British government agency helps omega-3 firm develop new markets

28-Mar-2011 - Last updated on 29-Mar-2011 at 12:33 GMT

New Horizons Global is targeting food and feed, not infant products with its DHA omega-3 offering

British start-up New Horizons Global is benefitting from a UK government scheme that has seen the emerging omega-3 DHA player increase international sales and exposure for its food and animal feed businesses.

The company said its use of the UK Trade and Investment (UKTI)’s paid-for Overseas Market Introduction Service (OMIS) had opened diplomatic and business doors in markets such as latin America and the Middle East.

The service had proved useful for a small company in trying to establish market presence in the Martek-DSM dominated algal-sourced DHA area, commercial director Patrick Taylor told NutraIngredients this morning.

“UKTI have Embassy representatives that perform on-the-ground market research that has helped reveal market potential,” he said of the service that cost between €550 and €1700 per country – depending on the level of research.

Through OMIS and UKTI, distributors for functional food and nutraceutical products were found in India and Chile and large feed contracts established in places like the United Arab Emirates.

Omega-3 fortified products in India included biscuits, oils/dressings, milk powders and over the counter supplements.

Taylor said the company was not interested in the infant formula market dominated by Martek-DSM.

Winning approval

New Horizons Global offers its OmegaVie branded DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) version in algal biomass to the feed industry at about €16 per kilogram, and at food industry quality for around €40/kg.

While the company was doing business in the Middle East and Latin America it was yet to enter the European food market as it was seeking regulatory approval in the European Union via a Novel Foods application.

Similarly in the US, it was preparing a self-affirmed GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) file for submission to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), something Taylor said could take as little as eight weeks.

If such approvals were forthcoming the company expected the food side of its business to grow substantially from the current level of five per cent.

Taylor said OMIS reports had been conducted in Argentina, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand, China, Mexico and the US with south east Asia a future area of focus.