Australia is emerging as a major growth market for krill oil, according to AkerBioMarine, the Norwegian biotech firm behind the Superba brand of krill oil products.
“The global market for krill oil is developing fast,” said the company’s chief scientist Nils Hoem. “The US market is the biggest in the world, but this year, we’ve seen major growth from Australia.”
He said an established market for omega 3 had paved the way for krill in Australia. “A strong omega 3 market means consumers are already well up on the advantages of fish oil, which makes it easier to explain krill.”
To keep pace with rising market demand, AkerBioMarine is now operating a second vessel in Antarctic waters, where the tiny phospholipid and astaxanthin rich creatures are harvested and produced.
The company has also established a scientific advisory board to prioritise, screen and advise on clinical research activity.
“Their advice has been clear – we need to focus on larger studies,” said Hoem. “One reason for this is to ensure that we design our studies to comply with what we understand EFSA’s guidelines to be.”
He said the company currently had two major human clinical trials underway, and was currently awaiting the results for one of these – a heart health trial.
“We are also looking into brain and joint health and are running a pre-clinical research programme aimed at pinpointing the uptake and distribution mechanism for phospholipids versus triglycerides.
