Immune support

NutraIngredients-Asia Awards 2023

Metabolic and maternal mission: Our Start-up of the Year winner on functional foods knowledge plan

29-Nov-2023 By Tingmin Koe

Of Dreams & Knowledge (Asia), a functional food firm which won the start-up category at the recent NutraIngredients-Asia Awards, is seeking to drive consumer awareness of its products by looking more deeply into metabolic and maternal health concerns.

Kickstarting kale: Chinese trend for ‘punk nutrition’ lifestyle opens major functional food innovation opportunities

28-Nov-2023 By Pearly Neo

Chinese consumers’ increasing demands for functional and fortified foods and beverages to support a lifestyle based on ‘punk nutrition’ has opened up massive innovation opportunities for brands across various product categories.

China’s health food imports: Indonesia in the top five exporters as edible bird’s nest popularity spikes

27-Nov-2023 By Tingmin Koe

Indonesia was one of top five health food exporters of health foods to China last year, and has continued to surpass even Japan, with edible bird’s nest making up the bulk of the South East Asian country’s export.

Beyond herbal medicines: Standardised black seed oil approved for use in dietary supplements in Thailand

27-Nov-2023 By Tingmin Koe

Black seed oil from the firm TriNutra could now be set to feature in dietary supplements, with benefits across immune and cardiovascular health.

Brand new: MuscleBlaze, Nestle, Dr. Reddy's in the spotlight

24-Nov-2023 By Tingmin Koe

See the latest developments from health and nutrition brands across Asia-Pacific, including how India's MuscleBlaze has managed to increase its market share in the local protein powder market by 10 per cent through the launch of a protein test-kit,...

Nutrition Asia Video Series

From mass customisation to individualisation: How automation, supply chain management, 3D printing can drive personalised nutrition forward

22-Nov-2023 By Tingmin Koe

Personalised nutrition could progress from mass customisation to full personalisation as companies leverage on factory automation, supply chain management, and 3D printing to increase the efficiency of providing customised products.

China Double 11 data: Vitamins, probiotics, lactoferrin sales doubled against backdrop of muted spending

21-Nov-2023 By Tingmin Koe

Vitamins, probiotics, lactoferrin for infants and toddlers, and over 30 nutrition products saw their transaction value at least doubled in China’s Double 11 shopping festival this year, says JD Health, amid muted consumer spending in the country for the...

‘Make immune care a habit’: Kirin’s LC-Plasma sales held up in spring and summer, gears up for winter launches

20-Nov-2023 By Tingmin Koe

Kirin says that revenue from LC-Plasma, its flagship immune health ingredient, has grown significantly even during spring and summer this year, although these are seasons when consumers tend to take fewer precautions against infectious diseases.

Versatility and stability: How Kirin’s Kyowa Hakko has ridden immunity wave post pandemic – WATCH

14-Nov-2023 By Pearly Neo

Kirin Holdings’ health science-focused arm Kyowa Hakko says the versatility and stability of its postbiotic ingredient has enabled it to continue to enjoy commercial success beyond the surge of COVID-19.

Haleon Q3 results: Centrum’s double-digit revenue growth offsets decline in Emergen-C

08-Nov-2023 By Tingmin Koe

Haleon’s vitamins, minerals, and supplements (VMS) sales in Q3 was led by Centrum’s double-digit growth in China, the US, and Middle East, which has offset the decline seen in Emergen-C, its other power brand.

Vitafoods Asia 2023

Going beyond looks: Science-backed ingredients, formulations, formats most crucial for supplements success – TSI CEO

06-Nov-2023 By Tingmin Koe

Supplement firms should not fall into the trap of thinking that novelty and attractive packaging will lead to instant success in China, with clinically proven ingredients, formulations, and delivery formats still the top three priorities, says TSI Group...

Brand new: Swisse, Bayer, Heliocare in the spotlight

27-Oct-2023 By Tingmin Koe

See the latest developments from health and nutrition brands across Asia-Pacific, including Swisse’s launching its first ‘assessed listed’ complementary medicine in Australia next year, Bayer Consumer Health Division’s approach to infant nutrition innovation,...

Holistic approach: New Singapore e-pharmacy aims to break the mould with strong supplement focus

24-Oct-2023 By Tingmin Koe

A newly launched e-pharmacy, Glovida-Rx, is on a mission to provide holistic healthcare in Singapore, with pharmacists advising consumers on the use of both health supplements and pharmacy medications.

Growth Asia Summit 2023

Healthy ageing in Asia: Metabolic health, cognition, mobility rank top for consumer need – expert panel

23-Oct-2023 By Tingmin Koe

Nutrition products designed for healthy ageing in Asia-Pacific would need to address the most pressing concerns surrounding metabolic health, cognition, and mobility, said an expert panel staged during our recent Growth Asia Summit.

Hemp for active nutrition: Regulatory support and debunking of myths ‘crucial’ to unlock potential

18-Oct-2023 By Pearly Neo

Stronger government regulatory support and the ‘debunking’ of myths surrounding hemp are still at a ‘crucial’ stage in Asia, the success of which is key to unlocking its active nutrition potential.

China HMOs approvals: Two MNCs and one local giant get the green light from regulators

17-Oct-2023 By Tingmin Koe

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are now officially permitted for use in China’s infant formula, with two multinationals, namely IFF and dsm-firmenich, as well as local dairy giant Mengniu, announcing that they have received approvals in the past week.

Is personalised nutrition truly the future? Suntory on the challenging journey to ‘full personalisation’

16-Oct-2023 By Pearly Neo

Global megabrand Suntory has highlighted consumer confusion and production time as some of the key challenges standing in the way of achieving ‘full personalisation’ in the nutrition and food manufacturing spaces.

Vitafoods Asia 2023

Top of the pops: Guangdong firm makes vitamin C, probiotics in popping candy

10-Oct-2023 By Tingmin Koe

A Guangdong-based company which traditionally manufactures popping candy as general food is now using the technique to make candy containing vitamin C and probiotics, specifically Bifidobacterium.

Omega-3 opportunity: Australia’s BiomeMega taps on fermentation and AI to create probiotic-derived Omega-3

05-Oct-2023 By Si Ying Thian

Australia’s BiomeMega says its probiotic-derived Omega-3 comes with additional functional benefits, higher bioavailability, and can be produced at a large scale via precision fermentation.

Vitamin D deficiency linked with higher COVID-19 mortality and severity of symptoms – China study

04-Oct-2023 By Tingmin Koe

Vitamin D status could predict COVID-19 mortality rate and the severity of symptoms in the acute infection stage, suggests a new observational study in China.

NZ’s Gutsi launches gut supplement protocol targeting the ‘empowered and informed consumer’

04-Oct-2023 By Si Ying Thian

New Zealand probiotic firm Gutsi has launched a 60-day Gut Reset Kit, hoping to make practitioner-grade supplements more accessible to consumers.

GALLERY: The 10 most-read APAC health and nutrition stories in September 2023

03-Oct-2023 By Tingmin Koe

From the announcement to the list of NutraIngredients-Asia 2023 winners to China's new function claims system and South Korea's health functional food import trends, here are the most-read stories in September 2023.

Vitafoods Asia 2023

Postbiotic approval: Kirin subsidiary’s ingredient approved for use in foods, supplements in India

03-Oct-2023 By Tingmin Koe

Kyowa Hakko Bio, a subsidiary firm of Kirin, says its postbiotics is now approved for use in general foods and health supplements in India.

‘Revive with exports’: Japanese associations gearing up for functional foods export opportunities

02-Oct-2023 By Tingmin Koe

Several Japan health foods associations are gearing up for export opportunities for Foods with Function Claims (FFC), such as providing export consultation services and establishing networks with regional dietary supplement associations.

And the winners are…Check out who took the top prizes at the NutraIngredients-Asia Awards 2023

26-Sep-2023 By Gary Scattergood

We have announced the winners of the 2023 NutraIngredients-Asia Awards, held to recognise the brightest and best products, ingredients and initiatives across the nutrition industry.

Lactoferrin shown to support immune health via pDC activity – Morinaga-funded 12-week study

26-Sep-2023 By Tingmin Koe

Taking 200mg of lactoferrin daily for 12 weeks has been shown to support immune function in healthy adults, a new study funded by Japanese firm Morinaga found.

Lactoferrin for sports: TurtleTree to commercialise precision fermentation ingredient in Singapore, US

19-Sep-2023 By Tingmin Koe

Singapore-headquartered TurtleTree is targeting sports nutrition success with its lactoferrin ingredient, with commercialisation in the US and Singapore expected this year and next year respectively.

Still surging? Pandemic over but immune health category still top of mind for consumers – industry players

14-Sep-2023 By Hui Ling Dang

The spike in demand for immune-related products has not dwindled after COVID-19, and is in fact showing signs of long-lasting potential, say several industry players.

VitamINSIGHTS

Can Japan’s Foods with Function Claims keep up with demand for more science and ethical advertising?

13-Sep-2023 By Tingmin Koe

Japan’s vibrant Foods with Function Claims (FFC) sector will need to keep up with the demand for rigorous scientific evidence and ethical advertising for it to continue its phenomenal market growth, say experts from the country’s health foods associations.

Thailand’s 3C Group targets child nutrition, gut health and immunity categories

12-Sep-2023 By Hui Ling Dang

Thai nutraceutical firm 3C Group aims to boost the growth of the local prebiotics sector, which it says is significantly less recognised than probiotics, through their application in functional products targeting children and people with gut issues.

Beyond Chinese diaspora: TCM firm Eu Yan Sang pursues new audience in North America’s health and wellness market

06-Sep-2023 By Tingmin Koe

Singapore-headquartered Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) company Eu Yan Sang is actively pursuing growth in North America’s health and wellness market by targeting not just the Chinese diaspora, but also those who are willing to give the category a...

Shoot and score: Retailers starting to recognise functional products as long-term trend – Red Shoots

05-Sep-2023 By Hui Ling Dang

New Zealand-based FMCG company Red Shoots says consumers are increasingly looking for products with functional benefits in supermarkets, which has sparked partnership opportunities with major retailers.

Educational objective: Driving healthcare practitioner awareness of the microbiome crucial for success – Biome Australia

04-Sep-2023 By Si Ying Thian

Precision probiotics firm Biome Australia says that giving practitioners a foundational understanding of microbiome modulation, before reinforcing efficacy via clinical trials, will be key to its ongoing growth objectives in the market.

Food Ingredients India (FI-India)

Keep it simple: Incorporate new functional ingredients into familiar formats – Brenntag

30-Aug-2023 By Tingmin Koe

Food and beverage companies should incorporate functional ingredients into products that consumers are already familiar with, instead of attempting to change their dietary habits when introducing healthier products.

Halal-friendly postbiotics: Malaysia firm makes products solely from plant-derived bacteria and non heat-killed tech

29-Aug-2023 By Tingmin Koe

Malaysian newcomer postbiotic firm My Myracle has commercialised a series of postbiotics using solely bacteria from plants instead of other common sources, such as faeces of healthy individuals or animals. It says that using plant-derived bacteria is...

Curcumin and liver injury risk: Australia trade body stresses that correlation does not imply causation

29-Aug-2023 By Tingmin Koe

A correlation between curcumin, turmeric consumption and liver injury risk does not imply causation, trade body Complementary Medicines Australia (CMA) has pointed out, in response to reports on how the ingredient could have been linked to a fatal outcome.

Core approach: Apple phenolics specialist expanding supermarket presence with Coles deal

29-Aug-2023 By Si Ying Thian

Australia’s Renovatio recently secured a distribution deal with Coles supermarkets, and has outlined wider offline expansion plans as it seeks to increase visibility and accessibility.

Paediatric probiotics offset China’s infant formula revenue slump for H&H, while adult nutrition sales surge

28-Aug-2023 By Tingmin Koe

The paediatric probiotics business has helped to offset a revenue slump in the infant formula business in China for Health and Happiness Group (H&H Group), while its adult nutrition portfolio surged by 55 per cent.

Nutrition Asia / FI-India

Growth agenda: India’s nutraceutical market opportunities ‘far bigger’ than the pharma sector

23-Aug-2023 By Tingmin Koe

Growth opportunities in India’s nutraceutical industry are far greater than the pharmaceutical sector, according to industry experts, who also describe its trajectory as ‘a phenomenon’.

Singapore’s AMILI making inroads into Indonesia with localised gut health solutions

22-Aug-2023 By Hui Ling Dang

Singapore-based precision gut microbiome company AMILI is aiming to expand its footprint regionally, on the back of recent funding and positive responses from the local market.

Great expectations: Kirin targeting Blackmores to hit 100bn yen revenue, 15% profit margin

21-Aug-2023 By Tingmin Koe

Kirin’s is targeting Australian acquired Blackmores to achieve a revenue of 100 billion yen (US$687m) and a net operating profit margin of 15 per cent or more by around year 2030, the Japanese-conglomerate said during its latest financial results presentation.

US expansion fuelled by demand for ‘natural solutions’ and consumer receptivity – HK’s TCM supplements brand

16-Aug-2023 By Si Ying Thian

Hong Kong-based NOOCI has launched in United States first through its website and an online distribution platform and is expanding offline via its practitioner’s programme – with over 100 practitioners across the country signed up thus far.

Star power? Actress-owned health food brand LYASNU eager to break into SEA markets following record sales in South Korea

09-Aug-2023 By Hui Ling Dang

South Korean brand LYASNU has attributed the popularity of its enzyme powder sticks to young consumers with digestion troubles, whom it seeks to further appeal to with new products targeting facial puffiness, immunity improvement and fatigue relief.

Asia Pacific growth offsets US’s VMS revenue decline – Centrum, Caltrate maker Haleon

09-Aug-2023 By Tingmin Koe

Haleon, the company behind vitamin brands Centrum and Caltrate, said VMS revenue was down 0.5 per cent in the first six months of this year, with a decline in the US offset by growth in Asia Pacific and Europe.

Holistic microbiome: South Korea’s BIFIDO to beef up R&D on cognitive and oral health

08-Aug-2023 By Tingmin Koe

South Korean firm BIFIDO INC says it will focus on oral microbiome and gut-brain axis research in response to post-COVID demands and prevailing evidence on probiotics’ benefits for areas beyond gut health.

Calorie crash: Kirin launches immune care postbiotic drink in Japan with 50% less calories

08-Aug-2023 By Si Ying Thian

Kirin has introduced a version of its immune care postbiotic drink with 50% less calories, claiming to make it more accessible for health-conscious consumers without compromising on taste.

VitamINSIGHTS

Exclusive China analysis: Consumers spending cautiously but supplement sector holding up well

02-Aug-2023 By Tingmin Koe

Chinese consumer spending on health supplements is holding up, against the backdrop of slow economic recovery and dampened spending spanning luxury goods, beauty, and apparel, industry experts have told us.

Ease of entry: High consumer acceptance for varied formats behind US launch of vitamin spray range – Australia’s Henry Blooms

31-Jul-2023 By Si Ying Thian

Australian supplements brand Henry Blooms has launched its vitamin spray range in the US, citing that high consumer knowledge and acceptance enabled ease of entry into the market.

Brand new: DrinkAid, Amazin’ Graze, Amway in the spotlight

21-Jul-2023 By Tingmin Koe

See the latest developments from health and nutrition brands across Asia-Pacific, including anti-hangover supplement DrinkAid’s debut in pharmacy retail, granola maker Amazin’ Graze using probiotics for new product development, and Amway China’s plans...

Experience and efficiency: Fast&Up’s parent firm sees growing interest from pharma sector for effervescent supplements

12-Jul-2023 By Tingmin Koe

Health supplements in the form of effervescent tablets have a “better lifestyle association” and are receiving interest from pharmaceutical firms and health practitioners for an ability to contain a larger amount of active ingredients in one dose, says...