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ITC
to launch Herbal Newsletter
The
Geneva based International Trade Centre (ITC) has recently
decided to launch a newsletter aimed at providing exporters
of medicinal plants and botanical extracts with information
on prices and trade flows in this growing business sector.
The International Trade Centre is a United Nations agency,
which operates under the umbrella of the World Trade Organisation
and the United Nations Agreement on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD).
ITC’s Market News Service Department provides timely, accurate
price and market information on selected primary and semi-
processed products for use by importers and exporters particularly
those in developing countries and economies in transition.
The existing stable of MNS includes briefs on Fresh Fruits
and Vegetables, Fruit Juices, Flowers, Spices and Pharma-ceutical
Raw Materials. MNS are available on a subscription basis and
are sent to clients in more than forty countries. Special
rates apply to subscribers from developing countries.
Denzil
Phillips International has been awarded a contract by ITC
to help set up this new service. The assignment involves selection
of products, assistance on format and layout, the establishment
of a global network of correspondents and advice on how best
to promote this service internationally. Although the final
list of products to be included in this MNS have not been
finalised they will include a range of European type dried
botanicals such as St Johns Wort, Valerian etc, some bulk
extracts like Echinacea and Liquorice as well as some more
specialised Asian plants and extracts.
Denzil Phillips International will be making a series of consultative
missions to Europe, USA, Japan and China in order to develop
an appropriate correspondent network. ITC hopes to launch
the first edition sometime in the late summer and will be
consulting with industry prior to finalising the content and
format of the Newsletter. The Medicinal Plant MNS will be
supplied monthly by email to subscribers. It is also planned
to produce a web based version as soon as is technically possible.
For more information on the MNS see http://www.intracen.org/services/mns/mns.htm.
If you have any suggestions for the newsletter please contact
PLANTWISE on info@denzil.com.
IBC’S
Herbal 2000 stresses importance of "Functional Foods"
The
market for licensed herbals is adversely affected by Europe’s
regulatory uncertainties say industry experts at the recent
Herbal 2000 conference in London. The conference which was
held on 24th and 25th February in the Claridges Hotel and
organised by IBC’s Life Science Division was attended by more
than two hundred of the most important names in the international
herbal industry.
Many of the speakers - including Peggy Brevoort, ex-President
of A.M. Todd Botanicals, Gerald Eva, Managing Director of
Solgar Vitamins UK and Werner Baer , CEO - Martin Bauer’s
Plantextract - see functional foods and beverages as the area
where most future growth will come from. Here regulatory interference
is at a minimum and opportunities for new product development
are far greater than in the field of licensed herbals where
the European market still suffers from inconsistencies and
uncertainties.
Recent estimates suggest that the world market for functional
foods and drinks is around $30 billion while supplements at
$2.8 billion are less than one tenth this figure. Interestingly
the largest markets for functional foods are not necessarily
the largest market for herbal extracts. Germany - which is
by the largest consumer of herbal extracts - represents only
16% of the European market while the UK – only a minor player
in the field of herbal extracts - is the largest single consumer
of functional foods. UK have nearly 30% of the European market
for functional foods followed by France with 22% of the market.
As Werner Baer, Plantextract’s CEO, pointed out Japan is also
a major player in the functional food sector. Since 1991 the
Japanese have developed specific legislation for their "foshu”
industry ("foods with a specialised health
use") and "foshu" has become
a billion dollar industry in Japan. Figures by Datamonitor
clearly show that it is the soft drink sector where most natural
and herbal extracts are used followed by dairy and bakery.
| Use
of Natural and Herbal Extracts in Liquid Formulations |
| |
Japan |
USA |
Europe |
| Soft
drinks |
43 |
35 |
24 |
| Dairy |
25 |
31 |
29 |
| Bakery |
11 |
15 |
15 |
| Pasta |
2 |
4 |
3 |
| Snacks |
3 |
5 |
3 |
| Confectionary |
5 |
1 |
6 |
| Spreads |
2 |
0 |
8 |
| Other |
9 |
9 |
12 |
| Values
as percentage of market share. Source: Euromonitor 1997 |
The
main question on everyone mind is where the concept of ‘functional
foods’ will end and that of the marketing gurus take over.
Attempts to sell St Johns Wort yoghurts clearly pushed the
regulators too far. But there still appear to be far too many
functional foods on the market whose “function” seems anything
but defined and where the consumer is being lured - and sometimes
wrongly so - into thinking that the addition of tiny quantities
of some well known botanical extract will automatically enhance
the health and nutritional value of traditional family foods.
Novartis
- Quaker Oats link
The recently announced joint venture between America’s Quaker
Oats and Switzerland’s Novartis confirms industry opinion
that functional foods will be the growth market of the future
(see above). The two companies have recently announced they
will form a new joint venture company to be called Altus Food
which will jointly develop a range of functional food products.
Novartis’ existing strength in herbal supplements (Valderra
range) infant foods (Gerber foods) and phyto-medicines coupled
with Quaker’s enormous distribution and marketing muscle will
be a combination hard to beat. One can be sure that similar
food-pharma marriages will be on the way designed to exploit
the functional food sectors. Unilever have also announced
that they would be looking at a similar type of deal and are
believed to have been in discussion with German pharma giant
Bayer - owners of the Centrum range of herbal supplements.
Pacific Islands Kava Council
to promote Kava worldwide
The Pacific Islands Kava Council (PIKC) - which held its first
official meeting in July 1999 - has begun work developing
a whole host of projects designed to support its mandate to
protect the commercial, cultural and heritage interests of
Pacfic Kava. The Council, which was set up in 1999 at the
request of Kava exporting countries like Tonga, Fidji and
Vanuatu, aims to ensure that Kava export is put on a sustainable
footing and that the intellectual property rights of Kava
growers are respected internationally. PIKC’s Chairman Sione
Tupouniua has been negotiating with international donor agencies
to enable the Council to more effectively carry out its work
promoting Pacific Kava internationally. A major thrust of
PIKC’s activities will be to establish better communication
between producers and consumers of Kava through trade fairs,
exhibitions, seminars and other promotional activities. For
further information contact http://www.pacificislandskavacouncil.com.
FDA
still undecided about Ma Huang
After nearly three years of enquiries there is still no final
decision as to what restrictions the Federal Drugs Adminstration
will apply to protect the U.S consumer against possible harmful
side effects from the use of Ma Huang (commonly known as Ephedra).
Since the passing of DSHEA in 1994 sales of natural ephedrine
have risen enormously in USA particularly amongst the fitness
and body building community. In the summer of 1997 the FDA
decided it would restrict the sale of this product based on
over 800 reports it had received of serious illness, injuries
including deaths associated with the use of dietary supplements
containing ephedrine alkaloids. Several states like Texas
have already put restrictions both on the potency of the capsule
(no more than 25 mg per dose) and labelling instructions which
recommend doses be limited to less than 100 mg per day. The
FDA want to go much further and limit the capsule dose to
8 mg, daily intake to 24 mg and recommend people to stop taking
the supplement after seven days. They, moreover, want to add
a warning on the bottle which would say “Taking more than
the recommended dosage may cause heart attack, stroke, seizure,
or death” as well as additional warnings for pregnant and
lactating mothers.
Lawyers on behalf of the suppliers are resisting such labelling
changes and maintain that the evidence so far collected on
the dangers of Ma Huang are inconsistent and unscientific.
Whatever the lawyers may say consumers are well advised to
seek professional advice before using Ma Huang.
GNC’s
own label second most popular in GNC stores
In a recent presentation at London’s Herbal 2000 Dr. Susan
Trimbo, Vice President of GNC Scientific Affairs told the
audience that their own label products accounted for 16% of
all GNC sales in 1999, exceeded only by that of Celestial
Seasonings. GNC, which has recently been taken over by Royal
Numico of Denmark, is one of the world’s largest herbal retail
chains.
| Product
Turnover in GNC Stores |
| Brand |
Frequency |
Brand |
Frequency |
| Celestial
Seasonings |
16 |
Sundown |
8 |
| GNC |
16 |
Centrum |
6 |
| Ginkgoba |
16 |
Herbalife |
5 |
| Nature
Made |
10 |
Spring
Valley |
5 |
| Ginsana |
9 |
Nature
Brand (GNC) |
4 |
| Nature's
Way |
8 |
|
|
| Source:
GNC 1999 |
Dr Trimbo further provided some fascinating insight into the
consumer segments buying dietary supplements in GNC stores:
| GNC
Customer profile |
| Gender |
% |
Age |
% |
Family
Income |
% |
Education |
% |
| Male |
39 |
18-34 |
30 |
<$30k |
23 |
College
graduates |
24 |
| Female |
61 |
35-49
|
35 |
$30k-$49k |
23 |
Non-graduates |
31 |
|
|
50+ |
35 |
$50k+ |
37 |
|
|
| Source:
GNC 1999 |
These
figures suggest that a large of proportion of users do not
fall into the category of young professionals, but instead
come from low-income, less well-educated backgounds. For more
information try http://www.gnc.com.
ComSec
goes ahead with African Medicinal Plant Trade Forum
The Commonwealth Secretariat recently announced that it had
agreed to finance and organise a major international workshop
on the trade in medicinal plants and botanical extracts. The
meeting is to take place in South Africa towards the end of
2000 and will probably be co-financed by the European Union’s
Centre for Development of Industry - a Brussels based organisation
which helps support private enterprise in Africa, the Caribbean
and the Pacific (ACP) The meeting will be used to launch the
recently completed Commonwealth “Guidelines to Exporters of
Medicinal Plants to European Markets” and will be attended
by producers and exporters of medicinal plants throughout
East and Central Africa as well as key representatives from
European industry, trade promotion organisations and regulatory
bodies.
Denzil Phillips International has been awarded the contract
to organise the first Commonwealth workshop on medicinal plants
in Africa. The company also helped bring CDI and the Secretariat
together to discuss possible co-financing. Representatives
of the Secretariat and Denzil Phillips International will
be visiting South Africa in May to discuss the possible venue
and format of the event with Government. Anyone involved in
trade with African medicinal plants should contact the Commonwealth
Secretariat’s Export and Industrial Development Department
or email info@denzil.com.
They will also make a presentation to the South African Health
Food Manufacturers Association on May 12th before flying to
Nairobi on 16th May to address members of a conference entitled
“Traditional Medicines and Local Communities in Africa: Challenges
and Opportunities of the new Millennium” For further information
email erukangira@iconnect.co.ke.
Hain
buys Celestial Seasonings for $390m
Hain
Foods, one of America’s largest health food companies bought
Celestial Seasonings, America’s largest herbal tea company,
for $390 million in a move that surprised some in the industry.
Celestial Seasonings had certainly gone through a rough patch
when it launched its herbal supplement range but these problems
seemed to have been resolved. Certainly with the enormous
distribution power of Hain and as important the financial
and marketing muscle of Hain’s largest single shareholder
H.J. Heinz, Hain-Celestial is set to become a major force
in the US botanical industry. As Market Researchers A.C. Nielsen
recently indicated the US tea market is now worth more than
$1.6 billion with green tea and herbal teas representing more
than $200 million of this segment. Celestial–Hain could make
significant inroads into this market.
| US
Tea Sales (million US$) |
| Ready
to drink |
608 |
| Tea
bags |
543 |
| Ice
tea mix |
218 |
| Herbal
tea |
162 |
| Green
tea |
54 |
| Instant
tea |
39 |
| TOTAL |
1687 |
| Source:
A.C. Nielsen 1999 |
It is in the relatively small green tea sector where most
of the growth has been taking place in recent years with Ready-to-drink
teas taking second place in the growth table league.
Ghana
to develop Medicinal Plant Garden at Aburi
Using
a £79,000 grant from the UK National Lottery and Charities
Board and technical assistance from Botanic Gardens Conservation
International (BCGI) the Aburi Botanic Gardens in Ghana will
develop a 136 acre site as a model medicinal plant garden.
A project advisory committee has been formed which includes
Fiona Dennis of BCGI as well Theodoplius Agbovie, Curator
of Aburi, and his assistant Afriyie Damankah. When finished,
the garden will be used to encourage villages in the neighborhood
to grow and sell more medicinal plants. It should also help
educate adults and children in the region to better appreciate
their medicinal plant heritage and to learn to identify the
key species of medicinal plants that grow in Ghana. The garden
will work closely with the nearby Mampong Centre for Research
into Traditional Medicine, which carries out research into
the uses, potency and commercial value of medicinal plants
and herbs. For more information contact bgci@rbgkew.org.uk.
Natural
Products Europe vs. Natural Products Expo Europe
It
cannot have been good news for the Directors of Natural Products
Europe to learn last year that New Hope International Media
was intending to launch a Health Food and Herbal Fair in Europe
called ‘Natural Products Expo Europe’. Not only is the name
similar but also the client. Natural Products Europe was started
by Full Moon Communications and was - until last year - very
much a small- scale affair concentrating on the health food
market in the UK. In the last few years - as dietary supplements
and herbals have grown in importance in Europe - so has fair.
So much so that Full Moon were forced to shift the event to
Olympia, London this year. Of course New Hope Media promoters
of Expo West and Expo East have vastly superior financial
and managerial resources at their disposal as well as a continental
location, which is much more attractive for the big French
and German companies who dominate the European nutraceutical
scene. For more information on Natural Products Europe see
http://www.naturalproducts.co.uk;
Natural Products Expo Europe see http://www.expoeurope.com.
Chile
invites top botanical experts to "business meet"
Chile’s
University of Concepcion with financial support from PROCHILE
recently invited a group of top international experts to the
mountain spa Termes de Chillan to discuss Chile’s role in
the future of the nutraceutical industry. The key note speech
was given by Peggy Breevort, one of the pioneers of the U.S.
nutraceutical industry, until recently President of A.M. Todd
Botanicals, one of America’s leading extract firms. Dr Joerg
Gruenwald of Phytopharm Consulting presented an important
paper on European market trends supported by Ray Cooper of
Pharmanex on the situation of botanicals in the Far East.
Other overseas speakers included Ed Fletcher of Wilcox Natural
Products (part of Botanicals International) who gave a fascinating
talk on the cultivation of the hitherto wild harvested Goldenseal
and Mark Blumenthal, President of the American Botanical Council
and editor of Herbalgram and Eckehard Luke of Schaper & Brummer.
Denzil Phillips, who is actively involved in Chilean botanical
projects, attended the event. Further details can be obtained
from the Conference organiser Dr Marisol Berti, of the Department
of Agronomy of the University of Concepcion. Details from
mberti@udec.cl.
Noni
Juice could be harmful say US Scientists
Following
hot on the trail of the Pacific’s herbal Kava Kava comes Noni,
a juice widely sold in Hawaii and increasingly in mainland
USA. It is used as a remedy against hypertension, ulcers,
and heart disease. Unfortunately Noni juice has come in for
bad press recently. This is largely due to a report on the
death of a patient with kidney disease in the American Journal
of Kidney Diseases. The patient, who regularly drank Noni
juice, had dangerously high levels of potassium and refused
to stop drinking it despite medical advice. Some doctors are
warning that Noni juice could be harmful for patients with
renal dysfunction. Noni juice has similar levels of potassium
to orange and tomato juice both products which are not recommended
to patients with kidney problems.
FPI
launch Herbal Range
FPI, the Lincolinshire based flavours and fragrance raw materials
supplier, has recently gone into nutraceuticals with the set
up of its Nutraceutical and Natural Products Division. NNP
has launched a limited range of herbal products including
Australian Aloe Vera drinking gel and capsules, Hawaian Noni
juice and capsules, Green Barley extract as well as Aboriginal
Emu Oil The products are all produced for them in Australia
where FPI owns one of the world’s largest Aloe Vera plantations.
For more information see http://www.n-n-p.com.
Websites
- www.biofach.de
Info on the top organic fair in Europe
- www.foodtrader.com
On-line agricultural trading
- www.expo2000.de
Info on the Hanover World Fair
- www.phytotherapy.org
Association of Phytotherapists
- www.diahome.org
Info on the Drug Information Association
- www.green.tradenet.de
An organic info data base
- www.usedmarket.com
Second hand processing equipment mart
- www.healthnotes.com
Herbal retail database
Up and Coming
-
Vitafoods International 2000
3rd International Exhibition & Conference 3-5th May 2000
http://www.palexpo.ch
Provides a meeting point for professionals involved in the
science, technology and marketing of nutraceuticals, dietary
and herbal supplements, ingredients, functional foods and
OTC pharmaceuticals. Organised by PalExpo Vitafoods is expecting
over 300 exhibitors and 5,000 professional visitors. It
will include some top grade speeches on regulatory problems,
marketing trends and technical developments.
- The
Regulation of Herbal Products in Europe. From Diversity
to Harmonisation
May 16th 2000 Royal College of Surgeons of England, London
email pviner@hfma.co.uk
This is a major seminar organised by the European Federation
of Health Product Manufacturers (EHPM) and includes talks
by EHPM Chairman Antony Bush as well as speakers from Germany,
Spain, UK, Sweden, Italy and the Netherlands.
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Natural Product Expo Europe
RAI International Exhibition and Congress Centre, Amsterdam,
Netherlands 6th-8th June
http://www.expoeurope.com
New Hope International Media, organisers of Expo East and
Expo West, make their first sortie across the Atlantic to
tap the relatively undeveloped market for nutraceutcal and
health food shows in Europe. The show will be divided into
two halls - one for supplements and one for health foods
- and will include an extensive conference programme highlighting
scientific and marketing issues relevant to the industry.
- World
Botanic Gardens Congress
Asheville, North Carolina June 25-30th, 2000
http://www.aagba.com
Claimed to be the first time that major botanical garden
organisations join together to host this historic event
which will launch the new International Agenda for Botanic
Gardens in Conservation. Special attention will be given
to the issue of ex situ conservation of medicinal plants.
- 2nd
International Seminar “Organics in the Supermarket”
Convention Center, Basle, Switzerland 25-26h August 2000
email ifoam2000@fibl.ch
This is the second event organised by the prestigious International
Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) with
technical and managerial support from the Swiss Research
Institute for Organic Agriculture (FibL) It will include
talks by leading organic suppliers like HIPP and the Coop
as well as visits to the BioMarche show at Zofingen (25-27th
August).
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