Horphag Research Launches Nutrition Division for its Natural Ingredients

This new division of the company will focus on the growing opportunities for Pycnogenol, its flagship ingredient, in the functional food and beverage sector as well as developing other nutritional ingredients.

Sep 23 2011 --- Horphag Research, exclusive worldwide supplier of Pycnogenol (pic-noj-en-all), a botanical extract from French maritime pine bark, launched Horphag Research Nutrition. This new division of the company will focus on the growing opportunities for Pycnogenol, its flagship ingredient, in the functional food and beverage sector as well as developing other nutritional ingredients. To lead the division, Horphag has hired two food industry executives, Markus Beba and David Johnston. Pycnogenol is a potent polyphenol and is available in more than 700 dietary supplements, cosmeceuticals and functional food and beverage products worldwide.

“With our double digit growth showing no signs of slowing down, there has been an overwhelming consensus to expand Pycnogenol further into the food and beverage sector, as it has already been the case in many Asian countries. Our new executives will be an essential part of building our ingredients’ future in the food and beverage industry,” said Victor Ferrari, CEO of Horphag Research.

Markus Beba, Vice President Sales and Business Development, is considered to be one of the foremost experts on new product development, supply chain management, sales and marketing, and business strategy within the nutraceutical and functional food and beverage industries. Formerly with Firmenich SA, he has held several key sales and marketing positions within the food ingredients industry for the last 17 years. David Johnston, Vice President of Technical Development, brings extensive industrial experience from the food and flavor industry. Having spent the last 12 years at Firmenich SA as global head of flavor innovation, Johnston was responsible for the development and success of all new innovations.

Amongst the plethora of clinical studies supporting the efficacy of Pycnogenol, the new division will initially target two key focus areas namely women’s health and sports nutrition. For women, Pycnogenol’s largest arsenal of clinical data supports cardiovascular and circulatory health, inside and outside beauty/skin care, and PMS and menopause symptom relief. For athletes or the physically active, the product plays a key role in vascular response to exercise by enhancing endurance during physical exertion through increasing the body’s capacity to produce nitric oxide. While this will be the initial focus of the new division, there are still tremendous growth opportunities in other health areas where Pycnogenol boasts more than 98 clinical studies on joint health, eye health, cognitive function and more.

Pycnogenol is already in a number of functional food and beverage products in the United States, Japan, Europe and other countries. The product has been extensively researched for its safety and is Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) in the United States, Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and Kosher certified. These certifications follow clinical research breakthroughs that have paved the way for the ingredient’s introduction into 80 countries.

“The clinical and pharmacological data supporting the efficacy of Pycnogenol is second to none. This is particularly true with regards to sports nutrition and women’s health where the botanical extract can either stand alone as the lead active ingredient or as part of a combination of active ingredients. Our aim is to provide targeted product solutions, to answer technical and analytical questions and to partner in the regulatory field up to the successful introduction of new and innovating products,” said David Johnston, Vice President Technical Development, Horphag Research Nutrition.

Considerable expertise has been gained on taste and stability of Pycnogenol in complex formulations such as shakes, functional drinks and fermented / non fermented dairy products as well as products undergoing considerable heat such as UHT beverages and cereals. Other applications for Pycnogenol in functional foods and beverages include bars, margarine and chewing gums.