‘Blue-hat’ certification boost for krill: Aker BioMarine expects China application results soon

Along with more than five partnering brands, the firm is now at the final stage of the ‘blue-hat’ application, and results will be out “very soon”,​ EVP of human health and nutrition, Tim de Haas told NutraIngredients-Asia​ during an interview at the HI/FI China exhibition.

‘Blue hat’ allows brands to sell its supplement products in China’s brick-and-mortar stores. In other words, it would allow firms to sell products in more channels, instead of just online platforms.

 “Together with the partners, we have invested in applying for the certification many years ago. The process takes a long time and we are now in the very final stage to get this certificate.​

“Getting the certification will further boosts the awareness and popularity of krill oil in the Chinese market,”​ De Haas said.

Besides getting the certification, the firm is also partnering brands with presence in different sales and communication channels to promote its Superba krill oil to the Chinese consumers.

“We are basically working with the top brands in the Chinese market and we are collaborating with these companies on both scientific and marketing fronts. ​

“This means that we are investing in joint studies to evaluate the further health benefits of krill oil in the Chinese population,” ​he said.

Beyond health foods​

Other than health foods, the firm is also promoting the use of krill oil in general food items in the Chinese market.

“We have the krill powder which allows us to use krill oil in much broader range of applications, such as food,”​ De Haas said.

He added that there would be new launches containing krill oil over the next few months, examples include gummy applications.

Traceability wins  ​

Besides high nutritional content, the firm’s krill oil can also be traced to its origin.

De Haas believes that this is another selling point that the firm enjoys.

“One very important thing for the Chinese population is food safety. With our krill oil, they can have the only omega-3 that could be 100% traced to the origin. ​

“Consumers can know exactly where we harvested the krill in the Antarctic Ocean. For example, consumers can enter the batch number on our website and see where we have bought the krill…This is giving trust to the Chinese consumers that no one else can offer,”​ he said.