This week’s headlines included the news from the China Chamber of Commerce on imports and exports of health foods, SuppCo’s new TESTED certification program, and MartinBauer’s consolidated nutraceutical unit.
China health foods stats: US still top exporter, Australia’s exports down 21.5%
The United States remained the top health foods exporter to China last year, followed by Germany where exports were up 15.5%, while Australia—the top exporter between 2018 and 2020—saw exports fall by 21.5%.
This is according to the latest statistics compiled by industry association China Chamber of Commerce for Import & Export of Medicines & Health Products (CCCMHPIE) published last month.
China imported health foods worth US$8.28 billion in total, a year-on-year (YoY) increase of 6.9%, and exported health foods worth US$4.6 billion, up 7.8% YoY.
The country’s health foods imports have also exceeded exports for the third year in a row, amounting to a trade deficit of US$3.68 billion last year.
As the top exporter, the United States exported health foods worth US$1.65 billion, which was a YoY increase of 8.6%. Nearly one in five health foods exported to China (19.9%) came from the United States last year, a trend similar to past years.
“This shows that the brand influence and penetration of American products remain solid in China’s premium health and nutrition consumption market,” the report stated.
Multivitamin and sports nutrition products were the key exports from the United States. Overall, U.S. exports tended to emphasize the functional benefits of the products.
SuppCo launches certification to verify actives in dietary supplements
SuppCo, the health tech app that “helps people make sense of supplements,” has introduced TESTED by SuppCo, an independent certification program that anonymously purchases supplements and tests them to verify their active ingredients.
The new program complements SuppCo’s TrustScore supplement quality rating system and builds on earlier testing initiatives, which revealed that roughly half of the top-selling supplements that the company bought off the shelf failed to meet basic label accuracy standards.
“SuppCo was born out of my own frustration trying to make informed decisions about supplements, and I quickly realized this wasn’t a personal challenge but a systemic failure of the industry,” Steve Martocci, co-founder and CEO of SuppCo, shared in a press release. “With TESTED by SuppCo, we’re setting a clear, independent standard for transparency and accountability so people can finally trust what they’re buying, and responsible brands can prove it.”
TESTED by SuppCo debuts in partnership with brands including Momentous, Thorne, Metagenics, Gaia Herbs, Designs for Health, Fatty15, Solaray, Niagen, Integrative Therapeutics and Pendulum.
MartinBauer nutraceutical unit delivers ‘single gateway to the world of botanicals’
Botanical experts MartinBauer, Finzelberg and MB-Med have united under one nutraceutical unit to sharpen their value proposition and offer a one-stop shop for credible, science-driven ingredients.
By bringing research, formulation expertise and analytical precision together under one roof, the new nutraceutical unit at MartinBauer aims to give brands a clear, dependable route to innovation.
In addition to making it easier for companies to bring effective, evidence-based botanical products to the consumer, the hub seeks to address some of the key challenges facing the botanicals sector today: fragmented health claims, increasing regulatory scrutiny and growing consumer demand for transparency and scientifically supported products.
“The new nutraceutical unit acts as a single gateway to the world of botanicals and was formed to raise the bar for quality, credibility and collaboration in the nutraceutical industry,” said Anina Krey, global director of the nutraceutical unit at MartinBauer.
By consolidating production, supply and logistics across major regions, the firm can improve capability and speed to market, she said, as well as reduce mismatches in the development process, where data, formulation and regulatory expectations do not always meet.
“In addition, harmonized planning shortens lead times, regional manufacturing hubs offer flexible capacity, and vertical integration gives customers a predictable supply—even when market conditions are unstable,” Krey said.
