share |
|---|---|
| Unflavoured | 86.6% |
| Orange | 8.8% |
| Lemon | 7.6% |
| Melon | 5.2% |
| Apple | 4.6% |
blueberry, strawberry, and berry), chewables (raspberry and strawberry), and effervescents (grape).4 Ready-to-drink (RTD) creatine beverages, an emerging segment in the US, is another flavour-driven format.
In Europe’s RTD beverage market, functional beverages are getting a boost due to an increase in healthier lifestyles and proactive behaviours around nutrition for health and exercise support. Sports drinks, protein drinks, and energy drinks are examples of functional beverages seeing good growth.
With consumers looking for multiple health and nutrition benefits to meet their needs, the lines often blur in today’s functional beverages. We’re seeing energy drinks with added BCAAS, protein drinks with energy ingredients, and so on. This landscape creates the perfect opportunity for also incorporating creatine into functional beverages.
RTD creatine is one of the most significant emerging creatine trends to know, made possible by encapsulated creatine. US-based LIFEAID Beverage Co., maker of “the world’s cleanest fitness drinks,” recently launched FITAID RX Creatine +—a line of fitness recovery drinks with creatine, caffeine, BCAAs, electrolytes, vitamins, and more.
These clean label workout beverages contain natural colours and flavours and are available in Blue Raspberry, Sour Grape, and Juicy Apple flavors, with zero sugar options. FITAID RX Creatine + beverages are positioned as recovery drinks for those engaging in intense activity or exercise.
Based on EFSA reviews, the European Commission allows two health claims for creatine: one for improved physical performance and the other for increased muscular strength in older adults. These claims can be used for products that provide a daily intake of at least three grams of creatine.
| Health Claim | Daily Intake |
|---|---|
| “Creatine increases physical performance in successive bursts of short-term, high-intensity exercise." | 3 grams |
| “Daily creatine consumption can enhance the effect of resistance training on muscle strength in adults over the age of 55.” | 3 grams |
Stipulations include that the first claim may be used only for products targeting adults performing high-intensity exercise, and the second claim may be used only for products targeting adults over 55 who engage in regular exercise.
Regarding the potential cognitive benefits of creatine, EFSA's recent ruling after evaluating the current data concludes that a link has not been established, though more studies are underway.
Today’s creatine trends offer brands exciting opportunities to cater to Europe’s growing population of health and fitness-focused consumers. While continued growth is expected in traditional formats (like RTM), there is room for innovation in both flavour and format.
Creatine’s proven effectiveness makes it attractive to consumers as the featured ingredient and as an additional ingredient—for example, in a functional fitness beverage, such as a sports, energy, or protein drink for performance or strengthening. This provides added value to beverage consumers and expands the options for creatine users.
Contact Glanbia Nutritionals for more information about innovative creatine solutions in beverage formulations—from RTM to RTD.
Creatine is a naturally occurring compound in the body made from the amino acids arginine, glycine, and methionine. A common workout supplement, creatine plays a critical role in supplying energy to the muscle cells during high-intensity exercise by replenishing ATP, the body’s primary energy source.
Bioactive ingredients are compounds found in foods, plants, algae, and other sources that impact biological processes in the body. Distinct from nutrients, bioactives are used for their health-promoting properties and include ingredients such as lactoferrin, collagen, curcumin, and carotenoids.
Bioactive ingredients deliver health benefits by influencing biological processes in the body, such as supporting immune function, heart health or bone health. These compounds, found in foods, botanicals, and other sources, work at the cellular level to help promote wellness.
