The Functional Ingredients Group, housed within the company’s Global Nutrition & Food Business Division (GN&F Business Division) launched this month is responsible for B2B sales of nutraceutical ingredients.
A key ingredient in the group’s portfolio is Lactobacillus paragasseri SBT2055, a strain studied for its benefits for gut health, immune function, and metabolic health — especially visceral fat reduction.
Hiroki Takeda, deputy general manager at Megmilk Snow Brand, said that communicating scientific evidence and product applications would be crucial in driving ingredient sales.
“In overseas supplement markets, the functionality of an ingredient alone is not sufficient. The research behind it, efforts to ensure quality and safety, and the ability to communicate value to consumers are also important,” said Takeda.
In its latest financial results published in August, the company had highlighted yogurt containing Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055 as one of the categories that delivered improved sales.
The introduction of a promotional campaign that clearly defined the product’s target audience and emphasized its body fat-reducing function in simpler terms has helped to improve sales, the company added.
“Megmilk Snow Brand will develop SBT2055 not merely as a strain or ingredient name, but as an ingredient brand with scientific credibility, quality, expertise in Japanese dairy and lactic acid bacteria research, and distinctive value,” said Takeda.
The newly formed Functional Ingredients Group will also provide technical support and coordinate cross-functional capabilities, including brand strategy, product planning, evidence utilization, manufacturing and quality, regulatory affairs, supply and logistics.
“This structure enables us to support ongoing collaboration even after an ingredient has been adopted.”
Clinical studies
According to the company, SBT2055, a human-derived probiotic strain, has been researched in 18 clinical studies.
One of the recent clinical studies on Lactobacillus paragasseri SBT2055 showed that supplementation could significantly lower the incidence of common cold-like symptoms, including nasal congestion, hoarseness, cough and headache, within four weeks.
During the trial, 200 adults who identified as easily developing a cold took a bottle of drinkable yogurt containing either 1 bn CFU of SBT2055 or placebo daily for 12 weeks.
Published in Frontiers in Nutrition in January, the findings also showed pDC activation and suppression of common cold-like symptoms in young participants compared with middle-aged participants.
An earlier study published in Lipids in Health and Disease in 2015 reported that SBT2055 supplementation in the form of fermented milk could significantly increase fecal fat levels compared with the control group.
Researchers explained that the probiotic could modify the physicochemical properties of fat emulsion by increasing droplet size and suppressing fatty acid release from fat emulsion.
Thirty adults participated in the double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial in which they took either SBT2055 or placebo for seven days.
Body weight, body mass index (BMI), and total cholesterol levels significantly decreased in both groups.
Notably, liver enzymes alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GTP) significantly decreased in the control group, while pulse rate significantly decreased in the intervention group but remained within the normal range.
