Aker Biomarine has been present in the Indian market for over 10 years. However, following the separation of its aquaculture business two years ago, the company has taken a “ground-up” approach in building its human health ingredients business, especially for diverse markets like India.
This month, Aker Biomarine appointed Hidayat Ali, a registered pharmacist and most recently from Kappa Bioscience, as the country director of its operations in India.
The company also signed a new distribution partnership with G.C. Chemie Pharmie Pvt. Ltd. (GCCPL) to expand access to its omega-3 ingredients in India. Aker Biomarine is also exhibiting at Vitafoods India 2026 in Mumbai next month.
As the most populous country in the world with a growing middle class, the company sees India as a key future market for long-term growth.
“While we’ve been in India for 12 years, we feel that this shift with Ali on the ground and the relationship with G.C. Chemie Pharmie represents the next phase of our growth in India, because we now have a 100% focus on our human health ingredient portfolio,” Ross Norris, general manager Asia Pacific, Aker BioMarine, told NutraIngredients. “My experience in India is that you cannot beat having a local presence. It demands a high level of service, a very responsive sales team, and with Ali and G.C. Chemie Pharmie, we can now thankfully deliver that.”
The size of India’s nutraceuticals market was estimated to be US$30.37 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 13.6% from 2025 to 2030. In 2023, the Indian nutraceuticals industry also held 9.22% of the global nutraceuticals market revenue, according to a report released by the economic division of India’s Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
To expand in India, the company has identified three key growth categories.
“We aim to focus on three different categories: dietary supplements, food, including protein powders, and pharma, as India is largely a pharma-dominated market,” Ali said.
Dietary supplements: Vegetarian and Ayurvedic synergies
With approximately three in 10 Indians identified as vegetarians, the company sees opportunities in offering vegetarian-friendly omega-3 options.
Known for its krill oil omega-3 ingredients branded Superba Boost and Superba 2, one of Aker Biomarine’s most recent offerings is algae-based DHA branded Revervia.
Derived from the microalgae Schizochytrium sp, there are two versions of Revervia, one with 40% DHA and another with 57% DHA to support brain and eye health. The latter also supports prenatal health and pregnancy.
“The Indian market is a multicultural and diversified one; we have close to 18% of the global population and close to 30% of the Indian population are vegetarians,” Ali said.
“The high level of vegetarian consumers is one of India’s market characteristics, which is why we are leaning heavily into Revervia,” Norris added.
The company also hopes to tap into the other unique characteristics of the Indian market, which is the tradition of Ayurveda.
An example is combining Ayurvedic ingredients such as curcumin with krill oil.
“We intend to work with local brands to launch both 100% krill products and combination products containing Ayurvedic ingredients,” Norris said. “This would enable the awareness of krill oil to spread more quickly.”
Adding fat-soluble curcumin to phospholipid-structured krill oil can also improve curcumin’s bioavailability. Krill oil is also naturally bound with choline and astaxanthin.
“As krill oil is more bioavailable, it offers consumers the ability to enjoy the benefits of omega-3 out of a smaller dose, and we feel that will have great advantages in the Indian market,” Norris said.
Synergies with food and pharma companies
Beyond dietary supplements, the company has identified food and pharmaceutical companies as the other areas of opportunity.
Krill oil, for instance, can complement protein food by supporting recovery from intense exercise.
“The protein and sports nutrition category is fast-growing in India, and krill offers clear benefits in that space for recovery from intense exercise,” Norris said.
Omega-3 DHA is also a common ingredient in food products sold by multinationals, as well as in health supplements sold by pharmaceutical companies with a nutraceutical arm. As such, Aker Biomarine has identified food and pharma firms as its target audience.
“Some pharma companies have a nutraceutical and food division, where they sell protein powder, infant formulas, products for diabetes management, etc., and you can find omega-3 in most of these products,” Ali said.
Introducing krill oil omega-3 in food products is also a way to spread awareness of krill oil.
“India has an omega-3 index of around 4%, which is considered low. This means a great opportunity to introduce omega-3 supplementation, and given a relatively low awareness of krill oil within the market, our focus will be to build this in the nutraceutical segment and to gradually open up opportunities in the other segments by tapping into Ali’s expertise,” Norris said.
Indian consumer understanding of omega-3
So far, Indian consumers mostly associate omega-3 with heart and joint health, but the company also hopes to introduce its benefits for skin and cognitive function to the Indian market.
“The immediate interest we are seeing is for heart health and joint health,” Norris said. “However, as we educate the brands in the market, they will realize that krill can support claims in other areas such as skin health, liver health and cognitive health.”
As such, there are plans to launch Lysoveta, the company’s lyso-phosphatidyl-choline (LPC-bound) EPA and DHA krill oil, which has been studied for its cognitive benefits, in India early next year.
