The company has launched a range of health supplements under the brand SainHealth. The products were officially launched in Watsons in Singapore last September. They are also sold on OG department stores and various e-commerce platforms, including Shopee, Lazada, Amazon, and the company's health supplements e-commerce platform Vitamin.sg.
Sainhall Nutrihealth's CEO and founder TC Yeap told NutraIngredients-Asia, that the expansion into finished products was driven by multiple factors, one being the company's expertise in functional ingredients distribution. This allows the company to identify high quality ingredients that could be incorporated into finished products.
The company has been distributing functional ingredients, with a special interest in astaxanthin and spirulina sourced from Hawaii since 1996. It works with US supplier firm Cyanotech in distributing the two ingredients exclusively in the ASEAN region.
“We have been an ingredient distributor for about 30 years, and so we know where the good functional ingredients suppliers are. Also, by having our own brand, it gives us more control over the quality as well as the types of ingredients that we are using in our products,” said Yeap.
One of the firm’s innovations could be seen in its kids’ multivitamins marketed as SainHealth Fruit-Vites.
This is a vitamin infused chewable that claims to improve appetite, increase cognitive development, and boost immunity in children.
Yeap said that the inspiration behind the product came from wanting to provide healthier snacks options for children. The product was also designed as an alternative to gummy supplements, which he said which could be high in sugar content.
“For many years, our company has been selling dehydrated fruit snacks, but because we are in the health supplement industry, we thought we could infuse vitamins into the fruit snacks, which we could offer as a tasty and healthy product at the same time,” he said.
The main components of the vitamin infused chewables are fruit puree and fruit fibre.
Sales and marketing manager Ong Yijun said that the chewables could serve as the basis for the firm’s future health supplements designed for children. The firm is also exploring the option of developing probiotics and multivitamins into chewable supplements for adults.
Spirulina and astaxanthin focus
There are so far 15 SKUs under the SainHealth brand. They range from immune health, beauty and skin, energy, gut health, to heart health etc.
Examples include 1) Astaxanthin+ 12mg Pure Hawaiian, which claims to be a super antioxidant product for cardiovascular health, healthy joints and tendons, and for sun and UV protection, and 2) Spirulina Supreme 500mg, which claims to increase metabolism and boost immunity.
Ong said that the existing range would be further optimised, with spirulina and astaxanthin the two core ingredients of SainHealth's products.
“Our main category will be the spirulina range, which consists of our multivitamin and energy supplements. This is because spirulina is a good source of multivitamins, minerals, as well as vitamin B.
"On the other hand, we will use astaxanthin in our antioxidant, anti-ageing, longevity, and kids’ health products,” said Ong.
Yeap added that the company was partnering Singapore’s Institutes of Higher Learning in developing cutting-edge products, with an interest in ingredient innovations.
