Sales seen a challenge for Japanese supplements

31 October 2007 17:47  [Source: ICIS news]

NEW YORK (ICIS news)--Sales for Japanese nutritional supplements are being challenged by the lack of new blockbuster ingredients, an industry consultant said on Wednesday.

The market declined last year to $9.2bn (€6.4bn) compared with $10.4bn in 2005, according to Paul Yamaguchi, president of Tarrytown, New York-based Yamaguchi & Associates.

“The most damaging was the lack of new ingredients and new product introductions to excite Japanese consumers,” said Yamaguchi.

The consultant also cited tightened regulation, food safety and contamination issues as other drivers for last year’s negative growth.

“Previous blockbuster ingredients coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) and alpha lipoic acid (ALA) have lost momentum and created a vacuum in the market in addition to consumers’ diminishing interest in supplements,” he said.

Slow deregulation of drug ingredients into food use by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, is a major factor for the lack of new ingredients, added Yamaguchi.

CoQ10 was moved to non-drug status in 2002 and ALA in 2003. Introductions of Echinacea, ginkgo biloba, lutein glucosamine and L-Carnitine in the past few years have also stimulated the market, according to Yamaguchi.

“Since then, the agency hasn’t done any food-drug reclassification. What were hot ingredients three years ago lost 15-20% of their market,” he said.

Since its introduction to the Japanese supplement market, CoQ10 sales rose as high as $180m, but have fallen to $140m, according to the consulting firm. ALA sales rose to as high as $80m but are now $50m.

Major supplements manufacturers in Japan include Ajinomoto, Kyowa Hakko, Sankyo Daiichi, Takeda Pharmaceutical and Riken Vitamins, among others.

($1.00 = €0.69)

By: Doris de Guzman
+1 713 525 2653

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