China’s GanoHerb looks to capture white spaces for ganoderma products in Middle East
For over 30 years, the company has been actively engaged in the entire supply chain of ganoderma lucidum (commonly known as Lingzhi or reishi) products, from breeding and cultivation to research and development, and production.
It claims to be a leader in establishing national standards of ganoderma spore powder, spore oil and extracts in China.
In its domestic market, GanoHerb runs more than 100 retail shops while partnering with drug stores such as Tong Ren Tang to stock its products. The brand is also available on e-commerce platforms like Tmall and JD.com.
Currently, the company provides wide-ranging ganoderma products to more than 30 countries in different regions around the world.
Its overseas business operations mainly consist of three components — ingredients supply to B2B customers, OEM for ganoderma products, and direct-to-consumer sales.
“For example, we supply to Eu Yan Sang and Borsch Med in Singapore. In fact, many Lingzhi products available in Singapore use our ingredients. For the US market, we are selling via Amazon,” Amy Lee, Director of GanoHerb’s International Business unit, told NutraIngredients-Asia at Hi-Fi Asia-China held in Shanghai last month.
Lee shared that the firm takes part in the trade event every year to capture new market opportunities.
“There are lots of white spaces in the Middle East that we are keen to explore, as knowledge about Lingzhi among local consumers is relatively scarce. We also have halal certification, which makes our products suitable for these consumers as well.
“I believe that Middle Eastern consumers would be interested in products such as reishi coffee and tea. We don’t have concrete expansion plans [to the Middle East] yet, but we are looking to start by raising awareness of ganoderma in the region.”
Innovating to keep up with trends and demands
In recent years, GanoHerb has focused on scientific research and innovation to promote the cultural heritage of Lingzhi and development of high-quality ganoderma health foods.
The company has close to 30 patents related to the traditional medicinal mushroom, which is best known for its benefits to the immune system.
In addition, GanoHerb has obtained organic certification in China, Japan, US and Europe for 17 consecutive years. Particularly in China, every plot of cultivated land is inspected before a company can be granted organic certification, which needs to be renewed every year.
According to Lee, the firm owns more than 20 plots of Lingzhi-cultivating land.
Its innovations extend to applications and product formats that align with the “food as medicine” trend in China.
For instance, its portfolio now comprises a range of Lingzhi-containing tea bag products, with flavours including Ganoderma American Ginseng Tea, Reishi Peach Oolong Tea, Reishi Osmanthus Red Tea, and Reishi Jasmine Floral Tea.
Furthermore, the company has developed products with enhanced functionality by combining ganoderma with other functional ingredients. These include the Reishi MCT Coffee, an instant coffee mix formulated with medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil extract.
MCTs are commonly used to manage digestive disorders, and could play a role in weight loss and improvement of heart health. Research has suggested that they may also have a positive effect on neurological conditions and cognitive function.
The coffee series also includes products like Reishi Matcha Latte and Reishi Latte.
Besides solid beverages, GanoHerb has introduced ready-to-drink beverages for consumers seeking convenience. Some of the highlighted flavours are Reishi with Red Dates and Goji Berries, and Reishi with Jujube.
“Although health foods in capsule format are still the best-performing in China, younger consumers think that eating capsules is like taking medicine. Therefore, tastier options, such as coffee, tea and gummies, are more widely accepted by this group.
“There are also varying consumer preferences in different regions. In South East Asia, capsules, spore powder and spore oil are more sought-after, while the Reishi Mushroom Coffee range is comparatively popular in Europe and the US. Consumers in these regions tend to prefer a more dietary way of ingesting ganoderma.”
