Ingredient of the Year: Botanical
Botanical ingredients are seeing a resurgence in interest from the industry and consumers, following new science and growing appreciation for therapeutic properties of plant-based solutions. This award celebrates the best branded or own-label botanical ingredients. .
The price to submit an entry for this category is $369.
Entries close on Friday, March 20, 2026 at 11.55pm CT, Chicago.
Our Judges will look at how your ingredient meets specific needs and will base their scores on your evidence to demonstrate:
- A genuine consumer demand or requirement based upon a common issue or risk factor
- Solid scientific evidence to demonstrate a unique nutritional solution to this need or problem – including peer reviewed data to back up any performance or health claims made
- Commercial success and engagement from your core target market(s). Give numbers and examples of sales and applications that are available in the market
- What gives your ingredient the ‘X factor’ – something that makes it stand out from the crowd and edge out the competition (including evidence to back up claims)
To view the requirements for this category, click here to download .
Entries for The NutraIngredients USA Awards, Ingredient of the Year categories are required to have the ingredient in a finished product that is commercially available in the United States.
- All entries need to abide to our Entry Terms & Conditions
- Once all entries have been received they will be reviewed by the NutraIngredients USA Awards Judging Panel made up of independent judges from the industry.
- The 2026 finalists will be confirmed and notified at the end of May 2026.
- The 2026 winners will be announced during an awards’ presentation in Chicago on Monday, July 13, 2026
The price to submit an entry for this category is $369.
Entries close on Friday, March 20, 2026 at 11.55pm CT, Chicago.