China Focus: BY-HEALTH deepens cooperation with Fonterra, SEA edible bird’s nest firms prepare for China expo and more

BY-HEALTH’s new link up with Fonterra sees collaboration in probiotics and dairy proteins – Interview​

BY-HEALTH and Fonterra are bringing their partnership to the next level, with a new agreement to collaborate on the R&D of probiotics and functional dairy protein.

The strategic collaboration, which will officially start in October, will be effective for three years until Oct 2022, according a statement from BY-HEALTH.

BY-HEALTH said​ that the collaboration was the firm’s latest drive in developing products with “new functions, new raw materials, and new techniques,” ​underpinned by the firm’s R&D cooperation with materials suppliers, research and medical institutions.

South East Asia’s bird’s nest firms ready to flock to lucrative China market on trade mission​ 

South East Asia’s bird’s nest firms are ramping up their efforts​ to capture the fast-growing Chinese market.

Priced for its skin beauty effect, China’s bird’s nest industry had seen “speedy growth”​​ in the past five years, with 105.2 tonnes of dried bird’s nest imported last year, which was about three times more than 2016.

The top three importers were Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, according to the latest statistics published by China Chamber of Commerce of Medicines and Health Products Importers and Exporters (CCCMPHIE) in August this year.

Cheap and good? JD launches new social commerce platform to capture group buying in low tiered cities

China’s e-commerce giant JD.com has launched a new social commerce platform​ for selling low priced products, including health foods, in a bid to capture the market in low tiered city markets.

Named as “Jing Xi”, the platform, which can be found on WeChat, seeks to drive group purchase by stimulating the users to share and recommend the products which are then sold at discounted prices to others. 

Already a number of health supplements are being sold at discounted rates. For example, a tin of protein powder from BY-HEALTH could be sold at RMB$308 (US$43), and for every RMB$200 (US$28) spent, consumers get a RMB$40 (US$5) discount.

Amway China partners with government-led R&D project to internationalise TCM​

Amway China has entered into a partnership​ with a government led R&D initiative to promote the use of TCM worldwide.

The partnership will see the firm take part in the country’s 13^th​ five-year-plan R&D plan, in order to standardise, modernise, and internationalise the use of TCM. 

The 13^th​ five-year-plan runs from 2016 to 2020, and stipulates the objectives and plans for economic and social development​ in China.       ​

Frequent consumption of raw garlic associated with lower liver cancer risk in China population

Eating raw garlic twice or more per week was associated with a lower risk of liver cancer​ in population-based case-control study in Eastern China.

Researchers from USA and China said the association was more significant compared to those ingesting no raw garlic or less than twice per week.

Several studies on garlic consumption and its inverse association with mortality, as well as other cancers including stomach, colon, breast, lung, prostate, and esophagus have been reported.