Chinese consumers are leading regional demands for healthier, more nutritious food, such as low- to zero-sugar products and high fibre content, for benefits such as better gut health and quality of life.
Asia is more open than any other market to trying natural products due to its long history of traditional remedies, but scientifically-backed and clinically trialled ingredients are now fast becoming a key consumer demand.
Consumers are willing to make the switch to low-sodium foods in order to reap the health benefits, but with a caveat that these must taste good, according to new data from MSG giant Ajinomoto.
At Vitafoods Europe, functional ingredient expert Taiyo will present brand new concepts which it says will address current consumer trends including healthy ageing, sports nutrition and clean label products.
Health Canada has issued a product license from Health Canada for AP-Bio (also known as KalmCold in Europe), a standardized extract of Andrographis paniculate.
While consumers are clamouring for healthier beverages across APAC, spanning sugar reduction and the added functionality, the regulatory landscape still poses a significant challenge for brands.
Krill oil supplementation is gaining traction amongst Japan’s beauty seekers, claims supplier Aker BioMarine, which recently set up an office in Tokyo.
Global life science business Bioiberica has teamed up with Chinese vitamin and dietary supplements provider ByHealth to expand its joint health product portfolio with the introduction of collagen tablets in China.
House Wellness Foods is eyeing expansion in the Australian and New Zealand markets after its flagship postbiotic has been recognised as a non-novel food by the local authorities.
New Zealand deer milk producer Pāmu is developing a range of nutritional supplements for beauty and general health applications, with products expected to launch in Vietnam this March.
Nagasaki University and Kirin Holdings are embarking on a joint clinical research to assess the effect of lactic acid bacteria on relieving symptoms in COVID-19 human subjects.
Japan’s Food with Functional Claims (FFC) system has recorded its highest number of notifications at 691 products in the first half of the current fiscal year from April 2021 to September 2021, compared to 496 products in the corresponding period last...
See our top 10 most read supplier stories in APAC’s health and nutrition industry this year, featuring winners of the NutraIngredients-Asia Awards 2021, using cell-based milk technology to produce functional foods, and emerging delivery formats for probiotics.
Singapore start-up Craft Health has developed a 3D printing technique for nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals, which does not use heat or UV curing that can degrade delicate active ingredients.
Hong Kong’s Govita is looking to expand its patent pending metabolic testing and personalised nutrition business into China, with talks underway with potential partners and investors.
Canada’s Tait Laboratories is planning to export its digestive health supplement to China as well as pushing the concept of ‘clean’ TCM ingredients in the region on the back of a new patent for its extraction technology for citrus peels.
Indian supplements manufacturer Stellar healthcare has launched a personalised nutrition firm, Cura-mi Wellness. targeting widespread deficiencies and common health concerns among the Indian population.
South Korean krill oil manufacturer Biocorp has developed a ‘hyper’ version of high phospholipid content krill oil – where the phospholipid concentration is 61 per cent.
Australian start-up Marl Wellness has appointed Doehler ANZ as the exclusive distributor for its award-winning synbiotic ingredient, expected to hit the Australasian market this year.
Chinese astaxanthin supplier BGG World has announced an expansion to the company’s closed tube production facility in southern China that the company claims now makes it the biggest in the world.
Australia’s Trajan Scientific and Medical, winner of the NutraIngredients-Asia Awards 2021 in the personalised nutrition category, is looking to further growth in the personalised and preventative healthcare space by expanding its monitoring services.
Researchers are proposing a new method to combat contamination concerns for powdered ingredients used in in Japan’s FOSHU (Foods for Specified Health Use) system.
Nutraceutical ingredient suppliers and manufacturers are continuing to ramp-up their inventory to keep their supply chain stable amid ongoing uncertainties brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, including port closures and delayed vessels.
Ajinomoto has launched a functional powder containing Wolffia globose, also known as duckweed, four years after its partnership with Israel-based supplier Hinoman.
Hong Kong-based Gencor is expanding the use of its proprietary palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) ingredient to sleep aid supplements, on top of its existing use in joint health and sports recovery.
South Korean firm Navipharm is focusing its R&D efforts on duo-strain probiotics products, after conducting research that appears to show that they are as efficacious, and more cost effective, as compared to multi-strain products.
Australian company Nutrafruit is evolving from growing Queen Garnet plums, to making FMCG products and now developing a functional ingredient from the plums.
Taiwan-based Bioflag Biotech’s proprietary probiotic strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus MP108 was launched in an infant product in China last month, after the strain was previously approved for use in infant or children’s foods in April.
Long term millet consumption can lower blood glucose levels in diabetic individuals and revert those in pre-diabetic people to normal levels, according to results from a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Australian probiotic brand PERKII has seen steady sales of its probiotic beverages amid the pandemic, boosting the firm’s confidence in its overseas expansion plans.
Culturelle, the world’s number one-selling probiotic brand, has expanded is probiotic portfolio with its first product targeting metabolic health and weight management.
Brands looking to develop products for mobility and cognitive functions need to take into account several key considerations such as the research and evidence behind the active ingredient, popular delivery formats, the lack of consumer education in Asia...
Royal DSM has launched a ‘first-of-its-kind’ intelligent sustainability service to deliver ‘accurate, simple and actionable’ farm-level solutions that it says will help improve both the environmental footprint and profitability of animal protein production.
Taiwan-based company Bioflag Biotech has developed a range of probiotic lozenges, gummies, and candies with strains that reduce oral pathogens, while promoting good bacteria growth and increasing the salivary production of the IgA antibody.
Natural Remedies says that brands and consumers in Asia are increasingly interested in the story behind botanical ingredients used in herbal supplements, which has led to greater attention on how botanical raw materials are sustainably sourced.
TurtleTree, a biotech company using mammalian cells to produce cell-based milk, is now eyeing how its tech can be transferred to the functional foods space.
DSM’s new venture Hologram Sciences plans to run a blood sugar management trial in Singapore to study how personalised approaches can help address pre-diabetes concerns, we can exclusively reveal.
Consumers in Asia-Pacific are increasing looking for new formats beyond traditional tablets, soft gels and capsules as they increasingly tap into botanicals and herbals for their immune health benefits.
