Balance and Boost

The food division of pharma company Rhodia launched two new probiotic blends under its FloraFit range at the Vitafoods show last week.

FloraFit Balance contains bacteria to help maintain healthy intestinal microflora and improve digestive well being, while FloraFit Boost has been formulated to stimulate the body's immune system.

The FloraFit range was launched last year following research to identify the health benefits of probiotic strains. The range is designed to offer customers a science-backed brand to include in foods such as supplements, dairy and functional food products.

Dr Mark Smith, business development manager of health ingredients at Rhodia​, explained: "Many of our customers are SMEs who don't have the resources to market the proven health effects of our probiotics. We've already done the research and can offer companies a recognised name."​

Rhodia's new marketing approach to its probiotic ingredients should work well, according to another industry expert. In a seminar at Vitafoods, Dr Lindsey Greig, analyst at Frost & Sullivan, said that probiotics manufacturers need to communicate to the end-user.

"It is not enough to rely on the big companies involved in this market. Danone and Yakult are only promoting their own strains, so you need a good marketing budget to back yours,"​ Greig told those attending the seminar.

The FloraFit Balance blend contains lactobacillus acidophilus​ for upper gastro-intestinal tract health and bifidobacterium bifidum​ for the lower gastro-intestinal tract. The blend is said to provide excellent survival through the gut, adhering to the intestinal cells and preventing pathogenic bugs.

FloraFit Boost, yet another product at Vitafoods targeting the immune system, prompts the production of cytokines, 'hormones' of the immune system, and has been shown to increase the level of natural messengers which then stimulate the body's natural defence mechanisms, according to Rhodia Food, part of the Food and Consumer Products division of the Rhodia Group. Research on the blend was conducted at the renowned Institut Pasteur.

Immune-boosting products, derived from an increasingly diverse variety of foods, are currently a growth area in the functional foods market, and are likely to be helped by recent events such as the SARS epidemic.

"Immunology can be measured. It provides a biomarker,"​ said Dr Smith. Unlike those that claim a general 'well-being', researchers can measure the effects of a product on the body's immune system.

"There is also a need for this kind of product on the market, it plays into a niche, to protect against our polluted environment and counter the effects of travel and stress,"​ added Dr Smith.

In any case, we are likely to see a much more marketing approach from the French company in the future. "We started out with just strong science, and that didn't work so well,"​ admitted Dr Smith.

The FloraFit range also includes single-strain probiotic cultures, such as the NCFM Lactobacillus acidophilus strain.