Kirin to launch Immuse Yoghurt Flavour beverage with immunity probiotic in Singapore

Kirin Holdings has announced its upcoming beverage launch of Kirin Immuse Yoghurt Flavour, containing its proprietary ingredient Lactococcus lactis strain Plasma (LC-Plasma), set for release in Singapore on July 20. 

The Japanese multinational beverage player is globally expanding applications for LC-Plasma, noting that in recent years, demand for healthy beverages has been expanding in Singapore.

In addition, it highlights that the country’s rollout of the Nutri-Grade front-of-pack scoring system for visualizing nutritional information has further heightened health awareness in daily purchasing behaviors.

“As part of this strategy, Kirin has partnered with Fullerton Health, a provider of healthcare services in Southeast Asia, to promote sales and information dissemination,” states Kirin.

Initially, the product will be offered through the company’s digital platform, the Fullerton Health Marketplace. Distribution will be expanded sequentially through drugstores, supermarkets, convenience stores, and e-commerce channels.

“Looking ahead, we will further leverage the company’s membership base, corporate client network, and digital tools such as apps to expand awareness and promote the adoption of healthy lifestyle habits,” highlights Kirin.

Activating rare immune cells

This product contains 100 billion LC-Plasma cells and is positioned as the first step in the full-scale development of Kirin’s LC-Plasma business in Southeast Asia.

Kirin Immuse Yoghurt Flavour (Image credit: Kirin Holdings).Lactic acid bacteria are also known to be involved in immunity activation as an innate-immunity-stimulating substance. However, this had the limitation that only some immune cells could be activated. 

In response to this, the company began its research on the LC-Plasma based on the hypothesis that certain lactic acid bacteria are capable of activating plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), which it describes as the “leader” cells playing a key role in antiviral immunity.

“At the time, the prevailing theory was that there were no lactic acid bacteria that could activate pDCs,” Kirin details. “However, we persistently conducted experiments and finally achieved the identification of the lactic acid bacteria that were our objective, which we named LC-Plasma, meaning lactic acid bacteria that activate pDCs.”

According to Kirin, LC-Plasma can activate the entire immune system by directly activating pDCs, which are rare immune cells in the blood and peripheral organs that specialize in defending the body against viral infections.

“Common lactic acid bacteria can regulate the intestinal environment only when they reach the large intestine still alive, but LC-Plasma is equally effective whether alive or dead, and is absorbed in the small intestine to activate pDCs,” highlights the company.

Boosting resilience to viral threats

In one study collecting data from 619 participants, researchers found that the expression levels of pDC activation markers, CD86 and HLA-DR, were significantly maintained during LC-Plasma intake when compared to the placebo control group.

Additionally, LC-Plasma intake significantly reduced the cumulative number of cough and fever days compared to the control group, according to a meta-analysis using data from 555 participants.

Kirin positions beverages containing LC-Plasma as a core category within its Health Science business and will continue to expand product offerings in this category, primarily in Southeast Asia.

Last October, Kirin launched LC-Plasma in a hot beverage to offer comfort during the cooler seasons. Kirin Honey Lemon Scented Hot Ginger was made available in Japan, where the company highlighted local consumer awareness of LC-Plasma had reached 75.1% as of August 2025.