Eggnovo specialises in products made from eggshells, such as eggshell membrane proteins and eggshell calcium, for areas such as joint health, calcium supplementation and skin health.
The firm’s claim to fame is its eggshell membrane collagen, which is able to cater to vegetarian consumers and naturally high in elastin and hyaluronic acids.
“Eggshell collagen is a good alternative to regular animal-based collagen not only due to its source material, but also because it is just as effective at much lower daily doses,” EggNovo Nutra Division Technical Manager Oihane Nieto Iriberri told FoodNavigator-Asia at the recent Vitafoods Asia 2024 event in Bangkok, Thailand.
“Our current recommended daily dosage for effectiveness is only 300mg per day, as opposed to other products which generally recommend anywhere from 2g to 10g doses daily, which makes this both cost effective and convenient.
“In addition, there is a heavy sustainability component to our products as we source eggshells from the food industry where this is a byproduct that is usually discarded or used as feed – the eggshells are essentially given a second life as we upcycle them to add value.”
The firm targets both sportspersons and elderly consumers with its collagen from a joint health perspective, but is now investing into a more skin health and beauty-from-within focus due to rising consumer interest in this sector.
“The trend for collagen is on the up-and-up, and this is particularly so in Asian markets where skincare and beauty is taken very seriously,” she added.
“Our main target consumers in this particular sector are women between the ages of 35 to 60, and in Asia we also have the added advantage of being able to cater to consumers in various product formats.
“This is because our low daily dosage means that there is much higher versatility to develop many different product formats from gummies to capsules to beverages and more, and not need to be limited to a powder format.
“This is particularly valuable in Asia as consumers here are very keen on having many different formats even when it comes to their healthcare and supplements.”
Within the region, Iriberri identified South Korea and Thailand as particularly important markets to the firm due to the high demands for products improving beauty, skin health and physique in these markets.
Science as a focus
The firm’s single-source ingredient approach has driven it to develop as many applications for eggshell-sourced products as possible, which has led to many in-depth studies on the collagen.
“Now that we know we are clearly moving forward in the beauty-from-within category, we want to be as thorough as possible and look at how eggshell collagen can help with various aspects from hair to nails to skin and more,” she said.
“Skin will remain a top priority of course, as there are still a lot more angles for us to explore such as hydration, elasticity, lifting, anti-wrinkling, whitening and so on, all of which are major priorities in Asia; whereas for hair and nails we will start with looking at how our collagen can help these grow faster and stronger.
“We already have several studies done in these areas in South Korea as that is such an important market for us, and will definitely focus on developing more in this region according to local market needs.”