Gummy hop: Kirin’s JV with Dentsu releases first hop extract products to ‘aid thinking’
Kirin’s joint venture with Japanese advertising giant Dentsu has launched its first consumer products - a gummy and tablet for cognition containing Kirin’s proprietary matured hop extract.
The joint venture, INHOP Co, was established last year to manufacture and market lifestyle products containing the extract. As an advertising agency, Dentsu is involved in the branding of such products.
According to Yuji Kaneko, president of INHOP, the gummy (HOPinGUMMI) and tablet (JUKEN-RYOKU) claim to support consumer’s thinking time and were targeted at students and working adults.
Japan’s functional food insights part 1: Products with multiple health claims on the rise – exclusive data
Products with multiple health claims are on the rise in Japan’s Food with Function Claims (FFC) market with numbers expected to surpass 300 this year, according to exclusive data revealed in the first of our spotlights on the market.
Out of the 221 FFCs launched in April to June this year, more than one-quarter (61) are FFCs with multiple claims.
From last March till March this year, there were nearly 200 such products launched. In 2018, it was slightly more than 150 and less than 100 in 2017.
Here are part 2 and 3 of the series.
Knowledge gap: Consumer awareness of Japan’s health and functional food categories remains low – new data
Recently published survey findings from Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) have revealed that a high percentage of consumers were not actively taking health or functional foods, with a local expert attributing this to a lack of knowledge, unmet health needs and a preference for a balanced diet.
CAA conducted an online survey on 10,000 respondents in March 2020, studying consumers attitudes towards health foods categorised under the food with nutrient claim (FNFC), food for specified health use (TOKUHO/FOSHU) or food with function claim (FFC).
The survey revealed that while most consumers (more than 60%) have heard of these health claims, they were not entirely knowledgeable on it.
Compound benefits: Japanese white turmeric delivers pain relief in elderly Japanese – first human trial
A preliminary study has confirmed that an intake of plant-based compounds called labdane, derived from Japanese white turmeric, could relieve knee discomfort in healthy, older persons.
Researchers in Japan gave subjects a test food containing a labdane-type diterpene compound (LTDT) for eight weeks to assess this effect. LTDT was obtained from the extract of the Japanese white turmeric.
The Japanese white turmeric leaf is a rich source of labdane, containing 85% to 90% labdane 8 (17), 12-diene-15, 16-dial. In normal turmeric, curcumin is the main component.
In the bag: Japan’s Eminet targets sachet convenience in Thailand’s liquid collagen market
Japanese brand Eminet is entering Thailand’s collagen market with a liquid beauty-from-within fish collagen launch, which is touted to be the first such sachet product in the country.
Thailand is a huge market for collagen products for its skin benefits, with annual sales in the market estimated at 2 billion baht (US$64m).
However, most collagen products in Thailand are available in powder formats.
