Hi & Fi Asia-China 2024 live: Personalized nutraceuticals drive biotics space in China
21 Jun 2024 | Novonesis
Novonesis is continuing to grow its probiotics business in China alongside its HMO prebiotics. The expanding “biotics” space is being driven by a desire for more personalized nutrition solutions, says Jakob Dalmose Rasmussen, VP of Human Health Biosolutions at Novonesis. He shares insights into the Chinese market and introduces a product being launched exclusively in the country — SmartGuard for kids.
This is Missy Green with Nutrition Insight.
I'm here with Jacob Dalmos Rasmussen, and he is the VP of Human Health Biosolutions at Novonis.
Welcome.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you, Missy.
Thank you.
So first of all, Nobonis, a new company that emerged from two companies, have they had a long presence in China?
We, we have indeed.
We've, ah, we've been prominent in China for, for many decades.
We have a strong business across multiple business units.
So the way we're organized now is that we have three core businesses.
We have our food and beverage business.
We have our what we call planetary health, which is related to household care, to animal nutrition, to plant nutrition, and then last but not least, we have our human health biosolutions.
And in human health biosolutions we've been We've been working and developing solutions in China for, for a very long time.
OK.
So what are, what are some of the key differences that you've seen between the different markets, the Chinese market versus what you might see in Europe or North America in terms of human health biosolutions.
So you could say if you look at our footprint globally, we're we're actually pretty prominent in all regions.
So very strong business in the US after acquisitions.
Europe, we have a very long tradition of providing solutions in Europe as.
And then China, like I mentioned before, we've been we've been prominent for many years as.
Each region has of course its own unique aspects related to consumer trends, related to what ticks if you look at what science is required.
But I think if you, if you kind of look at the main difference right now is that you see post-COVID in China, you look at the market which is very focused on health, which is, looking at also very personalized nutrition, looking at what does each individual need for their own space where they are from a health perspective.
And then in China we see, we see also a Driven by of course demographic change, we see a number of new people who are looking for solutions to to help with their health advancement going forward.
So, so it is, there are a lot of similarities cutting across the globe, but China has has continued to emerge as a very strong business for us just like the US has as.
So, I recently spoke with a probiotic supplier here at the show, and he said that in the last 2 to 3 years, China has seen an increased growth in probiotics.
Is there any explanation that might account for this?
So we we've seen that as and we're still expecting pretty strong growth going forward as er in China.
Like I said I think post-COVID has definitely driven some of that.
I think the scientific evidence behind the solutions and If you look at the, for example, the infant space where we're very prominent as Novonesses, the science that with the solutions that we have allows consumers and customers to understand what it is that the product really can, can, can do.
As Novanesses we're pretty prominent within women's health as , and that's an area where, you know, driven by strong underlying science.
The consumer actually sees an impact and a benefit quite quickly.
So you know, you could say the efficacy of the product or the demonstrated benefit is quite recognizable.
So that definitely drives, growth of probiotics and then I think the biotics space in general is just kind of hitting all the, all the right.
Points in terms of what consumers are looking for in terms of understanding that by taking care of your microbiome, right, you are actually modulating your overall general -being much better.
So, so there, there's an understanding that probiotics can, can really do something good for your health overall.
So are there, are there some specific launches or innovations that you're featuring here that are tapping into that demand in China?
In China specifically.
So we, what we're very proud of right now is, is a solution which is actually that we're, we're launching in China first is related to, it's called Smart guard.
So really it's, it's targeting children, and the environmental impact that that the world.
Around us can have.
So in terms of protecting your your body in terms of environmental impact.
So that's the solution that we're pretty proud of and that's actually specifically launched for China end of this year.
What we're showcasing here at the trade show, right now is, is really across all the eight categories we're represented.
So as Novaness human health, we are an industry leader across everything from infants, children's health.
To women's health, to gastrointestinal health, to immunity, and that's in general what we're showing up with here.
The other thing that we're, where we're seeing a huge trend now is around mental wellness, cognition, and there we're, which is right in front of us right now, Missy.
So it's probioBrain, which is something that we're pretty proud of as that we're, that we're prominently displaying as in China.
So you have a smart guard for children and then the pro-brain is for adults.
Correct.
So pro probiobrain, is targeted for adults, right?
Looking at the scientific evidence behind, but we are looking at expanding that offering in the future.
It is a space which, which resonates with all geographies, China included, in terms of mental wellness, so as a psychobiotic as we call it.
Looking at how do you actually make sure that you're taking care of your mental -being as much as your physical -being, right?
So I think the UN, the UN data shows that 1 in 5 adults globally will suffer from some kind of, you know, mental challenge, in their lifetime.
So tapping into that, helping consumers actually find the right solution for mental wellness is something that we're pretty, we're pretty invested in.
How did your strategy for growth in China change or what is the strategy for growth?
So I can start by saying that, you know, our, our strategy in China right now is of course a combination of The previous strategies that we had as a company, right, so our portfolio, for human health biosolutions is a highly, it's a highly complementary fit between our two businesses, between, you know, Novozymes and Christian Hansen, where we came from, and that in the sense of both the products that we offer but also the categories that we serve.
So our, our strategy for China.
Is going to keep evolving, but for now it is to continue to tap into the underlying trends that we see, so driven by consumer insights because there are demographic changes that are, that are affecting our outlook in terms of, what we choose to invest in going forward.
But we want to, we want to be a continued strong player in China.
We have a very strong footprint within the.
Category.
We have a very strong footprint within women's health.
We have offerings within gastrointestinal health and immunity, and then we're, we're actually very much exploring in China how do we find the right offerings for some of these more emerging areas, right?
So one of the one of the areas that we're going to be spending a lot of time on going forward is around what we call healthy aging.
Of course all of us want to age in a healthy manner, but the needs of, of, let's say, the, the more mature, demographics or categories within, within the population, they are looking for solutions to deal with where they are at that point in life, whether that's related to bone health or metabolic health.
Those are the areas that we're going to be investing in going forward.
So our, our Our strategy for China remains to be a very strong player.
Helping the overall industry grow.
So we're invested also from an industry perspective to help, you know, from a peers and industry associations, the, ah, promotion of bionics within China but also meeting the needs of consumers for the future.
So, so more still to come, but we're, we're very excited about the prospects of further growth in China.
