Japan's Fuji Chemical is aiming to grow sales of its eye health ingredient astaxanthin to $10-12 million annually, thanks to a new merger with Swedish firm BioProcess.
The deal, which took place earlier this month, saw Fuji Chemical acquire the rights to a significant patent portfolio and research database on astaxanthin use as a health ingredient.
The move will position Fuji Chemical, which recently pulled operations out of the US, as a significant astaxanthin supplier in US, European and Japanese markets.
BioProcess, now called AstaReal, was the first firm to produce Haematoccus biomass through a totally closed indoor-tank facility and has the largest number of approved and applied patents, and several clinical studies, related to astaxanthin. The business complements the activities of Fuji subsidiary MicroGaia, based in Hawaii, which operates an outdoor closed production unit, thus allowing for different weather conditions.
Fuji is looking to promote the ingredient in the US sports nutrition market. "I would like to pursue the GRAS status of astaxanthin so it can be used in sports drinks," Vincent Wood, manager of international marketing for Fuji Chemical told NutraIngredientsUSA.com at SupplySide West yesterday. The ingredient is a powerful antioxidant that could enhance both performance and visual acuity during sports activities.
"We were not first to market in the US. But we have lots of intellectual property, good distribution (E.T. Horn on the west coast, Callaghan on the east), and attractive patent protection," said Wood. He added that the firm has strong manufacturing and R&D expertise, with its core activities in the pharmaceutical sector.
The $10 billion sales goal will also be established across three markets, and Fuji starts out with a well-established position in Japan, where a special unit for sales and marketing focuses on retail sales of astaxanthin-containing products, including cosmetics. In the US, marketing will include consumer advertising.