Product Information

he nutrition and health industry is steadily developing, driven by a variety of factors such as consumers' heightened health awareness, continuous updating of regulations, and the constant introduction of new products in the market. According to the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Medicines and Health Products, the scale of China's nutrition and health food industry has reached 588.5 billion yuan in 2022, and is expected to exceed 800 billion yuan in 2027.

Raw materials, as the foundation of nutrition and health product development, have always been the focus of the industry. In this article, Phytobridge, based on market trends and regulatory hotspots, has compiled the hot ingredients that are worth paying attention to in the nutrition and health market in the year 2024, including ergothioneine, PQQ and other oral beauty ingredients, dendrobium, astragalus and other medicinal and food ingredients.

Ergothioneine has a promising future

Ergothioneine is a rare amino acid found in mushrooms, certain specific bacteria and specific plants and animals that cannot be synthesized by the human body and can only be obtained through diet. Ergothioneine has the potential to be used in oral beauty care, eye care and other health applications. Especially in the direction of oral cosmetic development momentum. 2024 first half, ergothioneine in the oral beauty market sales jumped 6000% year-on-year.

Currently the leading brands in this market are Swisse and Lite-On Health, Swisse launched two products containing ergothioneine, Swisse PLUS NAD+ New Life Bottle and Swisse Ultra Light Bottle in 2024 alone. Applied in the direction of oral beauty, ergothioneine products are mostly in the form of beverages, tablets and capsules, with ingredients such as collagen, hyaluronic acid, PQQ and glutathione.

In the direction of regulations, ergothioneine was accepted as a new food ingredient by China's Healthcare Commission in May 2024, and was later notified of the extension, but a large number of products have already appeared in the domestic market through cross-border entry. In the overseas market, ergothioneine has also been approved as a food ingredient by the U.S., the EU, and Japan, and is used in a number of major cosmetic products and dietary supplements around the world.

From the supply point of view, the scarcity and cost problems faced by ergothioneine in the early days have now been solved through innovative technologies, and companies such as Only Three Biologicals, Shanghai Ergothioneine and Natural Field have successfully mass-produced ergothioneine through synthetic biology, with the cost reduced from more than 100,000 to about 10,000 yuan.

Considering the growth trend of ergothioneine, current regulations, applications, production and supply, its explosion in the local beauty care and food and beverage markets has just taken the first step, and its future development is worth looking forward to.

PQQ blossoms in multiple areas

Similar to ergothioneine, PQQ's growth has been bright, and according to EarlyData, PQQ's year-on-year growth figures take the number one spot in China's all-domain e-commerce oral anti-aging nutrient ingredient trends from 2023/06-2024/05 with 354%.

PQQ is a coenzyme of oxidoreductase, naturally occurring in a variety of foods such as milk, eggs, spinach, and more. It has a powerful role in lipid health, brain health, and metabolic regulation.

In the past two years, the regulation of PQQ has been progressing very rapidly, since PQQ was accepted as a new food ingredient in March 2021, and by the end of 2024, in just three years, it has gained legal status in food, feed, and cosmetics.

In the food sector, the Health Commission approved PQQ obtained by synthetic and fermentation methods as a new food ingredient in 2022 and 2023 respectively, which can be applied in beverages. Subsequently, some enterprises continued to declare, and in May 2024, the Health Commission again accepted the declaration of a PQQ.

At present, there are many new PQQ products on the market, mostly focusing on the direction of oral beauty, often with ingredients such as ergothioneine, collagen and spermidine. The PQQ ergothioneine 4D frozen age capsule launched by Mead Johnson's Daily Delight, for example, is formulated with PQQ, ergothioneine, spermidine, pomegranate extract and other ingredients, with a focus on cellular aging; PQQ Collagen Drink launched by Good Elements, a subsidiary of East China Pharmaceuticals, has PQQ, collagen and hyaluronic acid as its main ingredients.

In the direction of cosmetics, from 2023 to 2024, fermentation method and synthetic method of PQQ have also been successfully filed for new ingredients. In the feed field, in July 2024, China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs approved fermentation method PQQ for feed.

With the continuous updating of regulations in the fields of food, cosmetics and feed, the application of PQQ will blossom in the future. Especially in the oral beauty market, more players are joining and more new products are introduced, PQQ is expected to occupy a place in this market of oral beauty and usher in the era that belongs to it.

Creatine is not limited to sports nutrition

Creatine monohydrate is a nitrogen-containing organic acid that is a derivative of an amino acid and is traditionally used in the direction of sports nutrition due to its close association with muscle tissue and its ability to assist in providing energy to muscle and nerve cells.

The climb in the sports nutrition market in recent years has also led to the growth of creatine.SPINS data for the 52 weeks ending March 24, 2024 shows creatine supplement sales of $71 million, with a 2022-2024 CAGR of 95.5%.

While creatine has traditionally been used in sports nutrition, as research has progressed, it has expanded its applications to markets such as healthy aging and brain health.