Naturex CEO Talks Trends, Future Launches and Possible Acquisitions

01 Dec 2016 --- Just a couple of weeks ago Naturex reported that sales were up from €94m ($104m) to €98m ($108m) in Q3, helped by an increasing number of customers shifting to natural ingredients. During HiE the company unveiled its innovative 3-step approach - which includes intuitive nutrition, fortification and nutrition with purpose - that taps into the steadily increasing demand for nutrition from natural sources.

Speaking to FoodIngredientsFirst at Health Ingredients Europe (Hi Europe), Naturex CEO, Olivier Rigaud talks about industry trends and opportunities for the company as it ramps up investments and heads into 2017.

“We see a lot of opportunities in the fruit and vegetable derivatives, this is one of our four key strategic categories. There is a very high demand, primarily in the US today to move to raw foods, raw products, and unpasteurized, slow processed, to really keep all the nutrients in the product - this is one of the big, heavy trends that we see.”

“What we are doing in terms of sourcing, is really making sure that we have strict control in the mastering of the supply chain in both fruit and vegetables and also in our plans, we have developed new technologies to make sure we have very low-temperature processes and very low-temperature drying, making sure that in the finished products we still keep the taste but also the nutrient profile. This is one of the practical examples of what we are doing to address that trend in fruit and vegetables.”

Looking forward to 2017, Rigaud spoke about what is in development pipeline.

“Phytoactives is also an important part of our business and we have decided to invest massively into more science...We have increased the number of clinical studies that we are running in parallel and we have about 12 running right now. Some of the first launches by the end of 2017 and early 2018.”

There is a big trend towards using plant extracts and the inherent benefits of plant botanicals and Rigaud has a confident outlook for the market and the opportunities going forward.

Talking about the variety of extracts Naturex is looking into, he adds: “One of the things that we are good at is sourcing new plants and trying to get new active components.

“One of the biggest launches we will have in the next month is about aronia, also known as a chokeberry, and we will apply exactly the same recipe for success as the one we’ve experienced with the cranberry.”

“This is positioned for cardiovascular disease so we are really hopeful for our new aronia product launches in the months to come.”

“In phytoactives, similar to fruit and veg, we are not focusing only on pure extracts, we have an approach that we will really be able to scale up and demonstrate towards full spectrum products.”

He also says the company has been exploring opportunities during 2016 and has a “very healthy pipe of acquisitions lined up”.

“It’s very difficult to speculate when they might come but we are very active behind the scenes and building a pipeline and there will be more news in the months to come.”

Watch the full video interview here.

Meanwhile, at HiE, Naturex is showing several applications, including an infused birch and cucumber water drink, an instant drink made from moringa, and a sports drink that can be personalized to the user’s needs.

The demand for nutrition from natural sources is steadily increasing and as consumers’ approaches to healthy living become more proactive and holistic, the food and nutraceutical industries must be able to answer the call, according to the company.

The 3-step approach is:

- Intuitive nutrition: botanical, fruit and vegetable ingredients that offer natural nutrient sources, to speak to and reassure consumers,

- Fortification: standardized natural ingredients that go beyond consumer intuition to answer quantifiable nutritional needs,

- Nutrition with purpose: whether it's serious athletes looking to boost performance or busy executives that want to manage their weight, natural nutrition can be targeted to specific needs.

by Gaynor Selby