UK Enterprise Awards 2021

76 | UK Enterprise Awards 2021 May21525 Nutritional Ingredients Specialists of the Year 2021 Comprising of a team of industry professionals who show commitment, knowledge and an ethical responsibility to ensure the supply of quality ingredients, compliant with food law, Ingredients Direct has gone from strength-to-strength since it first opened 12 months ago. We speak to Richard Tidman about the appetite for such products and services and the plans that lie ahead for the future. Ingredients Direct is an industry- leading supplier of functional food, sports supplements and nutraceutical ingredients and is one of the fastest ways to source bulk ingredients, including amino acids, proteins, herbal extracts, minerals, sweeteners, vitamins and more. Launched in October 2020, IngredientsDirect. com was created as a direct response to accommodate the growing number of businesses choosing to source and procure food and beverage ingredient materials through online channels, thus reducing the lead time between purchase and delivery. According to 2020 research undertaken by McKinsey & Company, more than 75% of UK B2B buyers say they now prefer purchasing online over traditional face-to-face interactions, and the Covid-19 pandemic has seen a 17% increase in the number of buyers preferring to interact with digital channels. IngredientsDirect. com was born out of this growing trend, streamlining and accelerating the process for sourcing and purchasing ingredients online. Offering easy access to quality assured ingredients, IngredientsDirect.com holds all of its stock in the company’s UK-based warehouse in Milton Keynes and all products are shipped directly to customers. All ingredients listed on IngredientsDirect.com are sourced from FSSC 22000 accredited manufacturers. Registered users can access stock and pricing data, as well as the ability to download product specifications for each available ingredient. Certificates of Analysis are also supplied for all purchased ingredients. With more than 400 ingredients in stock, and a steadily increasing inventory, the company is able to fulfil most orders in the mainland UK within 1-2 business days. As new product lines are added, this in turn opens up new industry sectors, with the ultimate goal of IngredientsDirect.com becoming the premiere provider of nutritional, nutraceutical, functional food, functional beverage and sports science ingredients in the UK. In the world of sports science, ingredients play an important role in the development and manufacturing of products that support the nutrition plans of athletes and fitness enthusiasts alike. Ingredients such as protein isolates, amino acids, sugars and herbal extracts provide natural energy, endurance, and strength for improved performance and physical growth. These ingredients are sold alongside a wide range of herbals, sweeteners, vitamins and minerals regularly used in products for the exciting and fast-growing sports nutrition market. Functional foods can be considered to be those whole, fortified, enriched or enhanced foods that provide health benefits beyond the provision of essential nutrients. Functional foods contain additional and often unique, active compounds that most other foods do not - such as prebiotic fibres which support gut health. With more than 400 ingredients available, Ingredients Direct is well placed to fulfil all manufacturing needs for functional ingredients in this category. Food supplements are concentrated sources of nutrients which are generally used in products designed to support a normal diet. IngredientsDirect sells a range of raw food supplement ingredients used in the formulation and creation of food supplement products,