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$2.2 bn nutra market focussed on AP, TN, WB
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Ramesh Kumar Sharma
April 01 , 2015
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Anticipated to grow at around 20 per cent over the next five years and poised to touch US$6.1 billion by 2019-20, the Indian nutraceutical industry is still facing a setback due to indistinctness on the certification process for exportation.
According to Akkshay Mehta, MD, Mission Vivacare (leading nutraceutical firm based in Mumbai), the Indian nutraceutical sector is growing at some 20 per cent a year now as against the potential of some 50 per cent.
Currently in 2014-15, the nutraceutical industry in India is about US$2.2 billion focussed on three major states - Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal and as per a report by RNCOS (a business consulting services firm) is likely to touch 6.1 billion by 2019-20.
The Indian nutraceutical market is categorised as functional food & beverages (68 per cent) and dietary supplements (32 per cent). According to RNCOS report, FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) can play a significant role in defining standards to streamline nutraceuticals market in India. Nutraceuticals fall under the purview of FSS Act, 2006, and Regulations, 2011, in the context of regulation of manufacturing, storage, distribution, sales, imports, exports, quality-safety aspects and health/nutrition/risk reduction claims.
Consumption Pattern
The worldwide popular nutraceuticals with clinically supported health benefits are soy proteins, oat bran, psyllium, soy fibre, lactobacillus and bifidobacterium probiotics, omega fatty acids, cranberry extract, garlic extract, calcium and magnesium and zinc minerals and vitamin A and vitamin C. The Indian nutraceutical consumption pattern has changed a lot from mineral and vitamin supplements to oats, probiotics, nuts and energy drink - functional foods and beverages - within the last five years. It would be worth mentioning that oats, probiotics, nuts, tomato products, yogurt (or curd), sports & energy drinks and so on fall under functional foods and beverages; while vitamins, minerals, fibres and omega fatty acids in the form of tablets and capsules are the part and parcel of dietary supplements. It is a worldwide accepted fact that nutraceuticals be basically organic farming produce and their extracts or supplements derived from those.
The latest researches have revealed the fact that artificialness in foods, as observed in non-organic (synthetic insecticide treated) intensive farming produce or in synthetic sweeteners like aspartame, is not going to improve human health and rather might adversely affect it. So consumers, worldwide and now in India too, prefer organic nutraceuticals and natural substitutes of natural food ingredients (like sugar not digested in old age or particular cases due to lack of enzyme insulin turning the consumer suffer from diabetes) which might exert adverse effect on human body in particular cases. Instead of synthetic sweetener aspartame, natural functional sweeteners like inulin and oligofructose, which play a role in reducing sugar content and providing health benefits associated with fibres, are preferred.
The consumers are also becoming aware of health hazards due to immediate body weight losses caused by low calorie food. Ulla Skytte, R&D manager, Arla Foods (Denmark), avers, “It is consumers’ total diet that counts not just GI (glycemic index). A balanced diet will pave the way for health maintenance and disease prevention. Calories are also very much a part of this equation. You really need to look at the whole picture and GI is only a small part of this outlook.”
Dieticians and nutritionists are now focussing mainly on balanced diets. “Too much fibre with vitamins-minerals supplementation” concept of diet is gradually receiving adieu (good-bye) from the society. Taste and price are still the dominant factors of consumers’ selection out of numerous food products in supermarkets. Therefore cost reduction is also considerable parameter of value addition in functional foods and beverages.
The Herbal Trend
Traditional functional foods and beverages in India have been employing herbs and spices since centuries. Foods or herbs function in human body as per their ingredients’ composition and chemical (minerals, vitamins etc.) contents of ingredients.
Ayurveda provides the details of food or herb functionalism which can be utilised as basis for the claims in foods provided the concerned ingredient has enough nutrients, particularly minerals and vitamins. For example, as mentioned in the book The Yoga of Herbs written by Dr David Frawley and Dr Vasant Lad, in Ayurveda Ajwain (apium graveolens) or wild celery seed is claimed to be a strong digestive, respiratory and nerve stimulant; Amla (emblica officinalis) fruit is claimed to be one of the strongest rejuvenatives; Brahmi (hydrocotyle asiatica) or gotu kola is claimed to be main revitalising herb for nerves and brain cells. But now it is said that most of these herbs, grown in India, are mineral-deficient due to vast deforestation and intensive farming. Therefore such mineral-deficient herbs lack in exact taste and physiological effects, as mentioned in Ayurveda. The lack of functionalism deprives herbs to be used in functional foods and beverages to make the corresponding health/nutrition/risk reduction claim. However, organic farming with dense forestation is the right approach for setting the herbal trend in nutraceuticals.
Spices are used as both flavours and colours in foods along with their food functionalism. Turmeric is the best example of nutraceutical herbs used in foods as flavouring and colorant too. According to Ayurveda, as mentioned in the book The Yoga of Herbs, turmeric (curcuma longa) strengthens digestion and helps improve intestinal flora; it purifies the blood, warms it and stimulates formation of new blood tissue; it promotes proper metabolism in the body and corrects both the excesses and deficiencies; it works on all tissue-elements in the body; externally, it can be used with honey for sprains, strains, bruise or itch; it is tonic to the skin, for which purposes it can be taken internally as a milk decoction. But any kind of health, nutrition or risk reduction claim will certainly demand its organic or synthetic insecticide-free quality.
‘Go Natural’ or ‘Go Organic’ is perhaps the major trend, nowadays, commonly observed in the global food market in the context of health and wellness products. In India ‘Go Natural’ trend-set is in initial phase and likely to get strengthened in near future. Anyhow the indigenous foundation of organic foods and herbs will demand cost-efficient organic farming, which is possible if the soil is well conserved or in other words the dense mountain forestation is effectively carried out.
The Challenges
In the way of nutraceutical products’ growth in India, there are two main challenges; the first - how to go natural or organic, the second - how to define regulatory standards to streamline nutraceuticals market particularly exportation. For cost-efficient organic farming, dense mountain forestation is required. And it is possible if proper land use policy is adopted. Indian mountains are mostly occupied by mining industry and horizontal housing colonies. It is really challenging how to evacuate mountains, establish dense forests there and to initiate updated forestry. Needless to say anyhow it is done; both the cost-efficient organic farming and the right process of nutrition/risk reduction claims on indigenous nutraceutical products would be facilitated. Currently, in India, several nutraceutical companies are 100% import-oriented as well as 100% export-oriented. It means those have to import their entire raw material for certainty of organic nature. And due to elevated cost the only way is to export the finished product. Really this situation hampers the nutraceutical industry growth.
The second challenge is concerned with the regulation due to uncertainty over the licensing authority which is hampering the exports significantly. According to P V Appaji, director-general, Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil), nutraceutical companies need a ‘Certificate of Nutraceutical Product’ and Free State Certificate for exports essentially to regulated markets. It is said that around 500 Indian companies are facing problem in licence renewal as hundreds of licences are expired. The difficult part in licensing seems to lie in authorising as well as refusing to authorise certain health/nutritional risk reduction claims made on foods referring to the reduction of disease risk. European Commission has recently adopted the Regulation No. 1228/2014 for this purpose, which might prove a guideline for FSSAI.
The commission currently provided the permission to three of the eight health claims made by seven applicants. In this way, three food additives (supplements) viz. calcium, calcium+vitamin D3 combination and vitamin D (alone) got the validity status on the claims made. Meanwhile, five food additives viz. glucosamine hydrochloride, isolated soy protein, plant sterols + cholesternorm (R) mix combination, eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) and plant stanols (as esters) failed to get validity status. Two examples of decision-making regarding permission and rejection of claims respectively are as follows:
The opportunities
Despite challenges in the way of Indian nutraceuticals industry’s growth, the opportunities are evident. Now Indians are incorporating functional foods and beverages like oats, probiotics, minerals and fibres in their diets. If certification clarity in Indian food law is brought, the Indian nutraceutical sector can grow at some 50 per cent a year, according to Mehta of Vivacare. Currently its annual growth rate is 20 per cent, which is indicator of immense opportunities.
(The author is Bikaner-based food consultant)
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