New market: Meiji enters Taiwan’s sports nutrition sector with flagship brand SAVAS

14-Apr-2022 - Last updated on 14-Apr-2022 at 02:35 GMT

Meiji has introduced products from its sports nutrition brand SAVAS into Taiwan to target the sports enthusiasts. ©Getty Images

Related tags Meiji Whey protein Taiwan

Japanese firm Meiji has launched its sports nutrition brand SAVAS into Taiwan, targeting what it believes is a growing community of sports enthusiasts.

SAVAS is a range of whey protein powder and soy protein products for muscle building and weight management.

Meiji has launched three SKUs from its flagship whey protein powder range in Taiwan recently, namely yogurt, vanilla, and chocolate. The other flavours sold in Japan include matcha, rich chocolate, and clean fruity flavours.

SAVAS taiwan — SAVAS Whey Protein in chocolate (from left), vanilla and yogurt flavour. ©Meiji

Consisting of whey protein concentrate and whey protein isolates, each pack is 1.05kg and is sold at NTD$1,680 (US$57.85).

It also contains vitamins such as B2, B6, C, and D and each serving, which comes in 21g is said to provide 15g of protein.

Prior to the launch in Taiwan, SAVAS, which was first sold more than 40 years ago, is already available in both Japan and China.

“We have decided to launch ‘SAVAS’, the top share protein brand in Japan, since the protein powder market is expanding and many people play sports in Taiwan,” Yuko Nakamura from Meiji’s public relations department told NutraIngredients-Asia.

The sales of SAVAS was up 10.6 per cent yoy between Q1 and Q3 in FY2022 to address a lack of exercise and an expanding customer base.

While whey protein is the flagship SKU, the brand also consists soy protein products for weight management and a soy protein plus fish collagen product for beauty and slimming targeted at women.

In Taiwan, Meiji is targeting the sports and fitness enthusiasts with SAVAS.

“It is estimated that there are more than five million people in Taiwan who play sports for more than three times a week. It is known that the usage rate of protein is more than 30 per cent, mainly in the 20s and 30s.

“The target of ‘SAVAS’ is sports enthusiasts and people who train hard to build their bodies,” she added.

Taiwan trends

Optimum Nutrition, produced by Glanbia, was the leading sports nutrition brand in Taiwan – replacing PVL-Fit Foods from Canada, according to an Euromonitor Report published in September last year.

Aside from sports, protein is also “becoming a mainstream macronutrient that goes beyond sports nutrition”, said the report.

On the other hand, ingredients aside from protein – especially probiotics – are fast gaining interest in the market, as local companies deepen research in this area.

One example is Synbio Tech, which is known for its proprietary muscle-building probiotic ingredient Lactobacillus plantarum TWK10. The strain was isolated from the Taiwan pickled vegetables.

Another example is Glac Biotech, which has isolated the probiotic strain Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum Olympic No. 1 (OLP-01) from an Olympic gold medallist in the women’s 48kg weightlifting category.