Indian nutrition industry burgeoning with potential

In early December 2011, New Hope Natural Media and its Engredea group produced a series of three Market QuickStart seminars in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore, India. Sponsored by Xsto Solutions, and in partnership with HADSA and Pharmexcil on the ground in India, these meetings brought together experts from the U.S. market and executives in the Indian pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, ayurvedic and supplement markets.

What follows is a Q&A with several of the Market QuickStart India presenters, with a few thoughts on the Chinese market thrown in for perspective.

What were your impressions of the Market QuickStart attendees in India?

Steve Taormina, Director of Standards, New Hope Natural Media: Attendees were eager to understand FDA regulations for properly manufacturing, labeling and marketing dietary supplements in the United States. They seemed quick to understand the basic regulations and had good, specific questions about compliance issues.

Kendal Norris, Show Director, Engredea: Inquisitive. Ready to take action. There was some clear confusion or frustration when the topic of NDIs came up, probably due to not having a real understanding about what it could mean to the market and how it could affect their business. They crave a better understanding of what the American consumer is looking for as it relates to supplements.

Len Monheit, Executive Director, Engredea: The Indian attendees were very technically savvy, and they wanted to do things the proper way, but they were having trouble getting beyond the pharma mentality. Their absolute hunger and appreciation for the information was really evident. We saw and met a diverse group, and there is huge untapped intellectual potential.

Dan Murray, Vice President of Business Development, Xsto Solutions: The QuickStart attendees I met varied from entrepreneurial start-ups to large, well-organized conglomerates that are presently—or soon will be—offering high-tech preparations of active ingredients or botanicals. The entrepreneurs have hopes of selling into both the premium North American market and the emerging domestic market of India. Several of the large producers are currently providing material to North America. In general, the attendees were highly educated (most had advanced degrees) and highly motivated to expand their businesses.

Steve Hanson, Owner, GRIP IDEAS: Absolutely impressive. The attendees in India demonstrated their in-depth technical knowledge along with awareness for the increased global manufacturing and regulatory requirements. Participating companies spanned nearly all aspects of the supply chain from raw materials to finished products across nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals and functional foods. There were even a few animal nutrition companies present. Many had done business internationally while others were evaluating their first plans for expansion into new markets. Given India's long cultural history in utilizing natural products, many attendees exhibited a deep and personal understanding of the self-care nutritional approach contributing significantly to the meetings.