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“People take preventive steps leading to consumption of super foods”
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Monday, 25 October, 2021, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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 Mysuru-based Supreem Foods, which is the subsidiary of the over three-decade-old Supreem Pharmaceuticals, has now forayed into offering a convenient and palatable range of natural ingredients products – super foods. These include soya chips, oats puffs, multipurpose mix, fava beans, mint chips, seedy mix, ragi millet chips, quinoa mix and quinoa puffs. This market brims with growth prospects and ample scope for innovation as people are insisting for something novel, said Sadanand Nagaraja Rao, chairman and managing director, Supreem Foods, in an interaction with Nandita Vijay. Excerpts:
What is the scene for super foods in the Indian market?
The scene is fantastic for these products. Supreem has always been in the nutraceuticals field. We have been engaged in the manufacture of vitamins and herbal extracts etc. Some of these include garcinia, amla & bitter melon extracts. In fact, we have been in this field for many years and also been present at most international exhibitions. This helped us to ascertain the growth prospects and that the sector has the potential to grow. Today it is one of the more attractive fields to be in.
Key growth drivers of the super foods sector have been that consumers in the ongoing pandemic phase are looking for preventive health measures to keep both lifestyle and infectious diseases at bay. The inclination is to look for natural products and this is where ginger, gooseberry or amla known for their immunity boosting properties.
Moreover people these days do not like the conventional tablets but are looking for proactive approach as prevention is better than cure is proven. This is where super foods like millets, chia seeds and quinoa to name a few that are used to develop value-added nutraceutical products come to the fore. The effort is to bring out power-packed snacks that can improve healthy consumption of food and beverages. We see an increasing interest among people take preventive steps leading to consumption of super foods.
Any ingredient having a lot of immunity, carbohydrate, minerals with better absorption are now being converted to be made available in sachets. It is developed as cookies, candies, gummies and effervescent beverages which are increasingly being opted for convenience and flavour. This at the same time will prevent any ailments. Today the lifestyle is such that people at a young age are falling sick and they particularly feel that if they take such supplements along with meals it can boost better health and immunity. Thanks to social media a lot of knowledge is available on superfoods.
What are the visible trends that you spot in the super foods-nutraceuticals landscape which is manifesting both opportunity and competition?
High growth is foreseeable. Current growth rate of this sector is around 17 to 20 per cent. Everybody wants to be away from the conventional concepts and are watching for novel solutions like new delivery modes of pre- and probiotics in the form of soft gels, gummies, powders in sachets which can be easy to carry and consume. Within the next 10 years, everything is going to be like this. There will be innovation where research backed by science will accelerate pathways of preventive and personalised nutraceuticals taking the centre-stage.
There are many pharma companies in the country and globally that have taken the nutraceutical route, including yours, what is your view on this?
Many a pharma industry is already switching over and many more also taking this path. There is promise with the possibility to innovate in terms of product and delivery forms. This is because super foods have bioactive compounds with therapeutic potential. Since pharma companies comprehend the value added ingredients and are engaged in research and manufacture of nutraceuticals the move is more strategic and effortless. With regulations in place and access to land and finance, companies have understood that this is the line to be.
Now, what is the action plan laid out to beat the competition on the shelves?
We are also seeing that 20 per cent of the sales will be through e-commerce which has no limitations in reaching out to consumers. Hence our 19 products for health management, performance beverages & foods along with lifestyle management products launched last week will be available via e-commerce sites, super markets and the malls etc. These will be expanded to a total of 50 by the end of this financial year. Our effort is to offer a total of over 100 products by the end of next financial year.
We got into superfoods to fill the void that exists in the nutrition intake to enhance healthy living. Our team has dived deep into the science of food to research and develop products which will help to fill the gap.
Give us a peek into some of your offerings. We have researched extensively in house to develop a range which includes Garcicumin, Superejuven, Sucrestat, Gingerin, Suvarna Amla, Wellness Treats, Gingberry Candy, Co-Zing Candy. There is also a Normalife Healthy Snack line up of Soya Chips, Oats Puffs, Multipurpose Mix, Fava Beans, Mint Chips, Seedy Mix, Ragi Millet Chips, Quinoa Mix and Quinoa Puffs.
There are considerable brands in the market. So would you be able to pinpoint three key differentiators of your offerings?
Entering into this field of superfoods was an obvious choice. We had all the ingredients needed for the success, to develop the products, besides the understanding and the desired business exposure. We are growing with confidence because of our USP (unique selling proposition), which is the 35 years of experience, both domestically and internationally in the nutraceuticals field. Our name is established far and wide. We have an excellent R&D working round the clock churning out new products. We have several products clinically proven that they work! We have even applied for patents for some of them. We have a good international reach to the latest developments in the field of nutraceuticals. Finally our vision is to be among the leading nutraceutical companies and provide high quality super foods at competitive prices to customers globally.
From your initial market assessment, which of the current offerings will give you the first mover advantage?
Currently if you look at the market the first mover advantage we hope will come from our snacks which is completely air fried with no oil. These are the ragi millet chips, soya chips, mint chips, oat puffs, quinoa mixes, all of which are super foods that sans oil and made for the Indian palate besides the range of health management products like Garcicumin, Superejuven, Sucrestat, Gingerin, Suvarna Amla.
How easy has it been for startups like yours to coordinate with the FSSAI for required approvals?
We are used to getting licences. Now with procedures for approval being simplified and with most of the clearances happening online its faster and transparent. With such relatively easy processes, within 30-45 days companies get the licence after submitting documents for approval online.
India is the non-communicable diseases (NCDs) capital so how is your company strategising its R&D for novel product development?
Basically, we have a strong R&D. Moreover there is visible reluctance to pop in pills to control health disorders like the NCDs. We have observed worldwide that people are tired taking medicines in the conventional form tablets, syrups and capsules. They want to move away from normal drugs and look for natural ingredients. This is where we are engaged in coming out with dosage forms of the natural ingredients which are easy to take. For instance, for those deficient in vitamins then injections or tablets are prescribed. But if this is converted into tasty gummies which quickly melt in the mouth and the person gets the adequate dosage of vitamins, it is convenient and will serve the health needs in a tasty way. Similarly diabetics have bitter gourd or karela juice which is not easy to drink . Here we have dehydrated the entire karela juice made it into a powder form and in a capsule form.
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