- Background
- What we're looking for
- What we can offer you
- Q&A
During weight-loss efforts involving substantially reduced food intake, maintaining bone health can become more challenging. Eating less can make it harder to obtain adequate protein, calcium, vitamin D, and other nutrients needed for bone maintenance. At the same time, losses in lean mass and reduced mechanical loading may work against healthy bone remodeling. These challenges may be greater during rapid weight loss and among people with additional risk factors such as older age, menopause, low baseline bone density, or nutritional deficiencies.
This concern is particularly relevant for people using glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)–based weight-management medications, who may consume smaller portions and fewer meals and may not consistently meet protein or micronutrient needs or follow resistance-training recommendations.
Existing knowledge around bone-supportive nutrients and protein intake provides an important foundation, but there is still room to improve how bone health is protected during rapid weight loss. Advances in nutrient delivery, mineral absorption, bone remodeling, and muscle-bone support could create new opportunities to preserve bone health and musculoskeletal resilience despite reduced food intake and smaller portion sizes.
We are looking for solutions that help preserve bone health and musculoskeletal resilience during rapid weight loss by supporting bone formation or healthy remodeling, reducing excessive bone resorption, improving use of bone-supporting nutrients, and preserving lean mass and function. Ingestible or formulation-based solutions should work in compact formats such as beverages, shots, gels, jellies, other spoonable or semi-solid products, snacks, bars, chews, powders, frozen products, or other formats offering a clear advantage for consumers with reduced appetite. Early-stage proposals are welcomed and should include initial supporting data, a testable hypothesis, key technical risks, a proof-of-concept plan, and, where relevant, a credible path to food or beverage use.
- Bone formation and healthy remodeling technologies
- Technologies reducing excessive bone resorption
- Mineral absorption, bioavailability and retention systems
- Novel bone-supporting mineral and micronutrient systems
- Bone-active proteins, peptides and bioactives
- Gut-bone axis, fermentation and microbiome technologies
- Muscle-bone and lean-mass preservation approaches
- Technologies for older and peri/postmenopausal adults
- Compact protein and bone-support delivery platforms
- Delivery, formulation and food-matrix technologies
- Clear differentiation and intended bone outcome(s): maintain bone mineral density/bone quality; support formation; reduce resorption; improve nutrient absorption or retention; preserve lean mass/function; improve nutritional adequacy during calorie restriction
- Scientific basis appropriate to maturity, from testable hypothesis to mechanism of action, with available in vitro, preclinical or human data, and evidence limitations (where available, please indicate relevance to rapid weight loss in adults)
- Reasonable basis to expect safe ingestion or current regulatory status and available safety data for market-ready solutions
- Relevant human evidence
- Single or multiple complementary benefits in a compact format, e.g., bone support plus protein, muscle preservation, hydration, fiber, or sustained energy
- Acceptable sensory profile for the general population
- Protected by defensible IP or otherwise difficult to replicate
- Practical application considerations, such as intended product format, effective dose/serving size, GI tolerance, and stability
- Undifferentiated commodity supplements or ingredient blends without a novel scientific, formulation, or delivery advantage
- Generic ingredient blends without proprietary science or delivery advantages
- Products focused only on appetite suppression or satiety
- New pharmaceutical GLP-1 agonists and other weight-loss drugs
- Solutions intended to replace medical care
- Conventional meal replacements that do not address small-volume consumption and solutions requiring impractically large servings
- Technologies with unacceptable taste or gastrointestinal tolerance
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