CNIC 2017 Talked About China's Natural Ingredients Industry and Health Market Trends

Press Release

CNIC 2017, hosted by Chinese Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Medicines and Health Products (hereinafter referred to as CCCMHPIE) and Herbridge Media, grandly opened on October 26 in Handan, Hebei Province. Speakers from various fields and companies, and nearly 400 participants exchanged ideas and gained new inspiration for the development of the industry.

Meng Dongping, vice president of the CCCMHPIE, shared how to build new brands of Chinese herbal companies in the global health market. Meng indicated that more and more herbal extracts exported from China are used for food purposes, while product innovation is not enough and the entire industry moves forward with the challenges. China's food safety law and the FSVP Act of the United States have placed the industry in a more stringent environment of development.

As one of the founders and leaders of China's herbal extract industry, Zhang Chengwen, president of Chongqing Joywin Natural Products Co., Ltd., shared the current global health topic of gut health. The relationship between micro-ecological balance of human gastro intestine and health is being recognized, and this concept of health has also led to the development of the global probiotics market. However, what hides behind is a greater market opportunity: prebiotics. Inulin, as the prebiotic which has the world's highest awareness, the largest market share and the most widely range of application, will lead the latest gut health mania.

Loren Israelsen, president of the United States Natural Products Association (UNPA), shared some factors that would make Chinese products more accessible to the U.S. market. 80% of U.S. dietary supplement products come from China, and the health industries in China and the United States are developing more and more closely. However, the U.S. market has started to pay more attention to the natural properties of products, individualized nutrition based on genes, and product reliability and transparency. These trends have posed new challenges for establishing Chinese brands in the United States.

Liu Dan, general manager of Tianjin Jianfeng Natural Product Research and Development Co., Ltd., said the herbal extract industry relies on natural resources. However, the use of natural resources will inevitably lead to the change of the entire ecological environmental chain. He introduced aspects such as the wastewater discharge standard of the herbal extract industry, the general characteristics of sewage and sewage treatment technologies. He further emphasized environmental awareness is a sense of social responsibility that every practitioner should have.

Lu Qingguo, president of Chenguang Biotechnology Group Co., Ltd., said most of the Chinese herbal extract companies mainly provide raw materials for foreign companies. However, with the increase of consumers' awareness of health and the innovation of domestic companies, Chinese herbal extract development has become more value-added, allied by technology and resource advantages.

Shen Miao, director of great China region of Lycored, an Israel brand which is a global leader of lycopene, detailed the latest clinical research progress on natural lycopene including fetal development during pregnancy, childhood cognitive health, reproductive health and skin health of young people, cardiovascular and eye health of the middle-aged, as well as osteoporosis and prostate health of the elderly, etc. Lycopene plays an important role in human health. It is not only an herbal nutrient, but also a companion of our life.

North America has become the world's main market of dietary supplements. Sherry Wang, president / founder of Ingredientsonline.com, took the lead in establishing this online platform and became one of the new channels for the companies to enter the North American market. The site includes sales settlement, shipping and custom clearance, customer service, and United States warehousing and marketing. Li Yunchuan, business development manager of Genosis (China), introduced the new generation of folic acid derivative (6S) 5-methyltetrahydrofolate glucosamine salt developed by the company. It is safer, more water-soluble, more stable and bio-available than the folic acid products already on the market. It can be used as a replacement for folic acid supplements. At the same time, this new folic acid has features such as not metabolized in plasma, no correlation with MTHFR, and no vitamin B12 deficiency mask effect, and its safety has also been widely proved.

Dr. Chen Jiepeng, managing director of Sungen Bioscience Co., Ltd., the sole natural vitamin K2 raw material manufacturer in China, conducted a professional introduction to the audience. "Bring calcium into the bone" is the most prominent among many health benefits of vitamin K2. It has also subverted the traditional view of calcium supplementation, which is, vitamin D + calcium. Existing research confirms that vitamin K2 is the key element for calcium absorption of the bones, and this scientific theory is also leading the revolution in vitamin K2 market.

Eric Hua, nutrition formulation expert from Yili Group, shared how the R & D function is changing. He analyzed, in detail, how to establish the R & D team and elaborated on the mission and significance of modern commercial R & D through the discussion of a modern business model. He also pointed out that R & D personnel must clarify their own mission. They must first study the market instead of products, and develop products suitable for market needs so companies can have greater benefits and long-term development.

Andrew Cui, CTO of Probious International, Inc., Canada, shared about the interaction between herbal active components and intestinal microecology, and application.”

Intestinal flora has been the focus of international research in recent years, and probiotic supplements has also been a hot product for the health industry. Dr. Cui An from Probious, Canada, started from the characteristics of human gastrointestinal microbial flora and explained the characteristics, distribution and changes of intestinal flora in the human life-span in simple and profound terms. He also highlighted the major brands, product features and trends in the North American probiotic market.

Dr. Lin Feng, R & D director of Quanjian Nature Medicine Technology Co., Ltd talked about the current R & D status quo in China. He pointed out that the emergence of independent R & D companies has represented the health industry is entering a new era in China. R & D is the starting point of marketing and also a process of industry upgrade. Quanjian Group takes R&D as the center, focuses on the active ingredients, and pays more attention to bioavailability. Dr. Lin’s speech started with gut microflora and focused on the modern application of micro-ecology. He pointed out that the development of micro-ecological foods based on fermented Chinese medicines will be one of the trends in the future development of health foods.

What are the main advanced production technologies of high-quality natural products and supplements? Chad Nelson from NU Skin, United States, introduced the current detection technology of natural products and supplements. He pointed out that at present, genomics, mass spectrometry and proteomics can also be key technologies in the comprehensive study of natural products. If there is missing DNA of key substances during the extraction process, according to targeted research, missing fragments can be found. He also showed many cases of applied genomics. Mass spectrometry is also an important analytical technique in the field of research and provides an accurate biochemical analysis of raw materials.

Zhao Botao, vice president of Nanjing Institute for Comprehensive Utilization of Wild Plants, analyzed the background of health industry and further explained how natural products are widely used in market segments such as food, food additives, agriculture, chemical cleaning, etc. by their unique natural health functions. Taking edible mushroom, for example, Botao introduced efficacy and application study of the black fungus, white fungus polysaccharide, etc.; he also introduced lavender cultivation GAP, cryogenic extraction of lavender essential oil and other technologies. Finally, he pointed out that natural products need to pass organic certification or by other means, gain consumers’ trust, and that the industry should also attach importance to the 1.3 billion in the Chinese health market. Therefore, natural products need more diversified application development.

Chloe, senior editor & industry researcher of Herbridge Media made a speech at the sub-forum “Cyclic Economy: Comprehensive Utilization and Whole Industry Chain Development of Botanical Resources.” She said natural products will generate solid, liquid and gaseous wastes during processing. By proper treatment, their value can be fully utilized. The editor shared some examples of comprehensive utilization of Chinese waste tea, eucommia leaves, and also recycling experiences of waste products such as egg shells, chestnuts and more in foreign countries. Finally, companies should increase awareness of recycling and processing of by-products, intensify the utilization of waste and develop value-added, reusable products within a reasonable range of costs.

In the sub-forum, “Breaking through Dilemma: Airborne Particulate Matter Analysis and Anti-Smog Products Development,” Prof. Ma Yongliang, an associate researcher at the School of Environmental Science and Engineering of Tsinghua University, explained the characteristics and prevention of PM 2.5 in air pollution from a professional environmental perspective. Zhang Bo, an associate researcher at Tianjin Institute of International Biomedicine, said food and medicine homology is a lesser-known treasure in traditional Chinese medicine, and the development of edible and medicinal homologous compound products that prevents PM2.5-induced lung injury is the current trend of consumer demand. Dr. Yan Renyi from Ubasic Herbal Ingredients Innovation Center elaborated on nutritional therapy to prevent impacts of air pollution on health from the aspect of herbal extracts. A number of studies have shown that some herbal extracts can promote the excretion of contaminated particles, while also having anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects, as well as reducing the problem of single cell permeability.

During the two-day forum, participants discussed how to develop a natural product based on phytonutrients, medicine and food homologous extracts, and how to interpret the essence of the natural health industry with practical actions under the macro-health industry. Participants exchanged and shared the topics of reusing natural products, processing waste and developing anti-smog products. The CNIC 2017 conference was organized by Chenguang Biotechnology Group Co., Ltd.