‘’A demand for nutrition supplements has been seen amongst the Indians’’

What are global and India specific nutritional trends?

Haeri Roh-Schmidt

Malnutrition is being referred to as India’s silent emergency. According to the World Bank report, the rate of malnutrition cases among children in India is almost five times more than in China, and twice than in Sub-Saharan Africa.

India has long been the focus of under and malnutrition where Fe, VitA, Zn and VitD deficiencies, as well as malnutrition-driven stunting has been very prevalent. However, what is important to note is that the global issue of over nutrition is also just as much an issue for India. Double burden of over and under nutrition is global as well as India concern.

India is said to be the diabetic capital of the world. Is the lack of proper nutrition one of the reasons behind this? Diabetes has also made Indians prone to heart diseases. What kind of nutritional modifications/changes should be employed in the diet to counter these health problems?

India has the second highest number of people with diabetes in the world, which is expected to increase to 101.2 million by the year 2030. Nutrition is certainly a crucial reason for the rapid spread of this disease. Juvenile diabetes and level 1 and level 2 diabetes amongst adults is on a high in India. Much of age related chronic illness, metabolic syndrome (cardiovascular, obesity and diabetes) has a large contribution of diet, exercise and lifestyle management. While there are multitude of lifestyle changes that can have a very positive impact on all of these, it appears that lifestyle changes aren’t as easy as it sounds. Sound diet choices in key essential nutrients that are important for aging consideration and related sugar management such as Vitamin B complexes, D, C, E, Omega 3 PUFA, as well as key minerals such as Mg, Cr, Zn can be considered.

How does developing nutritional science help in energy management?

Fatigue is one of the most frequent complaints amongst consumers (in fact energy has been a key trend in consumer food and beverage product for the past two to three years). Complex lifestyle, abrupt working hours, stress, unhealthy eating habits contribute to rising fatigue amongst the youngsters.

Managing energy and vitality through good nutrition is a key market focus in global aging market. Developing nutritional science gives insights to the consumers on energy management and also helps them in choosing a healthy lifestyle.

Traditionally, Indian population is not inclined towards nutritional supplements. So, what should be the way forward for the companies like yours that want to penetrate the Indian market?

‘Dietary supplement’ is just that, it is meant to supplement the diet. Where nutritional supplements in form of pills/capsules/tablets (historical dietary supplement format) is not conducive for consumer reception, supplementing via acceptable form (food and/or beverage) should and could be considered. This also means making supplementation easy and accessible to consumers and thus contributes to overall nutritional improvement in the population, especially to those who do not have access to sound nutrition. A demand for nutrition supplements has been seen amongst the Indians. DSM as a life sciences and material sciences company is offering solutions for both vegetarian and non-vegetarian population in India in order to offer them a healthy life.

Genetic make-up of each country’s population varies. How challenging is it to manufacture nutritional products for Indian consumers?

While genetic variation contributes to how nutrition is metabolised and reacted upon (and science is still building), key nutritional need/consideration on population basis exists already and can be acted upon. This relates to above mentioned nutrients, especially relating to aging, sugar management, energy management, climate change etc. I think it is important to note that while we do not have all of the customisation/personalisation worked out, we have enough information for call to action/call to awareness on improving nutrition. A few challenges in manufacturing nutritional products in India are elimination of disparate solutions, standardising quality management processes, availability of infrastructure and climatic conditions.

India is a cost-sensitive country and nutritional supplements are generally considered expensive. How are you going to resolve this?

This is an important consideration; however, it isn’t necessarily unique to India. Making nutrition accessible at affordable cost is an important fact to remember for any market. And with key nutrient consideration, it is not cost prohibitive in most cases, in reality.

Any new products in the pipeline?

At DSM Nutritional Products, innovation is one pillar that bolsters our business. Innovation is not only through introducing new ingredients that address key health concerns but also through introducing ingredients forms that works in innovative application and delivery formats. With this is in mind, we are constantly innovating to bring new products to the market in the area that we discussed. Health concerns that address aging population, concerns such as cardiovascular health management, sugar health management, mobility management, and cognitive health management. We have several ingredients that we are launching this year in these areas.

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