AlphaWave L-Theanine stress-relief support in Asia

As pharmaceutical stress-relief drugs often come with drowsiness, loss of mental focus or other side-effects, an increasing number of people are looking for natural products that provide experiential stress relief without any of these side-effects.

We live in stressful times, which could be the reason why Ethical Natural’s (ENI) AlphaWave® L-Theanine has seen strong growth in demand in the US, now building in Australia and Asia Pacific countries. Published reports document that high stress levels in countries from Singapore to Vietnam range for 40-80% of the population.¹

Clinical studies with ENI’s AlphaWave clearly demonstrate its abilities to increase frontal alpha brainwave activity associated with feelings of calm and bring significant stress relief without any drowsiness, reduction in mental focus or loss in mental acuity.

For example, a key study, ‘A randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study to investigate the efficacy of a single 200mg dose of AlphaWave® L-Theanine on stress in a healthy adult population’, published in Neurology and Health concludes:

‘In conclusion, a 200mg dose of AlphaWave® L-Theanine improved physiological indicators of stress in response to the MAT test compared to the placebo, including frontal region alpha power and salivary cortisol. A 200mg dose of AlphaWave® L-Theanine was found to be safe and well tolerated and should be considered as a nutraceutical supplement to manage acute stress.’²

Another published clinical study on AlphaWave, ‘Safety and Efficacy of AlphaWave® L‑Theanine Supplementation for 28 Days in Healthy Adults with Moderate Stress: A Randomized, Double‑Blind, Placebo‑Controlled Trial’, was designed to confirm its safety over a longer period of time.

This study concluded: ‘AlphaWave® L-Theanine was safe, significantly decreased perceived stress, improved sleep quality, and enhanced cognitive attention in the studied population. This new study thus confirms the key S/F claims that AlphaWave® helps relax without drowsiness, promotes mental clarity and focus, and reduces nervous tension’.³

With the ubiquity of stress in daily life, confirmation of long-term safety is an important addition to the body of science on AlphaWave.

Australian TGA approval focuses interest and growth of AlphaWave

Cal Bewicke, CEO of ENI states: “The clinical trials and the experiential calming effects of AlphaWave L-Theanine are what built the rapidly growing market for AlphaWave in the US. Now we’re seeing sales levels expand in the Australian and Asia Pacific areas. One accomplishment that moved this forward was the Australian Therapeutic Goods Authority (TGA) approval that we obtained in early 2024.”

Achieving this status from TGA on an entirely new ingredient such as AlphaWave requires verification of detailed information on manufacturing processes, quality controls, consistent purity and absence of any potential solvents or contaminants, in addition to safety and efficacy of the ingredient.

This approval was received after 18 months of work by ENI and TransChem. AlphaWave is now the only source of L-Theanine approved for supplement use in Australia where TransChem is the exclusive distributor.

Bewicke states: “Frankly, it would have been more challenging for us to obtain TGA approval without the work done by our distributor/partner TransChem. We found that their technical and regulatory expertise is at the highest level.”

Daniel Kenny, CEO of TransChem goes on to say: “To date the market adoption has been exceptional, with 18 products containing AlphaWave launched, 10 of which have AlphaWave in combination with other actives such as magnesium. A further 15 launches by major retail and practitioner brands are planned for the remainder of 2025. A number of these companies are now actively launching their brands into other Asia-Pacific markets.”

The market potential of AlphaWave in the Australian, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific markets is substantial. It‘s estimated that the Australian and New Zealand markets will ‘mirror’ the global and, in particular, the Asia-Pacific growth forecast for dietary supplements. Global Newswire projects a CAGR of 9.44% from 2025 to 2034.⁴

Demand for ENI’s core ingredients grows in other Asian countries

In addition to the Australian customers’ brands, ENI has built strong markets around Asia for its core proprietary ingredients: AlphaWave L-Theanine, GreenGrown vegan glucosamine, Cranberex cranberry extract and Polyphenol-C; companies in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, Korea and Hong Kong now buy these ingredients.

The reasons for this growth, as in the US, are based on support by published clinical studies, and well-documented health benefits, or patent protections. Additionally, ENI has established a strong reputation for reliable supply and quality guarantees through the NSF GMP certification of its manufacturing, distribution and testing laboratory facilities.

As consumers continue to seek supplementation for stress relief, AlphaWave presents as an ideal way to manage stress, without adverse side-effects like drowsiness.