The Indian functional foods market is estimated to be growing at about 12-15 per cent according to various estimates, as the effects of western diets, increased personal incomes, rising medical costs, better health education and ageing populations take hold.
Product launches include a healthy malt drink called Viva from GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, British Biologicals with whey sports supplements and a carotenoid range from Parry Nutraceuticals.
“People today are becoming health-conscious and are realising the need for dietary supplements to help them cope with the fast-changing pace of life, which has put them at the risk of diabetes, cholesterol, heart ailments, arthritis and so on,” Dr Kamal G Nath, a nutritionist at the University of Agricultural Sciences in Bangalore, told FnBnews.
Dr V Prakash, director at the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) in Mysore, said extracts such as those from wheat grass, whey and mushroom were being used by food and food supplement manufacturers, as well as in the form of stand-alone take-home ingredients.
“In these cases the nutraceutical is separated from a food and sold in dosage form,” added Dr Prakash.
As western diet and lifestyle habits spread in India, associated diseases are also on the rise such as diabetes, cholesterol and hypertension.
“This is where nutraceuticals are known to play a major role in controlling ill-health condition,” said Dr K Shantha Kumar, also from the Bangladore’s University of Agricultural Sciences. “It makes people opt for protein supplements and multi-mineral supplements.”
Other companies active in the nutraceutical area include Sami Labs, British Biologicals, Elder Pharma, Ranbaxy, Raptakos, Avesthagen, Paras, Ce Chem and Tablets India.
But market researcher, Frost & Sullivan, noted of the Indian market in a recent report:
“Multinational companies have found the Indian market very challenging in the past owing to supply shortages, poor cold chain, storage facilities, poor infrastructure, and underdeveloped and complicated distribution channels,” it said.
“Performance in the food and beverage probiotic market is still dominated by issues in strain stability, low shelf life of products, and the development of probiotic application technology.”