NR has come under the spotlight in the recent years for its ability to increase the body’s nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) level – a compound vital to mitochondria functions but declines with age.
The company launched the its NR product sold via the trademark LifeMax NR during the first week of March, and sales have been brisk, exceeding targets by over 400%, CEO Stuart Vaughan told NutraIngredients-Asia.
The concept of incorporating NR was conceived about 18 months ago and R&D took about one year.
While NR is the “star” ingredient of the product, the company believes in the concept of “multi-ingredients, multi-benefits” and have added other bioactive ingredients to make it an “all-encompassing healthy ageing product.”
“It is not about the NR ingredient itself; it is about what we are looking to do is to support NAD levels in the body.
“The thing is, NR is just a single ingredient, if you take it on its own, you are not going to get the full benefit of that ingredient for converting into NAD+,” he explained.
As such, resveratrol extracted from Japanese knotweed is added for fuelling the cell and also to increase the cellular energy production.
Betaine is also added to support the conversion of NR to NAD+; quercetin for supporting the gut’s absorption of resveratrol; and turmeric to manage inflammation.
The company focuses on healthy ageing dietary supplement solutions, targeting consumers who are in their 50s and above.
Its flagship products include Lester oil – a high quality fish oil and vitamin D mix and RES-V Ultimate – a resveratrol antioxidant complex.
Staying on top
While Vaughan acknowledged that the market awareness about NR supplements in New Zealand was still in the early phase, he believed that the new NR product could complement the company’s existing products.
“We do have to stay on top of research on new ingredients and that's where NR comes in. We see it as a more advanced version of our Res-V ultimate,” he said.
Besides being sold as a standalone product, LifeMax NR is also added into the company’s healthy ageing packs, alongside Lester Oil’s Gold and Element 12 Magnesium.
“We have a very loyal customer base, we have like 70,000 customers on our database and they are looking for products will give them independence and these ingredients, I believe, plays into maintaining independence for our customers.
“What we have found is that we have the trust of our customers and its really great to have the respect of the customers.”
NR and NMN
The company has plans for launching a nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) product for boosting NAD+ levels.
Asked the reasons for choosing NR over NMN for the company’s first NAD+ boosting product, Vaughan singled out two reasons: the amount of existing research and the cost.
“There is more research around NR. NMN is up-and-coming and we will produce one probably next year with NMN…Also, there is a huge price difference between the two raw materials.
“I will like to launch another product with NMN maybe next year, but you got to get the right pricing, and the right ingredients, and the right combination of ingredients, so we got to do some research around there,” he said.
While the company ships its products worldwide, it also has partners in the US and Australia and it is looking for partners to sell its products into Asia as well.
