India’s hefty nutraceutical market (dietary supplements and functional products) was worth US$1.48bn in 2011 and is set to soar to US$2.73bn by 2016 at an annual rate of 13%, according to a Frost & Sullivan report.
Frost & Sullivan said that while the functional food sector is set to surge the fastest, it is the larger segment of dietary supplements (64%) that offers manufacturers the most potential, particularly in the herbal space.
Alexis Olson, managing director of Nexira India, said that Nexira, under its health division, will edge into India’s lucrative nutraceutical with its sales office.
“We will bring our full health ingredients portfolio to India,” Olson said.
The firm’s portfolio covers weight management, cardiovascular health, joint health, anti-stress, antioxidants and sports nutrition.
Its range includes a brown seaweed extract used for weight management, an olive extract linked to cardiovascular health benefits, a fruit polyphenol ingredient used for sports nutrition and a cactus fruit extract that has anti-water retention and antioxidant properties.
“Weight management would be the first target in India and also sports nutrition,”Olson said.
“The idea is to present new ingredients backed with clinical trials that are not already available on the Indian market,” he said.
While India’s nutraceutical market is a competitive space, Nexira has a strong scientific background with clinical trials to back products, its portfolio is diverse and focus is on continued innovation, he added.
Flavours and emulsions
The new Mumbai sales subsidiary will also be dedicated to driving existing business in its flavour encapsulation and emulsions, under its food division, Olson detailed.
“India’s flavour industry and non-alcoholic beverage sector is growing fast,” he said, and while our flavour encapsulation and emulsions are already known in India, “we are looking to develop on new sectors and segments like bakery and dairy for example.”
The sales team in the office will provide feedback to research and development (R&D) teams based in France at Nexira’s headquarters, Olson said, to enable them to develop new, innovative ingredients especially catered to the market demands.
“It’s about knowing what the customers are looking for and bringing innovation to them,” he said.
The sales office will be focused on India’s domestic and export market and Southeast Asia initially but coverage may extend to the Middle East eventually, he revealed.
The new sales subsidiary will open on September 5 at the same time as FI India and will be dedicated to promoting Nexira’s health ingredients portfolio as well as its flavour encapsulation and emulsions.
