Creatine Industry Launches Advocacy Group
The International Creatine Organization and Network (ICON) has been unveiled at the Sports & Active Nutrition Summit in San Diego. The new organization aims to promote creatine as a global health nutrient and support further research, education, and quality standards.
- The organization is led by industry veteran Dave Slagle and was conceived during a conversation at the 2025 Sports & Active Nutrition Summit to combat misinformation and inconsistent product testing. - To address quality concerns, ICON is establishing a 99.5% purity standard, which is higher than the 98% standard set by the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), and is partnering with testing company SGS to provide QR codes that link to certificates of analysis for individual lots. - The global market for creatine supplements was valued at over $500 million in 2024 and is projected to grow significantly, with some analyses forecasting a compound annual growth rate of over 12%. - The need for stricter oversight is highlighted by studies that have found significant discrepancies in the quality of products on the market, with some supplements containing as little as 0.48% of the advertised creatine content. - ICON's mission extends beyond sports nutrition, aiming to promote creatine's growing, research-backed benefits in other areas, such as enhancing cognitive function and helping to counteract age-related muscle loss. - The advocacy group will be "creatine agnostic," meaning it is open to all forms of the ingredient, though it is starting its quality program with creatine monohydrate, the most researched and widely used form. - Key raw material suppliers in the industry include the German company AlzChem, which produces the branded Creapure®, and recently expanded its production capacity to meet rising global demand.
