YGC Group & NUS Launch ‘Super Food’ Seaweed Drink

Mr Daen Ng, General Manager, told NutritionInsight: “YGC Group (S) Pte Ltd prides ourselves as a natural food innovator, and we aim to work with leading experts in the food science industry to deliver healthy, tasty and 100% natural products to consumers worldwide.”

 

“NUS is one of Asia’s leading universities with a highly-reputed Food Science and Technology Programme. As a Singapore company, we naturally gravitated towards collaborating with NUS (in view of its deep expertise in food innovation) to develop our first range of products, which will be a true-blue Product of Singapore, from start to finish.”

 

Eucheuma was chosen as the main ingredient because it is under-used in commercial products, despite its health properties.

 

“Eucheuma is a species of seaweed that is known to be low in calories and high in dietary fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals such as calcium and potassium,” Ng explained.

 

“Scientific studies have shown that regular consumption of eucheuma helps improve bodily functions, including lowering blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar, preventing cardiovascular diseases, colon cancer and breast cancer, as well as promoting anti-ageing, brain development and tissue repair.”

 

“In summary, it is an ingredient which offers so much and yet, it has been underutilized as a food option. Hence, with this collaboration, we hope to introduce eucheuma – which we call ‘the new super food’ – to consumers so that more people can enjoy the many benefits that it offers.”

 

The bottled drink range will be sold online by the end of March. There are also plans to sell the product at supermarkets in Singapore, and in overseas markets such as China, Indonesia and Hong Kong.

 

YGC Group and NUS will collaborate on further research into eucheuma and to develop other eucheuma-based products, such as pastries, with an investment of S$ 600,000 (US$ 440,000) over the next four years.