AlphaWave L-Theanine stress-relief support in Asia Pacific

As pharmaceutical stress-relief drugs often come with drowsiness, loss of mental focus or other side-effects, an increasing number of people are looking for natural products that provide experiential stress relief without any of these side-effects.

We live in stressful times, which could be one reason why Ethical Natural’s (ENI) AlphaWave® L- Theanine has seen strong, year over year growth in demand in the US supplement, alternative coffee and beverage markets – and is now building demand in Australia and Asia-Pacific countries.

Published reports document that high stress levels in countries from Singapore to Vietnam range for 40-80% of the population.¹ AlphaWave provides a true, experiential access to greatly relaxed states of mind while also enhancing mental acuity.²⁻³

Clinical studies and stress-relief

Clinical studies with ENI’s AlphaWave clearly demonstrate its abilities to increase frontal alpha brainwave activity associated with feelings of calm and bring significant stress-relief without any drowsiness, reduction in mental focus.

For example, a key study, ‘A randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study to investigate the efficacy of a single 200mg dose of AlphaWave L-Theanine on stress in a healthy adult population’, published in Neurology and Health concludes:

‘In conclusion, a 200mg dose of AlphaWave L-Theanine improved physiological indicators of stress in response to the MAT test compared to the placebo, including frontal region alpha power and salivary cortisol. A 200mg dose of AlphaWave L-Theanine was found to be safe and well tolerated and should be considered as a nutraceutical supplement to manage acute stress.’²

Another published clinical study on AlphaWave, ‘Safety and Efficacy of AlphaWave L‑Theanine Supplementation for 28 Days in Healthy Adults with Moderate Stress: A Randomized, Double‑Blind, Placebo‑Controlled Trial’, was designed to confirm its safety over a longer time period.

This study concluded: ‘AlphaWave L-Theanine was safe, significantly decreased perceived stress, improved sleep quality, and enhanced cognitive attention in the studied population. This new study thus confirms the key S/F claims that AlphaWave helps relax without drowsiness, promotes mental clarity and focus, and reduces nervous tension’.³

With the ubiquity of stress in daily life, confirmation of long-term safety is an important addition to the body of science on AlphaWave.

Australian TGA approval of AlphaWave in Asia-Pacific markets

Cal Bewicke, CEO of ENI states: “The clinical trials and the experiential calming effects of AlphaWave L-Theanine are what built the rapidly growing market for AlphaWave in the US. Now we’re seeing sales levels expand in the Australian and Asia-Pacific areas.

“One accomplishment that moved this forward was approval of the ingredient in 2024 from the Australian Therapeutic Goods Authority (TGA). This has allowed key Australian companies with deep penetration into the Asia-Pacific diaspora to actively get involved with AlphaWave products for their brands,” adds Bewicke.

Achieving this status from TGA on an entirely new ingredient such as AlphaWave requires verification of detailed information on manufacturing processes, quality controls, consistent purity and absence of any potential solvents or contaminants, in addition to safety and efficacy of the ingredient. AlphaWave is the only form of L-Theanine that has achieved these standards with TGA and as a result is now the only source of L-Theanine approved for supplement use in Australia. This approved status is another safety confirmation that adds to AlphaWave’s GRAS status in the US and approved NPN from Health Canada.

The Australian distributor TransChem, who worked with ENI on the highly technical TGA application process is now the exclusive distributor for AlphaWave in Australia. Daniel Kenny, CEO of TransChem reports: “To date the market adoption has been exceptional, with 18 products containing AlphaWave launched, 10 of which have AlphaWave in combination with other actives such as magnesium. A further 15 launches by major retail and practitioner brands are planned for the remainder of 2025. A number of these companies are now actively launching their brands into other Asia-Pacific markets.”

The market potential of AlphaWave in the Australian, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific markets is substantial. It’s estimated that the Australian and New Zealand markets will ‘mirror’ the global and Asia-Pacific growth forecast for dietary supplements. Global Newswire projects a CAGR of 9.44% from 2025 to 2034.⁴

Demand for ENI’s core ingredients grows in Asia

In addition to the Australian customers’ brands, ENI has built strong markets around Asia for its core proprietary ingredients: AlphaWave L-Theanine; GreenGrown vegan glucosamine; Cranberex cranberry extract and Polyphenol-C. Companies in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, Korea and Hong Kong now buy these ingredients to include in a diverse range of brands.

The reasons for this growth, as in the US, are based on support by published clinical studies, and well-documented health benefits, or patent protections. Additionally, ENI has established a strong reputation for reliable supply and quality guarantees through the NSF GMP certification of its manufacturing, distribution and testing laboratory facilities.

As consumers continue to seek supplementation for stress-relief, AlphaWave presents as an ideal way to manage stress, without adverse side-effects like drowsiness.