Vantage Nutrition, an ACG Group company, has acquired US-based manufacturer AquaCap, from Nestlé Health Science. AquaCap is a leading contract manufacturer of liquid-filled capsules within the US nutritional supplement industry. Its recent liquid delivery technology allows for the liquid filling of hard gelatin and vegetarian capsules.
ACG is “the world’s largest” integrated supplier of pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products and services. Furthermore, its subsidiary Vantage Nutrition has a reputation as an innovator of two-piece liquid-fill capsule solutions.
The company says its mission is to be the most efficient partner in delivering innovative and high-quality nutraceutical products to customers globally.
“This will be the first acquisition for the company in North America. This [the move] will help us reach customers in that region because we now have increased manufacturing capabilities,” Karan Singh, managing director at ACG, tells.
Marking a “key next step”
Vantage Nutrition is a global nutraceutical company headquartered in India. “We offer 360-degree solutions by providing our customers with strategic consulting services, robust market intelligence, innovative technologies, and state-of-the-art manufacturing and packaging solutions,” says Singh.
Although ACG has been established in North America for the last 20 years, the move marks the company’s first acquisition in the region and is a “key next step” in ACG’s global expansion strategy.
“With this increase in our footprint and manufacturing capability, coupled with Vantage’s innovative technologies and 360-degree service offering, we aim to provide the most advanced multiphase liquid-fill solutions for customers across the region,” he adds.
Shifting capsule tech thinking
Last month, at the Convention on Pharmaceutical Ingredients (CPHI) in Frankfurt, Germany, it is spoken with leading suppliers and producers in the nutritional and nutraceutical industries about clean-label ingredients for nutrition and nutraceutical products and introducing new or rethinking traditional formats for those products.
A major factor affecting renewed emphasis on clean ingredients is the ban on titanium dioxide (TiO2) that was implemented in August of this year. The ban was issued by the European Commission following a report given by the European Food Safety Authority, which found that TiO2 was not safe as a food additive or for use in food products.
Anil Andrade, the vice president of sales and business development at ACG’s capsule division, told us that the ban had inspired numerous improvements.
“There is a huge focus on finding ways to replace TiO2, and in the nutritional space, there is now even more focus on going toward clean-label and using natural colors to enhance the visibility of the brand,” said Andrade.
He explained that new demands in the nutraceutical space are changing the ways companies think about capsules and capsule technology.
“We are also looking at offering certain unique dosage forms, whether it’s liquid in capsules or a combination of pellets and liquids, to help create niche offerings to our branded customers for their consumers, helping them enter into a different space in personalized nutrition,” he continued.
“We see these types of innovations taking a lot more of our attention and our focus going forward.”
Meanwhile, Ilesh Desai, chief strategy officer of capsules at ACG, spoke to us about shifting consumer preferences and how these have led to greater transparency.
“In the global marketplace, nutraceutical and functional food has become a rapidly growing multi-billion dollar industry,” commented Desai. “There is a growing recognition of the potential role of nutraceuticals and supplements in reducing health risks and improving immunity and health.”
