Rohto joins pill-and-shot supplement trend, outlines 10-year R&D pipeline
Japan’s Rohto Pharmaceutical’s latest supplement launch is in the pill-and-shot format that has been popularised in South Korea in the past two years.
The beauty-from-within supplement, launched under the brand MOCOLA, contains a 20ml collagen drink and a tablet containing vitamin C, B6, D.
The company also announced its 10-year R&D pipeline, where it would be working on new products made from botanicals, as well as those for gut health.
How traditional firms and start-ups can tap into booming functional hydration category
The functional hydration category is poised for growth, and companies can tap into innovation opportunities with consumer segmentation and ingredient innovation.
The key to launching personalised beverages with functional benefits is to understand consumers’ health priorities such as gut health and hydration, said Nathanael Lim, Asia-Pacific Insight Manager (Beverages) at Euromonitor.
According to Lim, the largest functional beverage category is immune support drinks, which accounted for USD666m in 2024.
Nine in 10 taken probiotic drinks and not just for gut health - Singapore survey
A survey involving over 1,800 respondents found that nine in 10 adults (92.7 per cent) in Singapore have taken probiotic drinks before and nearly half (49.7 per cent) have taken it for reasons other than improving gut health.
The survey by Singapore-based microbiome start-up AMILI and other local research institutions took place between August 2020 and July 2021.
It aimed to find out the public’s knowledge, awareness, and perceptions of the gut microbiome and faecal microbiota transplant (FMT) procedure.
South Korea’s health supplements industry shows signs of growing reliance on exports
South Korea’s health functional foods production has been increasingly fuelled by overseas demand for vitamins and minerals, according to government data published in late May.
The country’s exports of health functional foods have been growing by double-digits for two consecutive years, reaching US$278.64 million - a 12.2 per cent year-on-year increase.
Overseas demand for South Korea’s vitamin and mineral products have changed the dynamics of the country’s health foods production, with the category overtaking red ginseng last year.
Taiwan’s best-selling e-commerce vitamin brands revealed
Releasing the bestseller vitamin brands in Taiwan for the first time, Coupang said that Japan’s DHC, GSK, local brands FB Shop (台塑生醫), Daiken Biomedical (大研生醫), and Sentosa (三多) were the top five best-performing brands in Q1 this year.
Single vitamin and multi-vitamins were some of the popular products.
On the other hand, Coupang said it has seen a spike in the sales of “nourishment drinks” - such as the essence of chicken - which could be attributed to Chinese New Year gifting.
