Giants collaborate: DuPont reveals how BY-HEALTH link-up will fuel probiotics innovation - interview
Other areas of cooperation include R&D on probiotic supplements using new ingredients and new technologies.
An example is conducting joint research on intestinal micro-ecology, and developing and registering probiotic health foods in China, according to a press statement from BY-HEALTH.
The two firms announced the intention to collaborate last week and in response to queries from NutraIngredients-Asia, Dr Susan Jin, AP of Industry Director, Health and Biosciences at DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences, said that the collaboration sought to provide “precious nutrition solutions to Chinese consumers.”
Jin said: “By-HEALTH is the biggest traditional dietary supplement company with strong investment in research and development and positions itself as a precise nutrition provider. Combined with DuPont’s widest range of probiotics strains and state of the art microbiome platform which combines genomics with gut microbiota, we will provide precious nutrition solutions to the Chinese consumers.”
Citing a McKinsey market report, she said that Chinese consumers were more health conscious than ever, with 65% seeking ways to lead a healthier lifestyle.
She added that probiotics has rapidly become a “trending” ingredient in many food sectors in China against the backdrop of a health-conscious Chinese population.
However, product differentiation is a challenge in China, because of the presence of strong local competition, in addition to big global players.
Nonetheless, she believes that the collaboration with BY-HEALTH will accelerate the speed of product launch through the focus on customised and differentiated formulations.
The firm currently offers its nutritional health products through its Danisco® and HOWARU® portfolios. Some of the main functions of the products under the Danisco®portfolio include digestive health, immune health, women’s health and oral health.
As for HOWARU®, its combination of probiotics and prebiotics provides weight management benefit, early life, and prenatal nutrition etc.
Aligning the upstream works
For BY-HEALTH, the collaboration with DuPont will help to align the upstream work processes for its probiotic subsidiary firm LifeSpace Group.
According to BY-HEALTH, DuPont is already a key ingredient supplier to LifeSpace Group.
The cooperation will see to fruition the new R&D projects across borders, which BY-HEALTH believes will be “beneficial to the aligning of LifeSpace’s upstream work processes.”
The firm added that the collaboration would increase LifeSpace’s innovation capability in the area of new probiotics product development.
BY-HEALTH, which currently has its main portfolio on protein powder, acquired Australian probiotic firm LifeSpace Group last August for US$483m (AUD$670m).
