Brand new: Swisse, Bayer, Heliocare in the spotlight

Body composition and ageing: How SRW Laboratories’ award-winning sports nutrition product targets market gaps – WATCH​​

SRW Laboratories, which took home the Product of the Year (Sports Nutrition) in this year’s NutraIngredients-Asia awards, said the award-winning product was designed to support body composition and muscle building as one aged – an area which the firm said was not adequately addressed in today’s sports nutrition market.

The award-winning product, Msc¹ ​Tone, uses hydroxy-methyl-butyrate (HMB), Beta-hydroxy-butyrate (BHB), and ornithine-alpha-keto-glutarate (OKG) as the three key ingredients.

Greg Macpherson, founder of the company, told NutraIngredients-Asia ​that the ingredients could work together to support the body composition and muscles even as one aged.

‘Quality science’: Swisse to launch its first ‘assessed listed’ complementary medicine in Australia next year​  

Swisse is launching its first “assessed listed” complementary medicine – a krill oil product for individuals suffering from mild to moderate osteoarthritis – next year in the Australian market.

Swisse secured the “assessed listed” status for the product Swisse Ultiboost High Strength Krill Oil on August 10​.

With this, the product will be able to make two specific health claims, namely “relieves knee pain in individuals with mild to moderate osteoarthritis” ​and “increases knee physical function in mild to moderate osteoarthritis”.​

Infant nutrition innovation: Focus on giving the best benefits, not just innovating with new ingredients – Bayer Consumer Health R&D chief​

It is more important to focus on providing the best benefits, and not fall into the trap of innovating with new ingredients for the novelty factor, when developing new nutrition products for infants, says the global R&D head for VMS / Nutrition Health of Bayer's Consumer Health Division.

Speaking to NutraIngredients-Asia, ​Julia McCalmont, global R&D head for VMS / Nutrition Health, Bayer’s Consumer Health Division, believes that it is more important to innovate to deliver the best benefits, even if common ingredients are used.

The company launched its first infant nutrition products in China​ under its flagship brand Elevit, including a vitamin D soft capsule and a calcium, zinc, and vitamin D soft capsule. This year, the company added three more SKUs to the range, including a DHA product to support brain development, probiotics for supporting gut comfort, and liquid calcium for bone health.

Asian skin health innovation: Heliocare’s new supplement to combat hyperpigmentation via multiple pathways​  

Heliocare has launched a new supplement that claims to target multiple pathways of melanogenesis, which the brand believes is crucial in addressing skin hyperpigmentation effectively.

Known as Heliocare Luminance, the new product was specially developed by Cantabria Labs for its distributing partner NeoAsia. It is exclusively distributed in Singapore currently, with plans to enter Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, and China.

Formulated with Fernblock, a patented extract of Polypodium Leucotomos​ that is featured in all Heliocare’s oral supplements, the new launch also contains L-glutathione, nicotinamide or vitamin B3, and rosemary extract. The latest release is designed to combat hyperpigmentation through multiple pathways, Glynise Peh, chief operating officer at NeoAsia, told NutraIngredients-Asia.​

Promotion and formulation: Blackmores eyes China and Indonesia boost, plus NPD with Kirin’s flagship ingredients​  

Blackmores is set to ramp up advertising to boost brand awareness in China and Indonesia, while also formulating new products with Kirin’s ingredients post the Japanese giant’s acquisition of the firm.

This comes as Blackmores revealed net profit increased by 37 per cent in FY23, but headwinds in the international markets and soaring raw material costs have pulled down its gross margin. 

Blackmores’ CEO Alastair Symington announced the results during parent company Kirin’s Health Science Day held in end September. Kirin completed the acquisition of Blackmores​ in August for AUD$1.88bn (US$1.24bn).