Lallemand to present women’s health probiotic at Vitafoods Virtual Expo

02 Sep 2020 --- Lallemand Health Solutions is set to unveil a new Lactobacillus plantarum strain to support vaginal health at Vitafoods Virtual Expo, taking place next week. The L. plantarum P17630 (Proge P17630) Rosella strain is marketed as a highly documented strain isolated from a healthy vaginal flora. Administered orally for faster results, the strain is backed by full mechanistic and clinical evidence of efficacy, boasting a wide spectrum of benefits to help maintain proper vaginal balance by oral intake, the company says.

“The novelty is to offer women the convenience of oral administration with the same efficacy, which is certainly a way to help increase compliance. This is what we will be presenting at Vitafoods Virtual Expo with the integration of L. plantarum Rosella in our probiotic offer: a convenient orally administered probiotic shown to support women’s intimate health,” explains Elodie Aragon, Product Manager, responsible for the Women’s health portfolio at Lallemand Health Solutions. 

“Consumers are looking for scientifically backed probiotics solutions and specific strains that can confer a specific health benefit. Consumers do not only seek products that have an impact on their gut, but on their overall well-being,” Aragon tells NutritionInsight.

Probiotics and women’s health
Probiotics are relatively recent ingredients for women seeking to take care of their intimate health, she notes. Certain scientifically-backed strains present are a natural way to address specific vaginal health issues, without causing side effects. In most cases, efficacy was demonstrated on local (vaginal) application. “To recolonize the vaginal microflora, choosing the right bacteria strain is crucial. Only a handful of probiotic supplements taken orally can do the trick,” Aragon adds.

The L. plantarum Rosella probiotic strain is one of the most documented in the world in the women’s health area, as it has been studied in over 800 women, in six clinical studies, including two by oral intake, the company supports. 

“The strain also demonstrated vaginal colonization and persistence, following oral intake (at a validated efficacy dose: 5B CFU/day), restored flora diversity associated with a healthy vaginal flora and normalized pH level,” Morgane Maillard, Marketing Manager at Lallemand Health Solutions, tells NutritionInsight.

Elodie Aragon, Product Manager, responsible for the Women’s health portfolio at Lallemand Health Solutions. The launch marks another additiotion to Lallemand’s EXPERT’Biotics portfolio. Furthermore, it will be possible to combine this strain with other EXPERT’Biotics for added benefits, such as Cerebiome, Lacidofil, L. helveticus LAFTI L10, B. bifidum Rosell-71, as well as other relevant ingredients for women’s health, such as cranberry, vitamins, minerals, etc.

The licensing commercialization agreement includes Asia, the Americas, France and Czechia. 

Launching at Vitafoods
Lallemand Health Solutions experts will launch this new offering at the Vitafoods Virtual Expo (September 7-11, 2020). “With the face-to-face trade shows being canceled, we have tried to adjust and adapt, which seem to be the 2020 buzzwords. We have prepared a virtual presentation of Lallemand Health Solutions and we will be presenting a webinar and be present in the probiotics section,” says Maillard.

“Lallemand Health Solutions has a large portfolio of EXPERT’Biotics to support Natural Defenses, backed by specific Canadian health claims. Probiokid is a combination of L. helveticus Rosell-52, B. infantis Rosell-33, B. bifidum Rosell-71 and fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS). These ingredients are all documented by eleven clinical studies in infants and children, showing it helps to reinforce the body’s natural defenses in those specific populations,” Maillard highlights.

She goes on to explain that natural defenses and immunity are expected to be common themes for the expo. This winter, probiotic demand is set to increase everywhere, compared to the winter months last year. The spring months have seen a small decrease of sales versus 2019, as lockdown reduced in-store traffic. 

However, as customers were still looking for natural solutions to support their natural defenses, they still considered probiotic supplements as a priority purchase, Maillard explains. The probiotic market was less badly hit than other markets for less essential goods. In addition, there was an increasing trend of customers purchasing probiotics online and taking advantage of home deliveries.

Women’s health will certainly be another hot topic of this virtual expo, Maillard says. Aragon will be presenting the details in a webinar during the expo. She will detail the strain’s benefits and the major licensing deal for its commercialization by Lallemand.

“Attendants will learn about this convenient orally administered probiotic shown to support women’s intimate health,” Maillard notes. “Probiotics for women’s health is a fast-growing niche as they are seen as a natural alternative to the conventional solutions. Women are willing to try them out especially when hit by recurring pains and infections, such as those associated with vaginal health.”

By Kristiana Lalou, with additional reporting by Katherine Durrell