QUANTEC took out this year’s supreme award from the natural health products industry for the second time in as many years, making it the only company to do so.
It is a reflection of the recent success the company has enjoyed following the launch of its milk protein and flax seed oil drink on the Chinese market.
Chief executive Raewyn McPhillips said the award was hard-earned with a product posing significant technical challenges.
It took the combined the expertise of seven companies to see it finally make the shelf in China.
Everything from packaging, which is a state-of-the-art, high-value squeeze container, to the tricky science behind combining an oil (flax seed) with an aqueous milk protein took the development to a new level in terms of complexity.
The product also contains patented milk protein-derivative IDP, which is the foundation of a number of Quantec products made in recent years.
IDP provides a barrier in a cow’s mammary gland, helping protect against pathogenic infection, including mastitis.
Quantec has managed to extract the compound and retain its protective nature so it can be used in human health treatments, including as acne control in the company’s Epiology range of skin care, now enjoying strong sales in Mexico.
IDP’s anti-bacterial activity makes it an ideal compound to put in the milk drink and as an active ingredient it fits well with Chinese appreciation of brain-gut health.
Meantime, the flax seed component of the drink brings a high level of Omega 3 fatty acids, recognised for their ability to enhance brain health and cognitive development in early childhood.
If the formulation was not challenging enough the company also had to negotiate complex Chinese product claim laws.
“Products that fall into the health supplements area have a number of exacting claims they are allowed to put on packaging and you have an approval process to achieve that,” company founder Dr Rod Claycomb said.
“Instead, we have marketed this as a flax seed oil and protein drink.
“We have been careful to stay away from any claims about enhancing brain health.
“We had to find something that resonates with Chinese consumers and this is a product for both brains, as the Chinese view the gut as the second brain.”
Company staff are excited about the potential the product has in other variations, possibly including hemp oil instead of flax seed oil, with hemp seed containing elevated Omega 6 fatty acids known to help with heart health.
Equally, opportunities exist to develop markets for the proprietary product IDP.
Ten years into its development the holy grail remains applying IDP as a non-antibiotic treatment for mastitis in dairy cows. Claycomb is confident a commercial application will be developed within three years.
“This is an area where all global animal health companies are making a non-antibiotic treatment their number one priority and we aim to launch it in New Zealand first.”
The role of IDP in the human microbiome is another area only just starting to be explored as understanding of the collective microbes in humans grows.
Quantec research has revealed IDP has strong anti-microbial activity that is highly selective in its action, targeting pathogenic bacteria while leaving good bacteria untouched.
“The next step is to see how we can use this selective ability to promote health in the body?”
The company is also being approached by other companies keen to use the compound in a range of applications in the human health area.
Claycomb agrees with the dictum that milk is an onion with multiple layers waiting to be peeled off and used for many different applications.
Of particular interest are lipid profiles in milk that might lend themselves to skin-care products.
With the rise of the middle classes in China and the surge in the she-economy the Chinese skin care market is fast becoming the world’s largest market for cosmetics.
It has averaged 20% year-on-year growth for the past seven years and was valued at NZ$155 billion in 2017.
“As a value-add company we have to keep looking for things that have not been done yet and carve out some novel IP to avoid the commodity hole,” Claycomb said.
