NutraIngredients-USA Global Round-up: UK clampdown on rogue players, ChromaDex’s Asian expansion & more
This week we look at the UK Government’s clampdown on rogue health supplement firms, personalized nutrition for triathletes, ChromaDex’s expansion in Asia, and the huge potential of China’s probiotic market.
First up is news from the UK of a victory in the High Court against Vivid Lifestyle Ltd (Vivid), which was ordered into liquidation after taking advantage of elderly and vulnerable customers.
The West London-based company was found guilty of using highly pressurized and persistent sales practices and techniques, including medically unqualified telesales callers making false claims.
District Judge Matharu said that Vivid’s manner of procuring business and payment was “quite disgusting”, adding, “there is layer upon layer of taking advantage of those most least able or prepared to deal with the nature of the communications”.
Next up is news of a Belgian start-up that is aiming to provide athletes with the best possible products and services to unlock their potential.
“Most brands develop a product and then look for a celebrity to promote it; we looked at who we considered an absolute authority in his field, and asked how we should develop our products. This is how [double Ironman world champion] Luc Van Lierde, who was at the base of our product line, showed us ‘how I did it’,” said Hiddit’s Tony Van Campen. (How I did it is shortened to ‘Hiddit’.)
With Van Lierde’s help, Hiddit have made great strides in the competitive sports nutrition industry, where its range of products are designed to address the specific demands of triathlon training and competition.
As Van Campen explains, the high training volumes and competitions typically last 10-17 hours magnifying certain problems and basic principles of sports nutrition.
“If you take in too many carbs, or the wrong carbs in the wrong ratio, your intestines will not be able to digest this. That may not be a huge problem, if you are lifting weights for 45 minutes at the gym; an upset stomach is not that big a deal.
“However, if you get this when you still need to run a marathon after six hours of high-intensity effort, it is a major factor in success or failure. The extreme nature of triathlon demands extreme attention to nutrition.”
Moving to Asia now, and news that ChromaDex is continuing its APAC expansion after announcing it will launch Tru Niagen in New Zealand next month via its exclusive distributor, local supplement brand Matakana Superfoods.
Tru Niagen, whose sole active ingredient is ChromaDex's patented nicotinamide riboside — named NIAGEN NR — in capsule form, is said to possess muscle, liver, cognitive, metabolic and even skincare benefits.
Will Black, VP of sales and marketing at ChromaDex, told NutraIngredients-Asia that Tru Niagen will be initially sold online at its NZ website, before being made available through various food and drug channels in the country.
Our final news of the week concerns new data from Lumina Intelligence that revealed that, when it comes to consumer engagement and approval, probiotic products with weight management benefits top the list in China.
The data shows that products making weight claims have five times the number of reviews as other probiotic products.
According to Lumina, not only are probiotics for weight management frequently reviewed, they are also highly rated, indicating that customers are not only engaged but are happy with the effects.
“The high number of reviews is largely led by the brand Dayeonsu, a brand dedicated to weight loss products. With over 10% of the country being obese, China now has the highest number of obese individuals in the world.
"Weight management in China now not only being a concern of the individual, but has also grown to being a concern of the government, which has released a weight, diet and exercise plan dubbed ‘Healthy China 2030’ as it aims to reduce the country’s waistline,” notes Lumina.
Lumina Intelligence was launched recently by NutraIngredients’ parent company William Reed Business Media, offers granular data on products and ingredients. The platform is initially focused on probiotics and will soon expand to sports nutrition and sustainability.
