Naturally fit with Mexican recipe
help reduce cholesterol, on the European market, starting with a
launch in Spanish retailer El Corte Ingles this week. Further test
markets could include Italy, the UK and France.
A Mexican functional food developer is to introduce a range of fibre drinks, said to help reduce cholesterol, on the European market, starting with a launch in Spanish retailer El Corte Ingles this week.
Biofit R&D, headquartered in Mexico City, has introduced a beverage enriched with soluble galactomannan fibre, at 20 points of sale at the department store.
Company director Jorge Hanau told NutraIngredients.com that it had also received interest from Italy, France and the UK.
The fruit-flavoured beverage, called Natural Fit, contains a blend of soluble fibres and is said to help reduce weight, cholesterol levels and also alleviate constipation.
A clinical trial carried out in Mexico on 60 patients found that after a 30-day period, participants who had consumed 300ml of the drink daily lost an average 4kg in weight. Another study on male and female adults showed a lowering in cholesterol of up to 30 per cent, according to Hanau.
Natural Fit was first introduced to gourmet food sections of Mexican department stores late last year by the pharmaceutical laboratory Productos Medix and subsequently through WalMart. It is expected to reach sales of between US$6-8 million this year, driven mainly by female consumers, said Hanau.
However, the European market will prove more profitable. "We are expecting much bigger sales in Europe given the purchasing power there," he said.
The drink is a niche market product, located in the pharmacy section of El Corte Ingles, and retailing at around €15 for a pack of six bottles.
"In the multiple pack format we encourage the consumer to follow a course of the drink so that they begin to see the effects," explained Hanau.
Biofit is currently shipping the product from Mexico but is considering third-party manufacturing in Spain depending on the success of the product there. The new company is also planning to extend the range with a number of other functional beverages. These will include additional fibre drinks, containing inulin and oligofructose, and fortified with nutrients such as calcium or green tea, an energy drink containing carnitine, taurine and guarana, and a drink to balance muscular formation based on CLA.
