Japanese bucking ‘pill fatigue’ trend for Foods with Function Claims (FFC) products - Lonza
Consumers in Japan are showing a preference for health foods that come in tablets and capsules formats, bucking the regional ‘pill fatigue’ trend, in part due to the ongoing rise in popularity of probiotics, according to observations from Lonza.
In Japan, Foods with Function Claims (FFC) can come in various forms, such as tablets, capsules, RTDs, fermented milk, powder beverage, confectionery, and even cooking oil and seasonings.
Unlike the stricter Foods for Specified Health Uses (FOSHU) scheme, companies can sell products with health claims without producing scientific evidence from human clinical studies under the FFC scheme.
China and Vietnam focus: Japan’s kanpo specialist forays into sika deer glue ingredient export
Japan’s kanpo medicine company Health Business Info is expanding its sika deer glue business, with plans to export ingredients into China and Vietnam.
The company is already selling kanpo medicines – the name for traditional Chinese medicine in Japan – in China and Vietnam, including a sleep aid formula made from sika deer glue and a men’s health formula made from cordyceps in the two countries respectively.
In the domestic Japan market, the company has been manufacturing and selling its own branded kanpo medicines, while also providing OEM services for its sika deer glue portfolio at the same time.
‘Cross category solutions’: NZ’s Me Today CEO outlines expansion plans in Japan, Australia and Ireland with supplement and skin care lines
New Zealand-based wellness brand Me Today has signed distribution agreements in Japan, Australia and Ireland as part of its expansion push.
Known for its supplements and natural skin care products bridging inner and outer health and beauty, Me Today’s products target needs ranging from general health and wellbeing, sleep, stress, skin, eye, immune to hydration, brightening and nourishing.
The firm recently signed a distributorship with MASH Beauty Lab in Japan, which will see it develop 10 supplements and skin care products for the market.
Therabiopharma’s bioavailability boost for curcumin leads to plans for immunity, cognition and osteoarthritis studies
Japan-based Therabiopharma says new findings show its curcumin formulation curcuRouge has displayed impressive bioavailability and is now trialling its efficacy in immunity, cognition and osteoarthritis studies.
Therabiopharma is a biotechnology company developing functional ingredients and delivery systems for the nutraceutical and medical industries.
curcuRouge is a novel curcumin preparation with amorphous formulation and showed more than three-folds higher bioavailability than that of a comparison product.
Supplementation with bilberry, astaxanthin and lutein relieves eye fatigue among Japanese adults – RCT
Supplementation of bilberry, astaxanthin and lutein daily for six weeks was found to improve eye focus in Japanese adults experiencing eye fatigue.
This is according to a randomised control trial conducted by researchers in Japan, which was partially funded by BGG Japan.
BGG Japan supplies natural ingredients ranging from bilberry extracts (branded: MyrtiPro), astaxanthin (branded Astazine) to saw palmetto.
