Natural Products Expo East In Brief

Nordic Naturals contributes to fish oil research, expands vegetarian offerings; Boiron taps into medical community for more support of homeopathics; PCG’s Janica Lane remains bullish on health and wellness investments; recycled paperboard steps up in consumer goods packaging.

Nordic Naturals contributes to fish oil research

Omega-3 products from [Nordic Naturals Inc.] are being used in more than 40 clinical studies currently underway, looking at fish oil’s effects on ADHD, autism, chronic kidney disease and post-partum depression, says the firm’s Chief Medical Officer Keri Marshall. In an interview Sept. 20 at Natural Products Expo East in Baltimore, Marshall said Nordic Naturals does not sponsor studies but gets requests from researchers almost on a weekly basis about providing its products for clinical research.

Nordic Naturals also is taking a stand against a recent meta-analysis in the Journal of the American Medical Association that claimed it found little to no benefit of omega-3 fatty acids on heart health (Also see "Stakeholders Slam Negative Omega-3 Heart Protection Study" - Pink Sheet, 17 Sep, 2012.). In fact, Marshall points out the study results did show trends toward benefit – including an 11% reduction in heart attacks and a 9% reduction in cardiac death associated with omega-3 supplementation – but the researchers’ “level of statistical significance was so high that it was unreachable,” she said.

At the trade show, Nordic Naturals highlighted several recent product launches, including expansions of its vegetarian offerings. Algae Omega provides EPA and DHA from microalgae in softgel and liquid formats, while Baby’s DHA Vegetarian is made from the same source but formulated specifically for infants. Outside of omega-3s, the Watsonville, Calif.-based firm introduced Vitamin D3 Vegan, a liquid formula derived from organic lichen and with 1,000 international units of vitamin D per serving.

Boiron taps into medical community

With a pharmacist at its helm, Boiron Inc. is increasing its education of health care professionals, asking them to consider incorporating homeopathic products such as Oscillococcinum for achiness and fever into their therapeutic arsenals. Janick Boudazin, president and CEO of Boiron in the U.S., said in an interview the company’s representatives visit physicians’ offices and exhibit at Pri-Med conferences for primary care providers; Boiron now has about 15,000 health care providers in its database. Convincing allopathic doctors to offer homeopathics to their patients is a challenge, “but it’s easier than it used to be 10 years ago” as consumer preference for natural remedies increases, said Boudazin, a pharmacist by training who was promoted to head Boiron in May (Also see "People In Brief" - Pink Sheet, 21 May, 2012.). In addition to growing in the medical and mass market channels, the CEO said he expects Boiron to grow in its core natural channel, as retail chains such as Vitamin Shoppe and Whole Foods Market expand.

Boiron CEO Janick Boudazin

Photo courtesy of Boiron

Investor bullish on health and wellness

Lifestyle companies focusing on health and wellness likely will continue to be the focus of investor activity and market growth, according to Janica Lane of Partnership Capital Growth LLC. During an Expo East presentation Sept. 20, Lane noted PCG’s “healthy living index” tracking the stocks of firms in the food, vitamin & supplement and personal care spaces largely has performed in line with NASDAQ since 2009, besting the S&P 500 during that time. Healthy living’s weaker performance so far during 2012 is mainly attributable to the struggles of multi-level marketers and [Avon Products Inc.], she said, “but food and vitamins and supplements continue to do quite well.” With the threat of higher corporate taxes in 2013, Lane said there could be a possible flurry of merger & acquisition activity in the remainder of 2012, including from private equity firms, which are sitting on nearly $500 billion in capital in the U.S. and looking for investment targets. San Francisco-based PCG’s investment portfolio includes Muscle Milk maker CytoSport Inc. and acai product firm Sambazon (Also see "Interview: Health & Wellness Investment Bank PCGA Prioritizes Supplement Innovation, Quality" - Pink Sheet, 11 Apr, 2011.).

Recycled paperboard steps up in packaging

Jeff Mendelsohn, president of San Francisco-based New Leaf Paper, says consumer packaged goods manufacturers can take an easy and significant step in making their packaging more sustainable by shifting to recycled paperboard. While solid bleached paperboard has long been the industry standard, technology in recent years has improved the print surface of recycled paperboard, which is mostly 100% recycled content, Mendelsohn said during a Sept. 19 presentation. “My gut instinct … is that over half of all people using [solid bleached paperboard] right now could switch to recycled paperboard,” he said. He noted that 10 tons of recycled paperboard requires 40 fewer tons of wood than the same amount of solid bleached paperboard, which still can be used in high-end applications that require embossing. In the next two to three years, Mendelsohn expects paper packaging made from agricultural byproducts such as wheat straw to become commercially viable as well.