Brand new: Wanglaoji, Dose & Co, Nestle India in the spotlight

‘Growing rapidly’: Indonesia could become SEA’s largest herbal tea market– Wanglaoji​​ ​

China herbal tea brand Wanglaoji says Indonesia is one of its fastest growing markets in South East Asia (SEA) and could potentially become its biggest market in the region in the next couple of years.

Currently, Wanglaoji’s top three markets in SEA are Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia, where the products are sold in supermarkets, convenience stores, and food services.

However, the company noted that Indonesia is fast catching up. Reasons driving consumption in the SEA region include the weather, similarities in living habits, and geographical proximity which allows the firm to better penetrate the region.

Asian expansion ambitions: Vector Consumer enhances collagen portfolio with Dose & Co acquisition​

New Zealand-origin Dose & Co is now a part of UK’s Vector Consumer as the latter seeks to enhance its collagen supplement portfolio.

The acquisition was completed on April 30. Vector Consumer, which is also behind the collagen brand SOLV and newly acquired Pura Collagen, says it would take learnings from its existing business in Asia to promote Dose & Co across Asia.

Vector Consumer currently sells SOLV in Guardian Singapore and Liverpool FC (LFC) Nutrition in China. Dose & Co, on the other hand, is already available in Holland & Barrett Singapore prior to the acquisition.

GK Bio plans expansion in neighbouring SEA countries with fungi, probiotics launch​

Malaysia headquartered GK Bio International is expanding into the neighbouring South East Asian countries, including Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand with its fungi and probiotics products.

The company, which was formed via a joint venture between Taiwan’s All Cosmos Industry and Grape King Bio, currently sells its probiotics and fungi in Malaysia’s pharmacy chains Watsons, Alpro, and clinics.

So far, it has also attracted buyers across the causeway from Singapore, especially for its probiotics for beauty, its tiger milk mushroom, and Cordyceps cicadae​ fungi supplements.

South Korea’s NVP Healthcare banks on gut-liver probiotic for global growth​  

South Korea’s biohealth company NVP Healthcare believes its patent pending approval in Europe will help lay its foundation for global expansion.

The patent is for its probiotics Lactobacillus plantarum ​LC27 and Bifidobacterium longum ​LC67 which have been found to be effective in preventing and treating liver diseases, such as hepatitis, fatty liver, and cirrhosis.

Using its proprietary DuoBiome technology, the company developed a complex probiotic known as NVP-1702, which comprises of the two aforementioned probiotic strains.

Nestle taps into Dr. Reddy’s nutra distribution network to boost India reach​

Nestle India is forming a joint venture with Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories to boost the reach of its nutraceutical products across India.

The joint venture is expected to become operational in Q2 of FY25.

Both Nestle India and Dr. Reddy’s will license selected nutraceutical brands to the JV company for distribution across India.