NIU’s Global Round-up: EU Patent covers probiotic + oil in a softgel, biohacking supplements in Europe, and more

06-May-2019 - Last updated on 06-May-2019 at 14:18 GMT

It’s a global industry and there’s a lot happening. We know it’s not always easy keeping up with everything that’s happening around the world that could impact the US dietary supplements industry. The answer? Our weekly round-up of key news from across the globe.

Europe

Ayanda granted patent for long-life softgel capsule for probiotics and oil

A new European patent covers an advance for softgel capsules, with the development creating opportunities for active probiotic bacteria to be formulated alongside oil.

The patent was filed by Ayanda, the European HQ of the Sirio Group, which claims to have spent 10 years perfecting its gentle method, whereby the survival rate of probiotics is "vastly increased".

Because of the high temperature and humidity levels used in traditional softgel manufacture, probiotic softgel formulations were unviable.

According to the patent, uncoated probiotic bacteria can be used alongside at least one oil – e.g. fish oil with DHA and EPA, and vitamins.

“The industry has spent a long time trying to develop a product like this, and using this new production method we are able to balance the survival of probiotics and the formation of an intact softgel capsule – so it is a big achievement,” said Dr. Dominique Baum, managing director at Ayanda, ahead of the innovation unveiling at Vitafoods Europe

“It will enable Ayanda to offer unique softgel probiotics coupled with an additional oil – crucially reducing the number of dosages consumers need to get their supplement needs. With this new technology, we expect to see a large interest from nutraceutical brand owners, as it opens up many possibilities for truly novel products.”

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Europe

German Army officers get Ahead with biohacking supplements

While ‘biohacking’ is still niche in Germany, two officers from the German Armed Forces are launching a new supplement range to help customers reach their full physical and mental potential.

Co-founder of Ahead Nutrition, Philip Brohlburg told our European edition that the rigorous Army training sparked an interest in methods of 'self-optimization'.

“How to improve our performance, sleep better and avoid the afternoon slump were daily questions we were trying to solve,” he said.

The other co-founder Johannes Schröder became passionate about biohacking while studying at the University of California, where he saw how popular the concept was in the US.

“I could see this was a booming industry in the US and knew it was becoming more popular in the UK, which suggested it would soon become a big opportunity in Germany and elsewhere in Europe,” said Schröder.

“With Ahead, our vision is to share our knowledge and help people achieve their best performance every day," explained Brohlburg. “We believe that there is much more potential in us, physically and mentally, than most people would think.”

Asia

Tom Oliver Nutrition’s new easy-to-swallow premium vitamins

British supplement brand Tom Oliver Nutrition is hoping to fill a knowledge and nutrition gap around dosage and format in the APAC market with a new range of vitamins.

Launched recently at Holland & Barrett stores in Singapore, the vegan-friendly line of capsules, tablets and soft-gels include vitamin D and K2, vitamin B complex, vitamin C, probiotics, magnesium and curcumin, as well as a repackaged version of the brand's signature omega-3 herring caviar.

“What we've learnt from our research is that customers still don't want to take their vitamins because many companies are still making them too large and inconvenient to consume,” founder Tom Oliver told NutraIngredients-Asia.

“We've also learnt from our omega-3 herring caviar product that customers like it because it's smaller and easy to swallow, and they only have to take one a day, so we produced a range of products that are exactly that, making them accessible to all populations, including younger children and older adults.

“We're not trying to compete with the mass market — we are a premium brand, so we have to provide consumers with high-quality vitamins they can rely on.”

Looking beyond Singapore, Oliver added that the company is in the process of registering its products in China, and hopes they will be available within the next three months on Tmall. The company is also eying opportunities in Hong Kong and Malaysia.