A New Frontier in Eye Health: Digital Wellness, Bioavailability, and the Eye-Brain Connection

Major shifts are occurring in the eye health support category. Eye health is no longer mainly for older adults, addressing vision challenges from advancing age and progressive conditions. Consumers are becoming more aware of the value of early interventions and of validated ingredients for their vision. Alongside this shift, the eye health supplement market is seeing growth that is projected to increase in the coming years. According to Grand View Research, the global eye health supplement market is expected to reach $2.94 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 7.1% from 2025 to 2030.¹ As noted in the report, major factors driving this growth include the rising prevalence of vision impairments caused by the increase in digital screen time in work and leisure activities since the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to the needs of modern consumers, new models of eye health support address the spectrum of life stages, emphasize performance over prevention, explore the connection between eye and brain health, and use innovative delivery systems for more complex ingredients tested in clinical studies.

Combating the Digital Toll

“With the societal shift to a digital lifestyle...all age groups are experiencing the fatigue that comes with ever-increasing screen time.” — Lixin Ding, BGG Americas

Moving beyond progressive conditions such as macular degeneration, eye health has become a focal point as demands from the digital age affect human health across all ages. “With the societal shift to a digital lifestyle, eye health is no longer limited to age-related concerns—all age groups are experiencing the fatigue that comes with ever-increasing screen time,” explains Lixin Ding, chief scientific officer, BGG Americas.

Ding noted that BGG is investing in studies on digital eye fatigue, aiming to close the gap in clinical research as society becomes more digital-first. For example, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel study tested the effects of adding 9 mg daily for 6 weeks of BGG’s astaxanthin (AstaZine; Haematococcus pluvialis) to the diets of healthy adults.² Participants performed visual display terminal (VDT) activities as part of the study, and results showed that for participants over age 40 years in particular, supplementation reduced VDT-induced declines in corrected near visual acuity of the dominant eye. Ding explained that this suggests that astaxanthin helps protect against damage from screen-induced oxidative and accommodative stress. In a similar study investigating the effects of MyrtiPRO, a supplement derived from bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), results also suggested that the anthocyanins could protect eye function against oxidative stress from sustained screen exposure.³

Younger demographics have also been shown to benefit from eye health supplementation. In a 6-month research study on eye strain, healthy participants aged 18 to 25 years receiving OmniActive’s Lutemax 2020, a combination of 3 macular carotenoids (lutein, RR-zeaxanthin, and RS-[meso]-zeaxanthin), saw an increase in the macular pigment optical density (MPOD), a biomarker associated with visual performance.⁴ “Eye health is no longer confined to aging populations; it’s being reshaped by how consumers live today,” explains Akhil Bajaj, divisional vice president, marketing—vision and cognitive health category, OmniActive Health Technologies.

Synergistic carotenoid strategies also demonstrate benefits for eye health in the digital age. As Joanne Lasrado, vice president, global carotenoids and sales, the Americas, for Kemin, explains, the dietary carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin absorb short-wavelength, high-energy visible (blue) light, citing a review of the protective roles of the nutrients in eye health.⁵ This helps protect the photoreceptor cells from damage. “Today’s use of screens is unprecedented: Continuous screen time exposure, prolonged near work, artificial LED lighting, and constant transitions between devices place the visual and neural systems under sustained demand from early childhood through older adulthood,” she adds. To highlight this, results from one study showed that daily supplementation with Kemin’s FloraGLO lutein ingredient for 6 months reduced digital eye strain and increased cognitive performance in participants aged 8 to 16 years with at least 4 hours of daily screen time.⁶

The Eye-Brain Connection and Benefit Stacking

“The shift beyond the traditional association of lutein with eye health reflects a deeper understanding that visual performance is inseparable from brain performance.” — Joanne Lasrado, Kemin

Part of the new attention to eye health is the recognition that vision and cognition are related and can be supported simultaneously. For example, for Kemin, lutein is viewed as part of a larger neuronutrition platform rather than an “eye nutrient” in the traditional sense. “The shift beyond the traditional association of lutein with eye health reflects a deeper understanding that visual performance is inseparable from brain performance,” explains Lasrado, noting that lutein is a dominant carotenoid in the brain. “Rather than viewing eye and brain health as separate categories, we increasingly study lutein through a systems-based lens focused on how the nutrient supports interconnected visual and neural pathways,” she says. Research has demonstrated the benefits of higher lutein and zeaxanthin levels for both younger consumers and older adults. For example, a randomized, double-masked trial found that an increase in MPOD from lutein and zeaxanthin supplementation over the course of a year improved spatial memory, reasoning ability, and complex attention in a population of young, healthy adults compared with placebo.⁷

As Bajaj explains, the connection emphasizes the ability to position macular carotenoids across health categories. “It makes intuitive and biological sense that macular carotenoids extend into cognition, because the eye is neural tissue—essentially an extension of the brain,” he explains. “This is where the ‘eye-brain connection’ becomes highly relevant: The retina and central nervous system are intimately linked.”

Further highlighting the connection between eye and brain performance is research on the effect of vision on sleep quality. “From the moment they wake up and check their phones to late screen use, there’s a clear wake-to-sleep continuum of needs driven by constant digital exposure,” Bajaj explains. “Gamers, remote workers, and younger consumers are feeling this firsthand, with concerns spanning visual comfort, screen fatigue, cognitive performance, and sleep quality all within a single day.” In one study, healthy young adults with at least 6 hours of daily screen time exposure received 24 mg daily of Lutemax 2020 for 6 months, with results demonstrating improvements in sleep quality, MPOD, eye strain, and headache frequency.⁸ Blue light exposure, Bajaj explains, suppresses melatonin and disrupts the circadian rhythm, and while supplementation with melatonin is one approach, a more “upstream strategy” is to filter blue light at the source and support visual comfort and the body’s natural cycle.

Identifying an upcoming trend in this category, Bajaj explains that brands should be ready for earlier, more proactive supplement use from consumers, as they understand that a consistent intake can create a strong foundation for long-term vision and cognitive health. “For formulators, this opens the door to positioning macular carotenoids as cross-functional ingredients—spanning health and performance benefits in eye health, cognitive performance, digital wellness, stress resilience, and sleep support in increasingly holistic formulations,” Bajaj explains.

Lasrado echoes this sentiment: “In a marketplace filled with limited claim depth and commodity ingredients, long-term differentiation comes from having a trusted neuronutrition platform supported by reproducible human science, clinically relevant outcomes, and decades of consistent investment in understanding how these nutrients support the visual and neural systems in a digital-first world.” Eye health is increasingly strengthening as a more complex support system for multiple facets of wellness, growing laterally as well as vertically.

Lifecycle Nutrition: From Infant Nutrition to Healthy Aging

Eye health is a lifelong pursuit, no longer centered solely on addressing progressive eye diseases. As Bajaj explains, vision nutrition begins before birth and continues through early development, with lutein transferred through the placenta and then through breast milk. Tapping into this opportunity, Lutemax Free Lutein recently earned Generally Recognized as Safe status for use in infant formula,⁹ and OmniActive launched an educational initiative, Lutein for Every Age, to promote macular carotenoids as lifelong nutrients.

A foundation for lifelong eye health extends past infancy as well. For example, a randomized, double-blind, parallel, placebo-controlled study demonstrated visual and cognitive benefits of a daily gummy of 10 mg of lutein and 2 mg of zeaxanthin isomers (Lutemax Kids from OmniActive) in children aged 5 to 12 years for 180 days.¹⁰ Compared with placebo, the supplementation improved MPOD as well as focus, memory, and attention.

“…the effects of macular carotenoids are cumulative, underscoring the importance of a proactive approach to supporting eye and brain health for life.” — Akhil Bajaj, OmniActive

Lutein, Bajaj adds, cannot be synthesized by the body, underscoring the importance of adequate consumption. “Establishing intake early not only supports foundational development but also provides long-term benefits, as the effects of macular carotenoids are cumulative, underscoring the importance of a proactive approach to supporting eye and brain health for life,” he explains.

Supporting eye health is merging with healthy aging, better reflecting how modern life affects eye and brain use. Kemin views this through the lens of its Positive Aging platform, which posits that aging begins at birth. “Increasingly, we believe that supporting the visual-brain system earlier and throughout life may have one of the greatest impacts on how people experience aging over time, particularly in today’s digital-first world,” Lasrado explains. This shift supports proactive efforts and resilience, as opposed to concentrating on reactively moderating a decline in vision and cognitive ability.

Delivery System Innovations

For consumers to obtain eye or brain health support from supplementation, the nutrients must first be absorbed by the body in amounts adequate enough to make a difference. However, formulation with carotenoids presents stability challenges that benefit from effective delivery systems, though this may also present opportunities for innovation. As Bajaj notes, macular carotenoids are susceptible to oxidation, light exposure, and heat. “Carotenoids present unique formulation challenges, primarily due to their lipophilic nature, sensitivity to light and oxygen, and instability in nontraditional delivery systems,” he explains. “What’s particularly interesting is that the same structural features that make carotenoids effective at absorbing blue light are also what make them inherently sensitive to degradation.”

To safeguard bioavailability for nutrient absorption and dispersibility in aqueous systems, OmniActive uses its Versabead technology to encapsulate lutein and zeaxanthin ingredients in a protective matrix, allowing its Lutemax 2020, Lutemax Kids, and Lutemax Free Lutein to be incorporated into powdered beverages, functional foods, gummies, chewables, bars, tablets, and capsules.

The Kemin lutein ingredient FloraGLO can be used across a range of formats, thanks to its stability and tastelessness, making it suitable for gummies, soft chews, and other popular “lifestyle-first” formats. Additionally, notes Lasrado, the company’s Customer Laboratory Services helps brands incorporate these ingredients into a range of delivery systems, optimizing applications, developing innovative formats, and capitalizing on trends.

As Ding explains, because astaxanthin is highly reactive, BGG developed a stable 5% astaxanthin biomass powder, enabling uniformity in end products. The company also offers oil, beadlets, and microencapsulated formats, he adds, noting that encapsulation enhances absorption and promotes stability. To ensure purity and consistency in its astaxanthin, the company uses a fully closed, glass-tube photobioreactor system, with AstaZine containing 97% pure astaxanthin in the carotenoid fraction and only 3% other carotenoids.

The Future Vision and Market Strategy

Unlike other benefit categories, eye health is positioned to reach a range of demographics and support multiple health benefits simultaneously. From developing a foundation for lifelong eye health to reducing harmful digital exposure, vision has become a versatile focus area. Success in this category depends on ingredients supported by science.

“We think the future of the category will increasingly favor ingredients supported not just by isolated studies but by a coherent body of evidence that consistently reproduces outcomes across visual performance, macular pigment density, digital eye strain, aging, and areas of cognitive and neural function,” Lasrado states. Consumers, brands, and health care professionals are increasingly seeking validated ingredients that are dependable, scalable, and relevant for the real world, she adds. Modern lifestyles are tied to digital exposure, and consumers of various ages are seeking multibenefit, clinically supported, and convenient solutions for the demands placed on visual and neural wellness.

References

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