(Food-Beverage-News.Com, October 26, 2016 ) With improved standard of living and changing lifestyle in Asia-Pacific, market has experienced a sea change in consumer’s food habits and buying pattern. Irregular eating, junk food and hectic lifestyle has resulted in their ill health. Thus, giving rise to a number of diseases, mostly related to nutritional deficiencies. Nutraceuticals can play a vital role in curbing the above mentioned health issues. They provide medicinal and health benefits for the treatment of diseases. The potential of this market is increasing particularly in Asia-Pacific due to the challenging lifestyle of the people who are looking for a modern and quick approach to fight for diseases or to prevent them.
Nutraceuticals promotes longevity and various health benefits. They are easily available and economically affordable. It claims to have a psychological benefits too in diseases like Chronic Inflammatorydisorder, degenerative diseasesand antidiabetics. Few nutraceutical products like green tea, omega 3 fatty acids prevents obesity, helps in weight loss, improved glowing skin and cancers too.For example milk is a nutraceutical which is good for the heart and muscles.
Nutraceuticals can be segmented into three major groups - Dietary Supplements, Functional Foods and Functional Beverages. Dietary supplements is sub segmented into vitamin & mineral supplement, herbal supplements like ayurvedic extracts, plant extracts andprotein supplements like protein powder & lifestyle products. Functional Food is sub segmented into may have omega fatty acid foods, probiotic foods and functional beverage market has energy drinks, sports drinks and fortified juices. Few commonly used nutraceuticals in India are Arjuna Sheerapka(for cardio protection), Shatavari Grihta(for women’s health during various physiological states) and Brahma Rasayana (for protection from mental stress).
The market is growing substantially at a healthy CAGR 2015-2020 primarily due to rising demand of the dietary supplements and increasing shift towards preventive therapies. Many companies are entering in this market to meet the consumer demand of the nutraceuticals. In India, it is still at a very nascent stage, however, other Asia Pacific countries such as China, Japan, Brazil and Australia are key growth regions where the demand for nutraceuticals is huge. Also they are the key target markets for manufacturers. Globally, U.S. and Europe are the largest markets. Germany is the largest market in the European region. The biggest driver could be that these countries are the best destination for innovations in the nutraceutical ingredient industry. Strict legislation against the use of chemical ingredients in food products and more usage of ingredients derived from natural products is another reason why these markets are flourishing in this sector.Rising disposable income coupled with growing awareness about health & wellness are also major drivers for augmented nutraceuticals demand in Asia-Pacific countries.
Fortification, alteration, enhancement are few of the technologies which are used for nutraceuticals. To improve the bioavailability of nuetraceuticals, patenting of new delivery systems is a new trend like in nanotechnology which is a rapidly evolving interdisciplinary field based on the manipulation of matter on a submicron scale. Recently it has been found that Cactus plant’s spectrum, which is anti-cancer, anti-viral, anti-diabetic has a rich source of fibre and edible pulp. In cactus pear, taurine is a major contributor, which is fast becoming an active constituent of nutraceuticals. WHO(World Health Organisation)has launchedthe first Global Strategy to address issues related to traditional medicine. The European Commission has confirmed that health claims would be on their next agenda for disease risk reduction.
Major players in this industry are Cadilla Healthcare, Pfizer, Nature’s Answer, USA, Celestial Biolabs LtdMagnum, Numico, APS, Omvita.
