As part of Nutraceuticals World’s 2026 State of the Industry review, Heather Granato, President of Nutrachievement Inc. and President of Women In Nutraceuticals (WIN), explores how trust and authenticity remain vital amid the rise of AI-driven content. She also highlights growing momentum in women’s health research, calling for more diversity, targeted formulations, and inclusive leadership to advance the industry’s impact.

More than a decade ago, I recall talking about “content as a self-fulfilling filter”—essentially the concept that creating a great story with an understanding of the right audience and conveyed through a trusted brand would have gravitational pull to ensure it would resonate and drive engagement.

Today, AI tools are taking content development and research to a whole new level; however, there’s still a critical role for trust and transparency. Even more, there’s a need for experienced experts who can augment those first drafts into something that not only resonates but is vetted for quality content.

In addition, with increasing noise in the marketing of ingredients — commodity and branded alike — I expect to see companies finding new ways to identify market whitespace and communicate more about their unique value proposition.

Women In Nutraceuticals (WIN)

Putting on my WIN hat, it was heartening to see so much attention paid to the topic of women’s health in 2025. And not just from a perimenopause lens, but with greater focus on the importance of clinical research in diverse populations for myriad health needs, developing targeted formulations in different delivery formats, and increasing accessibility.

However, I’m looking ahead to the opportunity for companies to develop unique, more personalized formulations in every category that take into account the differences between men and women.

From heart health and cognition to joint support and more, as research is conducted that showcases the different impact of ingredients on men and women, products can become more targeted to deliver efficacious results to the right target populations.

Bringing more diversity to the table — from the boardroom to the bench — promises to expand our ability to truly impact consumer health for the better.