Natural leaders

Reports from around the world continue to highlight the potential for natural products – a product that is extracted from life-forms such as animals or plants.

A report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), released in New York in August, predicts the functional foods market will continue to attract investment. A functional food is a fresh or processed food that has a health-promoting or disease-preventing property.

The PwC report, Leveraging growth in the emerging functional foods industry, says health-conscious consumers are driving the demand for products that aim to promote better health, increase longevity and prevent the onset of chronic diseases. In the US alone, functional food sales range from $20 billion to $30 billion a year – about five percent of the overall US food market.

The research by HealthFocus International found consumers’ top four health concerns are lack of energy, digestive problems, being overweight and stress. In the wake of the world recession, a report last year from Taiwan tracked an increase in demand for products that calm or act as anti-depressants.

New Zealand is well positioned to serve the overall demand, says Natural Products NZ (NPNZ) executive director Michelle Palmer.

 “New Zealand is an island nation protected by strict border controls.
“We are certified BSE-free and, in the EU, New Zealand has category one status – the highest in the world.

“New Zealand has diverse flora and fauna that can be used for natural health products, particularly with more government-funded research. We have a raft of unique ingredients including pine bark, fruit extracts, manuka honey, bee propolis, deer velvet, fish, marine oils and keratin. New Zealand’s colostrum is the most sought after in the world.

“It all ties in with our clean, green image showcased internationally through Peter Jackson’s movies. As an industry, we’re able to tap into that image more than most.”

Around the end of November, NPNZ will be relaunching its website through social media channels to help exporters increase sales in the US and further afield. The relaunch builds on work NPNZ and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) have been doing recently to promote the industry.

The work includes web-based educational seminars run earlier this year that gave insights into opportunities in the US and Hong Kong. Seminars on North Asia will be held next.

Two reports were released in New Zealand last year on the local industry. A broad report commissioned by NPNZ looked at the whole industry. And a report focused on the bioactives sector was commissioned by NZTE.

Bioactives are biologically active compounds derived from biological material, which have the potential to confer benefits to people, animals or plants.

The bioactives report identifies the need for a regulatory framework  in sync with the regulations in New Zealand’s main export markets.

It also stresses that government funding needs to be more accessible to smaller companies and that they need support to increase the sophistication of scientific evidence used to attract private funding.

Graeme Jarvis, NZTE’s Key Account Manager for the sector, says demonstrating the science behind company claims is particularly important now, given that in Europe product claims of high profile companies are being tested.

“Quality assurance also has to be right up there. However, it’s not a coincidence that the US and Japan are our top markets – we are meeting their high standards.