aland invests in Chinese precision nutrition start-up amid rising consumer demand
aland introduced the Beijing-based start-up Omicsfit at the inaugural China International Import Expo (CIIE) held earlier this month.
Focusing on providing personalised nutrition to solve the health problems that consumers faced was the solution to stand out from competitors, Chang Liang, CEO of aland told the media during the expo.
As such, the firm will focus on advancing personalised nutrition services.
“We will take the opportunity to bring the Group’s overseas nutrition brands and personalised nutrition services into the Chinese market. In addition, aland will fully develop the Group’s advantage and bring high-quality, specialty nutrition products to Chinese consumers,” Chang said.
“Through continuous innovation and improving the consumer experience, (we will) drive the development of customised nutrition – a blue ocean market (in China).”
During the expo, flagship brands from aland, namely BioCare and alandV, signed partnership agreements with Omicsfit.
BioCare is an English dietary supplement brand, while alandV is a sports nutrition brand which consists of energy bars, protein bars, and why protein powder products.
The partnership will see Omicsfit support the product innovation of aland. BioCare and alandV, on the other hand, are some of the supplement brands that Omicsfit can offer to consumers who are seeking personalised nutrition advice.
According to an earlier report, aland also plans to bring US personalised fitness and nutrition firm FitnessGenes into China.
Four areas of services
Founded in June this year, Omicsfit provides personalised advice in the areas of 1) nutrition, 2) skincare, 3) sports performance, and 4) weight management.
In an interview with NutraIngredients-Asia, Dr Yang Jitao, founder of Omicsfit, said that the firm provides personalised nutrition by analysing consumers’ genetic profiles using technology from US firm Illumina.
As with most of the firms providing personalised nutrition services, Omicsfit collects DNA from the consumers’ saliva.
Analysis of the DNA takes about one week, and the analysis provides insights on the four areas mentioned, such as the types of nutrients that a consumer is lacking in, the risk of developing sports injury etc.
The firm will then craft a nutrition plan based on the analysis.
The trend of consuming personalised nutrition is taking shape in provincial capitals such as Tianjin, Shenzhen, and Shenyang, besides the 1st tier cities, Yang noticed.
China is not lagging behind
As personalised nutrition is a relatively novel concept globally, Yang believes that China is not necessarily lagging behind its international counterparts when it comes to the understanding of personalised nutrition and techniques used.
“Personalised nutrition is still a very new sector. Thus, the technologies that China uses are not necessarily lagging behind others,” he said.
“With more attention on precision nutrition and the level of scientific and technological advancement that China has attained, there is substantial space and opportunities for the sector to grow in China.”
