With a growing number of consumers prioritising sleep, and a growing body of science highlighting the significant effects sleep has on our overall health, many brands are innovating to create products that promote better sleep. From ice cream to chocolate, the number of food and beverage products launched globally with a sleep proposition has grown by around 20% over the past five years. The Mood & Mind trend has become a growth trend that no company can ignore.
However, sleep is a health benefit that many consumers tend to associate with supplements rather than food or beverage products. A 2024 consumer survey of 3,416 US adults from consumer research agency The Hartman Group found that 26% of consumers would turn to supplements first to improve sleep, while only 13-19% would seek a solution in food. Nevertheless, 55% of consumers indicated that they would be interested in new food & beverage products that carried a promise of improved sleep.
In what could be described as a cross between food and supplements, US company Nutraland launched Somato at the end of 2023. Made exclusively from the humble tomato, the supplement achieved the FDA’s GRAS (Generally Recognised as Safe) in September 2024 and is presented as a better option for those who would normally seek out synthetic melatonin, one of the most common sleep aid ingredients.
The product is the world's first whole food-derived phytomelatonin from tomatoes and Nutraland hopes that Somato will appeal to consumers’ desire for better sleep as well as their interest in “real” whole-food derived foods. It can also be an option for consumers living in regions where synthetic melatonin is regulated as a drug and only available on prescription. Somato is Nutraland’s second all-natural melatonin product, joining Somnatural, where the melatonin is derived from St John’s wort.
In addition to being a natural source of melatonin, Somato also provides a dose of GABA (a natural neurotransmitter produced by the human body and that also occurs naturally in chocolate) and Lycopene, both naturally found in tomatoes.
