Following a slot on Dr Oz in which Dr Joseph Mercola described the potent red antioxidant as the “number one supplement you’ve never heard of that you should be taking”, astaxanthin sales “skyrocketed”.
The demand has remained high, with the current global market size of natural astaxanthin for the human market is estimated to be about $200 million. This is predicted to hit $700 million by 2017.
Product from the new Moses Lake facility is expected to hit the global market in the summer of 2014, said AstaReal, and will utilize environment friendly and ultra-pure bioreactor cultivation technology for the fresh water microalga Haematococcus pluvialis.
“We see the 21st century as the era of anti-aging,” said Mitsunori Nishida, president and CEO of Fuji Chemical Industry. “We believe that preventive medicine will play an even greater role in future healthcare as advances in anti-aging and lifestyle disease research drive improvements both in the treatment and prevention of disease and illness
“Astaxanthin is an effective anti-inflammatory agent for both human and animal application. We want to help people achieve healthier and happier lives by delivering astaxanthin to the market place across the world.”
The investment in a US plant follows the recently finalized expansion of AstaReal´s plant in Sweden. The continued expansion represents Fuji’s and AstaReal’s confidence in the future growth of the market, said the company, while clinical trial and scientific research has driven both sales and expanded the application of astaxanthin for human health.