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Food Supplements for heart health are big

Beta-glucan extracted from oat is main ingredient for heart health

In our recent consulting assignment, we conducted a market research on active ingredients used in the nutraceutical industry. In general, the nutracutical industry is segmented into digestive health, immune support, weight control, heart health, beauty from within (nutricosmetic), heart health and cognitive (brain) health.  

This article covers the active ingredients used for heart health. The following article will touch on active ingredients for cognitive (brain) health.   

Sales of heart health foods and beverages are rising rapidly. Unlike other health product such as digestive health, consumers of heart health products are not offered “instant” gratification, a visible result within a couple of months, but only a promise of a long-term health benefits. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), by 2030, almost 23.6 million people will die from cardiovascular diseases, mainly from heart disease and stroke, making heart health products a must-have and a key food and drink development area. It has taken years to build solid clinical basis for these ingredients and their ability to support heart health.   

Diet can have a considerable impact on heart health, as it is linked to diabetes, elevated blood pressure and elevated cholesterol levels, the major risk factors in developing cardiovascular diseases. There are three main factors in the expansion of the health and wellness sectors, and they are:

  1. Consumers are moving away from treatment
    to prevention.
  2. When supplementing their diets,
    consumers tend to favour food and drinks over pills or capsules.
  3. With increasing education about the role
    of functional ingredients, consumers more frequently build their diets around
    health conditions.   

The major movements towards nutraceuticals (including fortified/functional foods and beverages, and vitamins and dietary supplements), focuses on adding purportedly beneficial ingredients to a diet to achieve the specific health function claimed by the product. Nutraceuticals represent a key focal point for product innovation.    

The impact of diet on cardiovascular disease risks is shown in the table below.

Diabetes

Obesity is an important risk factor for the development of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Weight management and reduced intakes of fat, sugar and carbohydrate foods offer easy solutions, which can lead to the maintenance of good heart health.   
Hypertension

The risk of elevated blood pressure and hypertension is determined by genetic background, as well as many different environmental factors, including nutrition. Excess weight, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, stress and, in some individuals, a diet rich in salt may lead to increased blood pressure.     
Hypercholesterolaemia

Elevated blood cholesterol is strongly associated with cardiovascular disease risk, as it promotes plaque development in arteries, which leads to heart attack, stroke and peripheral vascular disease. Reducing dietary intake of saturated fats and cholesterol, and consumption of plant sterols, beta-glucans and other ingredients can help reduce cardiovascular disease risk by lowering blood levels of LDL cholesterol, the so-called “bad cholesterol”, linked to formation of plaques.          
Hyperhomocysteinaemia

Elevated blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine is also a known risk factor cardiovascular disease. Inadequate intakes of folic acid and/or vitamins B12 and B6 can lead to elevated homocysteine. Homocysteine is thought to increase cardiovascular risk by reducing blood vessel dilation and contributing to blood clot formation.         

Ingredients used in heart health

There are a number of nutritional ingredients positioned for heart health, which are listed below.  

Ingredient Heart health benefits Best fortified/functional source  
Plant sterols/stanols Average cholesterol reduction of 7-10%. Spreadable oils and fats, yoghurts
Omega-3 Reduction of blood pressure, lowering of triglycerides, Milk, infant formula, spreadable oils and fats, bread, yogurt.  
Beta-glucans Regular consumption of beta-glucans contributes to maintenance of normal blood cholesterol concentrations. Oat, barley
Dietary fibre Reduced risk of coronary heart disease. Bakery products and pasta
Peptides Blood pressure lowering in hypertensive individuals. Yoghurt
Squalene Can reduce cholesterol Bread and breakfast cereals 
Antioxidants Anti-inflammatory, beneficial to heart health.  Chocolate, tea, red wine and other sources. Palm fruit juice would be a new source. 
Soy protein Reported to reduce cholesterol by 3%. Food and drinks with soy protein.

Companies involved in heart health ingredient market

There are many companies involved in the heart health nutritional ingredient market. These include Naturex SA, Ocean Nutrition Canada, Martek Biosciences Corporation and Cargill. These manufacturers also produce ingredients which are also targeted at cognitive health market. There is a high level of threat from product substitution in the heart health ingredient market. The increasing demand for heart health ingredients has resulted in a large number of ingredients competing for market share. The competition is keen in such segments such as fatty acids, vitamins and mineral supplements, antioxidants, botanicals and herbs.

Moreover, majority of the ingredients’ efficacy and safety, except a few, are backed by limited science. Additionally, consumers are confused by the offering of such ingredients in the market place. The omega-3 ingredient market is continuously undergoing consolidation. One large acquisition exercise was made by DSM which acquired Martek Biosciences in 2010. The latter was the first company to commercialize DHA produced from sources other than fish oils.    

Ingredient market for heart health

According to market research company, Bekryl.com, the ingredient market for heart health was estimated to be US17,000 million in 2019. This market is growing at 7 per cent per year and forms the largest market for ingredient in the nutraceutical industry.  

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Why the Mamak restaurants could become the refuelling stations for electric cars in Malaysia

A typical signage of a Malaysian Mamak restaurant

An article by James Hurley in the Times of UK on January 20th,  2020,  predicted that British pubs could become an important player in the electric car revolution. A company, Engenie, is installing 400 chargers at 200 of Marstone ‘s sites, a listed brewer and pub chain. This is the first tie-up in its industry to announce the installation of rapid charging stations for electric vehicles across its estate.

The CEO of Enegenie, Ian Johnston, said the tie-up is an example of how there could be unexpected winners as electric vehicle adoption picks up.

“Rapid” in this context means 80 miles of charge to vehicles in 20 to 30 minutes, which, of course, is considerably longer than it takes to fill-up a car tank at a petrol station. Mr Johnston believes that rather than hanging around on a forecourt, drivers of electric cars will be more inclined to shop or to get a meal or a coffee while they charge, meaning that retail and hospitality companies have an opportunity to draw in customers and to get existing ones to visit more often.

“There is a change of behaviour required,” he said. “We think rapid charging will mean people will sit down, check their emails, have a meal. Other pub chains are looking at now. They understand where this market is heading.” Engenie intends to install more than 2,000 rapid charging points across the UK at sites such as retail parks, restaurants, supermarkets and pubs.

On average rapid charge costs £6 to £8, or about 9p per mile. As well as offering a profit share from charging revenues, the company pays for the infrastructure, installation and runs the service, in return for being able to access its partners’ land and customers.

However, if retail and hospitality industries want to exploit the rise of the electric car, first-mover advantage might be critical. “The grid is the biggest hurdle to deploying chargers across the UK,” Mr Johnston said. While slow chargers, such as the free ones available outside hundreds of Tesco stores, can be plugged into the store’s electricity supply, rapid chargers require their own electrical infrastructure.

Once a pub, for instance, has a rapid charger, a rival down the road would likely be priced out because of the resulting demands being placed on the grid. “Once that power is gone, the next person will need an electricity sub-station. “ That would cost about £100,000 and would require a 100-year lease from the UK Power Networks. “If you have got KFC, McDonald’s and Burger King on a road, one will have the charger in, the other two can’t.”

Mamak restaurants in Malaysia  

Mamak means Indian Muslims. Mamak restaurants, which are numerous in Malaysia, offer a 24-hours dining, from breakfast, lunches, dinners and suppers. The foods they serve are cheap, such as “roti chanai”, Mamak mee, nasi kandar and tandoori chicken. At a minimum, you can have a stretched tea and “roti chanai” costing about RM2.00 (40p) .

Inside a Mamak restaurant

These restaurants could become the new refuelling stations for electric cars in the future, while having stretched tea and eating a curry fried chicken. Today, most Mamak restaurants offer free WIFI and free British football matches. Why not a free fast or reduced fast charging for electric cars?