Speaking to NutraIngredients at Vitafoods Asia in Bangkok, Jerome Le Bloch, PhD, head of scientific affairs at FoodChain ID, said companies can find they need additional studies, reformulation or changes to manufacturing processes if European regulatory requirements are not considered early enough in product development.
“Many companies develop ingredients mainly for their own market and the US,” Le Bloch said. “Now, due to political decisions and the difficulties entering the US market, including tariffs, they are focusing more on the European market.”
But he warned that ingredients developed for other markets do not necessarily translate directly to Europe, where requirements can differ across areas including manufacturing processes, extraction solvents, specifications and supporting data.
“They develop an ingredient for one market, but in Europe we do not have the same regulations,” he said. “For example, extraction solvents are not the same. So we face hurdles in the manufacturing process, in the specifications, and so on.”
For Asian suppliers seeking to enter Europe, the key is to consider EU requirements from the outset rather than treating regulatory compliance as a final hurdle after an ingredient is developed.
Europe as a badge of credibility
Navigating Europe’s regulatory hurdles can deliver benefits beyond market access, Le Bloch explained, with European approval also offering valuable commercial and marketing advantages.
He noted that securing EU regulatory approval not only opens a ‘huge’ new market but also demonstrates that an ingredient meets stringent European safety and quality requirements. Companies can then use that approval to strengthen their credibility in other markets and in commercial communications.
“They know that if they have an EFSA or FDA approval, it will be positive for the business in general,” Le Bloch said.
Trends among Asian suppliers
Speaking to NutraIngredients after the show, Le Bloch noted the strong interest in probiotics and microorganisms in the Asian market.
He said many ingredient suppliers demonstrated advanced capabilities in probiotics, with extensive portfolios of well-defined strains, which provide excellent grounds for European approval.
“When we work on new ingredients, we need a clear demonstration of the identity of the microorganism — the strain and all the relevant data — and they have this data. So they are ready for the European market,” he said.
Companies were taking key trends and translating them into specific health benefits rather than broad consumer concepts. Longevity, for example, remained a major focus, but companies were linking it to outcomes such as cognitive health and metabolism, Le Bloch explained.
“Longevity really is a trend everywhere,” he said. “It is not only longevity as a general topic, but really specific effects related to longevity, such as cognitive health or metabolism.”
Interestingly, GLP-1, which has taken over the conversation in European and North American regions, appeared to take a back seat in Thailand.
“I was expecting to see a lot of GLP-1 again, like at Vitafoods Europe or SupplySide, because it is everywhere,” he said. “But I had the feeling there was less focus on this topic than in the European or US markets. In fact, many of the APAC region companies seemed less interested in GLP-1 than European or US companies.”
Advice for companies entering the EU market
For Asian companies targeting Europe, addressing European requirements early can help avoid costly reformulation, additional studies or changes to the manufacturing process later, Le Bloch advised.
“They should not go step by step, because they will have difficulties and may need to change the process or the composition, or perform new studies and analyses,” he said.
Instead, he advised companies should build regulatory considerations into product development from the beginning and assess the European market alongside other target markets.