Most longevity ingredients ask you to trust benefits you can't feel. PLT Health Solutions built Kinexa to do the opposite, with joint structure changes confirmed by MRI imaging. Steve Fink and Brett Bernier walked us through it at FNIS 2026.
"We have a saying at PLT Health that we ship kilos, but we're really selling claims."
That's how Steve Fink, Vice President of Marketing at PLT Health Solutions, sums up what separates his company from a typical ingredient supplier. Anyone can sell a drum of botanical extract. PLT's business is the clinical research, documentation, and application work that lets a brand put a credible benefit on its label, then have customers notice it working.
We sat down with Steve and Brett Bernier, PLT's Director of Sports & Active Nutrition, in September 2026 at the inaugural Future Nutra Innovation Summit (FNIS) on Lake Conroe, Texas, where PLT was a title sponsor. Over nearly half an hour, they explained who PLT is, how the company builds ingredients around what consumers can feel, and where its joint health, energy, and calm-focus portfolios fit for brands. Our first FNIS article covered the Kinexa and Dynagenix chew concepts PLT brought to the show.
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Video: PLT Health Solutions at FNIS 2026
The clip above is a short cut from our interview. The full conversation is summarized below.
Who Is PLT Health Solutions?
PLT Health Solutions is a family-owned ingredient company headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey. It discovers, develops, and commercializes clinically studied branded ingredients for supplements, foods, and beverages, with more than 30 branded ingredients spanning cognition, joint health, energy, endurance, muscle, and weight management.
Most of that portfolio is botanical. "We are predominantly botanical-based, and it allows us to bring these solutions to markets all around the world", Steve told us, adding that nearly all of PLT's ingredients come with a sustainability component and responsible harvesting practices.
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Three Generations Since 1946
PLT Health Solutions is a title sponsor of the inaugural Future Nutra Innovation Summit, September 9 to 11 at Margaritaville Lake Resort in Texas. Joint health and cognitive health set the direction, starting with Kinexa.
PLT's story starts with founder Marvin Flowerman, a first-generation American who fought at the Battle of the Bulge in World War II and stayed on in postwar Germany as an interpreter. Back home, he went to work importing agricultural raw materials, starting with gum arabic from Africa's gum belt, which stretches from Senegal to Eritrea. PLT still works with gum arabic today.
Marvin's approach was to travel to the countries where he sourced materials, build relationships with local producers, and push them to improve quality and consistency so they could compete for business with major U.S. companies. That approach grew into P.L. Thomas & Company, the business that would become PLT Health Solutions.
His son, Paul Flowerman, joined in 1976 after teaching science in Malaysia as a Peace Corps volunteer. In 1979, a cocoa powder shortage created demand for carob pod flour as a substitute, and the company later became the exclusive agent for the Sudan Gum Arabic Company. Those wins led PLT to start selling directly to consumer goods companies in the food and supplement industries.
The shift toward branded, clinically studied ingredients began in the 1990s with PLT's partnership with Ganga Raju, founder of Laila Nutraceuticals. PLT started using clinical science to support both its own ingredient sales and its customers' marketing, which paid off as the supplement market grew after DSHEA passed in 1994. In 2007, a partnership with Nektium Pharma CEO Miguel Jimenez expanded PLT's botanical sourcing and innovation pipeline.
PLT Health Solutions brings "feel the science" to IFT First 2025! Sample beverage-friendly ingredients that deliver real, experiential benefits at Booth #S1839.
Paul's son, Seth Flowerman, joined in 2010 after selling his own startup and became President and CEO in 2018. Under the third generation, PLT has invested heavily in clinical science, formulating capability, and global reach. The full story is on PLT's history page.
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Built for Brands of Every Size
According to Steve, PLT is "equally adept at working with very established multinational brands" looking to extend or reinvigorate a line, "as well as two people working out of a garage" who need white-glove help through an entire launch. That support covers how to formulate, how to build a benefit package, and which delivery format to use, from capsules and stick packs to ready-to-mix and ready-to-drink products.
PLT also helps brands work through regulatory differences between the U.S., Europe, and Asia, including documentation and how benefit language can appear on pack. That's where the "selling claims" philosophy comes from. Steve called it "the difference between PLT Health and companies that might not have that capability inside."
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Ingredients You Can Feel
Brett answered the same question from the consumer's side. PLT designs its studies around endpoints drawn from its own consumer research. "We're not just testing to test", he said. The goal is a claim consumers can trust and a benefit they can feel, which is the idea behind PLT's Feel the Science campaign. PLT also helps brands combine its ingredients with others in RTDs, shots, gummies, chews, and other newer formats.
"Customers can feel our ingredients", Brett told us. Depending on the ingredient, that can happen within days, and in some cases within 15 to 45 minutes.
PLT Health Solutions: Growth Through Innovation
The effect also runs in reverse. When customers stop taking an experiential ingredient after a long stretch, Brett said, they notice: "Geez, my joints don't feel quite as good, or I don't have the energy that I did when I was on the supplement." For a brand, that's the difference between a one-time purchase and a repeat customer.
Joint Longevity: AprèsFlex, Dynagenix, and Kinexa
Steve said joint supplements have long had three problems: slow time to effect, large doses, and the poor compliance that follows from both. PLT has spent the last decade working on the first two.
AprèsFlex® was the flagship of that effort. Steve pointed to multiple studies behind it, including six-month research supporting cartilage health and joint benefits in as little as five days at a 100mg dose. Our AprèsFlex breakdown covers that research.
Kinexa and Experiential Longevity
The next question for PLT was whether it could go past joint comfort and support the joint's actual structure and function. The answer was Kinexa® Joint Longevity Complex, which Steve called "one of our most thorough clinical packages we have ever brought to market" in size, scale, and duration.
PLT Health's Experiential Longevity™ platform delivers near-term benefits consumers can feel while foundational cellular work pays off over a lifetime.
Kinexa addresses the whole joint, including the synovium, subchondral bone, tendons, and cartilage, along with strength and long-term function. Steve described its clinical trial as PLT's most rigorous joint health study to date, with results confirmed through MRI imaging. "That is something that we have never seen, that scale of proof on the market", he said. Our Kinexa deep dive walks through the study.
Kinexa also anchors PLT's Experiential Longevity™ platform. Most longevity products ask consumers to trust benefits they can't feel, Steve explained, "because often it's limited to cellular function. You know it's helping you, but you don't really feel it." PLT's position is that preserving joint structure and strength is longevity people can feel as they age.
Choosing the Right Joint Ingredient
Brett, who works with brands as a formulator, explained how the three ingredients differ:
- AprèsFlex works through an enzymatic mechanism to support a healthy inflammatory response and fast-acting joint comfort.
- Dynagenix® Muscle+Joint Formula builds on AprèsFlex with a muscle component. Its studies looked at muscle soreness, recovery time, rate of perceived exertion, and strength regained after hard workouts, making it more of an active sports nutrition ingredient.
- Kinexa is "truly a game changer", Brett said. "I haven't seen an ingredient that's actually helping maintain, preserve, and improve the actual joint structure."
He also suggested stacking them, with Kinexa as the long-term structural piece and AprèsFlex or Dynagenix for more immediate support. Our guide to PLT's joint health platform covers the full lineup.
Built for Beverages, Gummies, and Chews
PLT Health offers five clinically-backed Boswellia extracts for joint health. AprèsFlex for capsules, Dynagenix for beverages, 5-LOXIN for high-AKBA formulas, and FLEXIR for multi-botanical support. Each optimized for different formats and consumer needs.
Many botanicals are hard to use in beverages, gummies, stick packs, and ready-to-mix products because of mouthfeel, solubility, and dispersibility problems. About a decade ago, Steve said, PLT committed to developing grades of its ingredients that work in those formats without giving up the science behind them. "This is not something that everybody can do", he said. "It takes an enormous commitment, often years of research." PLT now has close to a dozen ingredients suited to those formats.
Brett listed what a formulator needs from an ingredient in these products:
- Low input levels. Gummies and chews may cap out at 100mg to 200mg of active, and PLT's ingredients fit within that.
- Neutral taste. PLT reworked Dynagenix to be fully water-soluble and taste-neutral. Ingredients that taste bad or mix poorly need maskers, extra sweeteners, or acid systems, all of which add cost.
- Stability. Beverages may be pasteurized at high temperatures, and gummies are made at elevated temperatures. Ingredients need to survive manufacturing and stay effective for 12 to 24 months on the shelf. "When the customer gets your product, it will be just as strong", Brett said.
Steve added that Brett works directly with customers to place these ingredients, alone or alongside others, which shortens time to market. Our IFT First 2026 preview shows several of them in finished beverages.
Energy Has More Than One Answer
"There's an energy need for everybody, but they're all different", Steve said. PLT matches ingredients to the situation:
PLT Health didn't just bring ingredient literature to FNIS. They brought chews. Two joint health concepts built on Kinexa and Dynagenix, both tasting good enough that daily use doesn't feel like a chore. Someone should copy this.
- Late-day mental fatigue: Zynamite® S for non-stimulant mental energy and focus.
- Morning endurance: cellflo6®, a green tea extract Steve described as supporting blood flow and nutrient delivery to the muscles.
- A rough day: an adaptogen such as rhodiola for what Steve called "physical adaptive energy".
- Caffeine without the crash: zümXR®.
- PLT Health Solutions website
- PLT company history
- PLT Health Solutions on PricePlow
- PricePlow Podcast Episode #146 with Steve Fink and Dr. Jeremy Appleton
- PricePlow Podcast Episode #187, recorded at PLT headquarters
- PLT Health Solutions at SupplySide Global 2026
zümXR: Caffeine on a Schedule
Plenty of people want caffeine's benefits without its drawbacks. zümXR is a clinically studied caffeine with a biphasic release. Brett explained that part of the dose releases immediately and the rest releases over roughly five hours, delivering "that quick burst of energy... without going over the top and causing jitters or nervousness", followed by sustained physical and mental energy.
The release profile is adjustable. Brett said PLT has human plasma pharmacokinetic data showing brands can tune zümXR toward a stronger initial release or a longer tail, and pair it with non-stimulant ingredients like Zynamite S. The aim, in Steve's words, is avoiding "those very steep ups and very negative crashes". Our zümXR deep dive covers the research.
Zynamite S: Non-Stim Mental Energy
Zynamite S, developed with PLT's longtime partner Nektium Pharma, is optimized for beverages, gummies, and other difficult applications. Beyond mental energy, Steve pointed to research showing reduced fatigue and improved mood in as little as 30 minutes, which we covered in our article on the second Zynamite S study. Because it's stimulant-free, Steve said, it can be taken morning, noon, or evening without affecting sleep.
Zembrin and Alert Serenity
There's only one patented, standardized, and clinically-studied kanna extract on the market: Zembrin from PLT Health Solutions.
Zembrin® is an extract of a specific varietal of kanna (Sceletium tortuosum), a South African succulent with a long history of traditional use by the Khoisan people. It's backed by a clinical program and intellectual property, and PLT describes its effect as "alert serenity and a calm focus".
Unlike most calming ingredients, Zembrin is non-sedating. At a 25mg dose, Steve said, it delivers calm, focus, and alertness, making it something you'd take in the morning to tune out distractions. Brett described his own experience: "I feel a clearing of the mind, a nice focus. It's removing the clutter... the chatter in your mind."
That small dose fits easily into gummies, chews, and capsules. Steve also pointed to a market shift. As CBD- and THC-based brands lost momentum and non-alcoholic "chill" beverages grew, companies needed new ways to serve consumers looking to unwind or feel at ease in social settings. Zembrin has stepped into that gap, and Steve said PLT is working with several new partners on calm and focus beverages. Our Zembrin breakdown covers the science.
Immersive Discovery: Reaching the Future Faster
Asked what comes next, Steve skipped the product teaser and described how PLT works with brands. The company runs what it calls immersive discovery sessions with brand partners, digging into their one-, five-, or ten-year plans and the gaps in their portfolios. "We get in there and have sessions with them, and we can actually help them reach the future faster", he said.
Those sessions shape PLT's research. The company designs market-focused clinical trials with endpoints built to support on-pack messaging. "Even if that exact science doesn't exist yet, we can collaborate with these partners to make sure that it does", Steve said. PLT's science team designs the studies and endpoints so brands can make claims sooner and know "they'll stand up to scrutiny".
Brett's outlook centered on the problems PLT's ingredients solve: lower doses, faster onset, longer-lasting effects, and more benefit areas per ingredient, all in compact formats like gummies, chews, and shots.
Connect with PLT Health Solutions
From gum arabic in 1946 to MRI-studied joint ingredients today, PLT's model has stayed consistent: find promising materials, back them with clinical research, and help brands turn that research into claims customers can feel. Thanks to Steve and Brett for sitting down with us at FNIS.
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