Supply chain crisis hits vitamin E, knock-on effects across nutrition industry

24 Jan 2022 --- As the global economy continues to tackle challenges caused by supply chain constraints and inflation, the nutrition and food industries have also been hit by issues surrounding vitamin E. 

Now, industry is facing increasing costs, causing businesses to turn to alternatives wherever possible.

“The supply chain crisis has also affected vitamin E, like many of our other products,” Peter de Meester, chief operating officer health nutrition and care at DSM, tells NutritionInsight.

“The exact impact depends on production locations and shipping routes but in general, shipments have been impacted by temporary delays due to container shortages, capacity constraints in harbors, raw material shortages, labor shortages.”

The timing of these issues come as vitamin E demand skyrockets. According to Innova Market Insights, global launches of supplements with vitamin E have seen a CAGR of 27% between 2017 and 2021. 

Supplements featuring vitamin E are most associated with Immune, Brain-Mood, as well as Energy and Stamina positionings.

Skin health, which is currently in fourth place, is the fastest growing positioning among vitamin E supplements, featuring a CAGR of 50%.The supply chain crisis has increased the price of vitamin E throughout the industry. 

Soaring costs
The shortages are rooted in a number of issues, de Meester elaborates. Supply chain interruptions, global imbalances, energy control measures in China, COVID-19 cases and impact on certain production plants are affecting the situation.

All of these factors have hit together to cause shortages across the board, including a shortage of magnesium affecting the aluminum industry.

 “Raw material prices, energy, transport and labor costs soared. These cost increases are not only hitting us on vitamin E but are across the board due to exceptional inflationary environments.”

The price increase is substantial and to an extent that the company has not observed in a long time, due to so many effects happening at the same time, he notes. 

These factors have also caused world food prices to peak at a ten-year high and monopolies have been accused of exploiting the situation. 

Sourcing local
One of the approaches companies are using to try and mitigate supply chain issues is to source materials locally. 

American River Nutrition, for instance, uses what it describes as a unique form of vitamin E for its DeltaGold product. The company uses delta and gamma tocotrienols, derived from the annatto plant primarily grown in South America.

“At times, raw material sourcing has been difficult,” Keith Dunne, vice president of sales and marketing with American River Nutrition, tells NutritionInsight. 

Nonetheless, because the company manufactures on-shore in the US, it has managed to avoid many international trade issues, Dunne adds. Challenges, however, still continue mainly in activities such as shipping, customs clearance, and container procurement.

Between 2017 and 2021, 39% of supplement launches with vitamin E were in North America, followed by West Europe with 28% of launches. However, less established markets such as Australasia and Latin America are showing signs of increasing growth, notes Innova Market Insights.Local sourcing meets consumer sustainability demands and helps companies navigate issues in procuring their ingredients.

Impacting meat industry
The issues are also hitting animal feed, as vitamin E is used across the food industry to help the flavor, smell and texture of meat. DSM uses ROVIMIX E50, a bioavailable form of vitamin E, to help maintain the immune system of the animals. 

“The first consequences were visible in the animal market where the price of the standard form E50 doubled. Certain new requests have to be declined and some suppliers stopped quoting for some time,” de Meester notes.

Vying for alternatives
A key problem where vitamin E is concerned is that usually, there are no alternatives, de Meester underscores. 

“We leverage our own different production sites and supply points as much as possible to adapt to the volatile conditions and we also work with our suppliers to find the optimal supply reliability and security within the inflationary environment.” 

Spain-based Natac, however, is touting its Olifeed product to help pig farmers cut costs in a bid to combat the increasing price of vitamin E. 

“Olifeed is an effective way to control oxidative stress because it has the same effect as vitamin E. However, it isn’t actually a vitamin, so it cannot be totally substituted for the vitamin E that is still necessary in the animal’s diet. But Olifeed can reduce the amount of vitamin E needed in the feed,” explains Jose Carlos Quintela, co-founder and chief scientific officer.

Though the item cannot replace vitamin E, it can be understood as a supplement to vitamin E that can help reduce costs, he adds. 

“Vitamin E has many physiological functions that other non-vitamin antioxidants cannot replace. However, Olifeed prevents the oxidation of vitamin E and helps to restore normal levels of vitamin E. It will always be necessary to have minimum levels of vitamin E in the feed.” 

By Andria Kades