Ganeden wins probiotics gong
F&S recognized the manner in which the strain’s long-life characteristics made it an appealing for end-product manufacturers, in a North American market that has shown exponential growth in the past few years, especially in the dairy sector.
Much of this has been driven by the entrance of Dannon into the market, which has quickly notched sales in the hundreds of millions for its ranges of probiotic-bearing spoonable yoghurts and yoghurt drinks.
In handing the 2008 North American Food and Beverage Probiotics Product Innovation Award to Ganeden, F&S noted the potential of a well made and marketed probiotic offering such as GanedenBC30, which has been self-affirmed GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) by an independent panel of experts.
"The introduction of GanedenBC30 has certainly expanded the application of probiotics into product areas that were previously unavailable within food and beverage markets," said Dr Deborah Cross, industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan.
"The number of products available has already been enhanced substantially in previously undeveloped sectors such as bakery and snacks."
Other deals
Ganeden joined with fiber supplier GTC Nutrition in October in a move designed to develop new ingredients for digestive and immune health.
In January this year, the company teamed up with PL Thomas (PLT), whose president Paul Flowerman called GanedenBC30 a “revolutionary product”.
In November last year, Dutch firm DSM also identified potential in Ganeden’s ingredient capabilities, investing $12m in the firm in an effort to cement its presence in the fast-evolving area of nutrition.
Survivor
Of its probiotic, Ganeden said: “GanedenBC30 is able to survive harsh manufacturing processes, such as baking and freezing, as well as the acidic environment of the digestive tract better than other commercially available probiotic strains.”
It added it is protected by a spore, or seed, which fortifies the cell's genetic material from the heat and pressure of manufacturing processes as well as the climate of the digestive tract.
Ganeden’s probiotics appeared in products such as non-refrigerated nutrition bars, condensed soups, muffins and frozen yogurt in 2008. GanedenBC30 is also available in the over-the-counter probiotic products under the Digestive Advantage and Sustenex brands.
"We are grateful for Frost & Sullivan's recognition of our hard work in developing a powerful probiotic strain that can provide consumers with a range of health benefits," said Ganeden Biotech CEO Andrew Lefkowitz.
