The product was originally launched as a capsule in South Korea in last April. It contains the firm’s proprietary strain Lactobacillus acidophilus YT1 developed with the Korea Food Research Institute.
The strain works by promoting the expression of estrogen receptor beta, in turn alleviating menopausal symptoms arising from low estrogen level.
The product claims to 1) benefit the health of women undergoing menopause 2) support the proliferation of lactobacilli and regulate the number of harmful bacteria 3) support smooth bowel movement and 4) support gut health.
A 12-week RCT evaluating the effectiveness and safety of the probiotic had been conducted, showing that the Kupperman Index (KMI) – which measures the severity of 11 menopausal symptoms – saw a significant drop of 66 per cent in the group which took the probiotic.
The powder stick version, available in sweet apple flavour, can be consumed directly without water.
Each stick contains a CFU count of 100 million and also consists of ingredients such as chicory root extract, vitamin C, vitamin D3, pomegranate extract, red ginseng concentrate, and safflower seed extract. The recommended intake is one stick per day.
It was launched on GS My Shop – a TV shopping platform last month. Each box contains 15 powder sticks.
The launch of the powder stick follows the recent success of its capsule version.
Based on the company’s latest announcement, its overall Q1 financial performance was led by its health functional foods business.
In fact, Elruby Menolacto in capsule form was the company’s key sales driver with an annual sale of KRW$7.4bn (US$6.5m).
This is over 40 per cent of the company’s functional food sales of KRW$17.4bn (US$15.4m).
Its sales performance showed that it has the “potential for growth as a mega brand”, the company said.
As a whole, the company, Huons Global, recorded sales of KRW$133.2bn (US$118m), with an operating profit of KRW$20.5bn (US$18m) in Q1 this year, which were 13 per cent and nine per cent respectively higher as compared to the same period last year.
Aside from Huons – which consists of the health functional food portfolio – Huons Global also includes other businesses such as Humedix – which manufactures hyaluronic filler elravie for cosmetic surgery and Huons Medicare – which is into the sanitising and disinfectant medical supply business.
Moving forward, there are plans to enter the health functional foods D2C business through Huons online mall, and this is part of the strategy to strengthen its competitiveness in the business.