HNC and Hi & Fi Asia-China: Cognition-boosting supplements for kids take center stage
Childrenโs cognition-focused supplements sit at the intersection of genuine nutritional need and strong marketing appeal. That makes the evidence question especially important: some ingredients may help when a child has a specific deficiency or inadequate intake, but that is not the same as proving a broad โbrain boostโ for healthy children. For readers, the key distinction is between correcting a gap and expecting a performance upgrade.
Age matters, too. Early childhood is a period of rapid brain growth, so nutrient sufficiency is relevant. But the practical benefit of any supplement depends on the childโs diet, baseline status and the ingredientโs actual bioavailability. Products that sound similar can behave very differently in the body, and format alone โ gummies, liquids, chews or beverages โ does not guarantee meaningful uptake or effect.
Safety and dosing deserve equal attention to promise. โMoreโ is not automatically better, especially in children, whose needs are smaller and whose exposures can add up if several fortified products are used together. Parents should also be cautious about claims that blend brain health with school performance, because educational pressure can make weak evidence look more convincing than it is.
Another useful lens is behaviour and environment. Supplements may reflect concerns about picky eating, low dairy intake, limited sun exposure or dietary shortfalls, but they do not replace broader habits such as varied food intake, sleep, physical activity and regular pediatric guidance. In other words, the most evidence-informed use of these products is often supportive rather than transformative.
On the show floor,ย Nutrition Insightย taps into the Chinese market and developments in kidsโ supplements with Stew Wilson, the business development manager of China for Vitabiotics. This UK-based supplement company has been selling its products in the country since 2013 through distributors and directly since 2016 on Tmall, an e-commerce behemoth owned by Alibaba.
โParents are keen to provide their kids with supplements that support their brain health and brain development, especially during the early stages of life,โ he says.
Stew Wilson, the business development manager of China for Vitabiotics.For example, Wilson details that Vitabioticsโ algae-based, chewable omega-3 supplement is a top seller in China.
โTraditionally, itโs very good for brain development or cognitive function. And you know how it is in China โ everybody is focused on studying and getting into the best school or university, and any advantage can help.โ
He notes that omega-3 or fish oil supplements are also popular โbecause itโs hard to get through a diet alone unless you eat fatty fish daily. Many parents supplement omega-3 (EPA, DHA) with their kids.โ
Boosting kidsโ cognition A host of companies spotlighted ingredients that can help boost brain function in children. Prinova presented a recipe prototype positioned to improve concentration. The formula suggestion contains phosphatidylserine (PS) and phosphatidylcholine as key active ingredients. It also contains CoQ10, inositol and a mix of vitamins and minerals.
Maiggic, the nutraceuticals division of Angel Yeast, also highlighted the ingredient PS as a solution to boost cognitive function in both children and older consumers. PS falls under the category of phospholipids and plays a role in maintaining and repairing nerve cells, says the company. The ingredient has been approved by the US FDA and the European Food Safety Authority for improving cognitive function, reports Maiggic.
Novonesis, meanwhile, is launching SmartGuard exclusively in the Chinese market to protect brain health rather than โboostโ it. It is aย Lactiplantibacillus plantarumย probiotic strain developed to limit daily lead absorption in childrenโs intestines. Jakob Dalmose Rasmussen, VP of Human Health Biosolutions at Novonesis, describes it as โthe first probiotic to protect the body in terms of environmental impact.โ
Novonesisโ SmartGuard aims to limit daily lead build-up by removing ingested lead from the gastrointestinal tract. For children ages 0 to 7 years in China, the estimated daily lead exposure through diet is 12.01 to 15.56 ฮผg lead/day. A daily dose of 1 billion CFU of SmartGuard can bind 150 ฮผg of leadย in vitro,ย corresponding to about ten times the estimated daily lead exposure.
At the same time, IFF spotlighted a Brain-Jet concept using its Neuravena green oat extract. The solution is positioned to work within one hour and is designed to enhance learning, work, e-gaming or other daily activities. While not targeted to young children, it aims to help adults โboost efficiency at work and in educational settings.โ
Other health-boosting nutrients for children Wilson highlights that the companyโs liquid calcium product is another top-selling supplement for children in China. In the Chinese diet, people donโt typically eat many dairy products.
โParents will use our calcium supplements with their children to ensure that, as theyโre growing up, theyโre still getting the right nutrition to support healthy bone development, growth, teeth, skin, everything.โ
โWe provide for infants as well,โ he continues. โOur specialty in the UK is pregnancy products. In the UK, most mothers who take vitamins take our pregnancy range, the Pregnacare series. Off the back of that, once the baby is born, we have a lot of credit and products that service new moms.โ
Wilson speculates that when parents give vitamin supplements to their children, it will be primarily for newborn babies and in a childโs first few years when they are most vulnerable.
โYou need to ensure theyโre getting the right nutrition. We have a WellBaby range for infants in different formats; weโve got drops and liquids.โ
Live streaming is a massive cultural consumer force in the Chinese nutraceuticals market.He also notes that vitamin D supplementation is recommended for infants in the UK. The countryโs National Health Service states that vitamin D deficiency is โvery common in the UKโ due to diet, lifestyle, weather and the countryโs northern latitude.
Meanwhile, Wilson also expects Chinese consumers to face a vitamin D deficiency as they โwant to have lighter skin, so they stay out of the sun.โ
โBut you need it โ it keeps you healthy. Itโs good to supplement vitamin D, especially for younger children.โ
Functional beverages are also making their way into childrenโs hands in China. The China-based food and nutraceutical brand Damin recently released a functional beverage for children containing antioxidants, which, according to the company, โare healthy at any stage of life.โ The Australian brand Coco Mum came out with a lactoferrin beverage for young children.
Connecting with consumers Wilson says that live streaming is a much more important consumer interface in China than in Europe and North America. He notes that it is also much more developed.
โWhen we think of live streaming in the West, we think of an athlete or a singer jumping on Instagram Live, chatting with fans for a bit and then turning it off. But in China, live streaming is a massive cultural consumer force where influencers jump on a live stream and sell products to their fans for hours at a time.โ
Wilson also underscores that it is crucial to develop good relationships with live streamers. At the Vitabiotics stand at the show, the company runs a live stream from morning till the exhibition closes. โThen, likely, the live streamers will return to their hotel room and keep streaming for another few hours,โ he adds.
โThe downside of live streaming is that commissions are very high; it encourages you to discount your products. In China, at the moment, the economy isnโt as robust and improving every year as it was during the 2010s. Consumers are typically looking for lower priced products, and live streaming is a good medium to get lower priced products if youโre a consumer.โ
Looking to the future, Wilson sees a greater need to develop product ranges aimed toward senior citizens. โWe need to pivot slightly and start pushing products toward an older demographic because elderly people will become more prevalent in China over the coming years.โ
Enjoyed this article? Sign up for our newsletter to receive regular insights and stay connected.