India Focus: Nestle India's traditional ingredients focus, oral supplements for anti-hyperpigmentation, BL Agro oil production growth and more feature in our round-up

Growing up with grains: Nestle India says traditional ingredients in children’s foods key to boosting parent confidence​

Nestle India has highlighted the incorporation of traditional ingredients into children’s foods as a key strategy to boost parent confidence in a product’s nutritional benefits, on the back of its latest ragi-based cereal launch.

Marketed under the popular children-focused CEREGROW brand, the new sub brand is dubbed CEREGROW Grain Selection and has a strong focus on the use of traditional Indian ingredients such as ragi (finger millet) as opposed to wheat and ghee (clarified butter).

‘Double approach’: Skin care brands launching oral supplements for anti-hyperpigmentation as awareness grows​

Skin care firms are increasingly launching supplements that claim to reduce skin hyperpigmentation, giving consumers an alternative to traditional topical creams.

Skin hyperpigmentation can be a result of acne scars, excessive exposure to UV light, and ageing. 

Geneva-based Horphag Research, the company behind skin health ingredient French maritime pine bark extract, trademarked as Pycnogenol, noticed that more skincare brands are launching oral supplements that could counter skin hyperpigmentation. This is often added to their products for topical application.

Cementing success: New plant will see Indian oil giant B. L. Agro Industries vastly boost output​

India’s edible oils and food giant B. L. Agro Industries is gearing up for a rapid increase in production as it seeks to cement its position in the domestic market.

MD Ashish Khandelwal said the firm aims to multiply its output to 900 metric tonnes, with the operations of its second plant starting mid-September 2022. The output is almost a 10-fold jump from 100 metric tonnes daily at its current sole plant in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh (northern India).

Tapping potential: Indian nutra firm Diabliss to develop 10 new herbal water products​

Chennai-based nutraceutical and food firm Diabliss Consumer Products is developing another 10 herbal water supplements – on top of its five existing products – to tap the lucrative potential of the general wellness market in the country.

The 10 bottled products will target issues on gut health, stress, sleep disorders, immunity, cholesterol, energy, rejuvenation, memory and growth. They are still in the research and development (R&D) phase and expected to be commercialised around September to December 2023, starting with India, said the firm’s co-founder and COO Shiv Vallabhaneni.

Under investigation: Vitamin D, zinc supplementation to be assessed among COVID patients in India​

A new trial in India is set to assess if vitamin D and zinc supplementation could be a safe, inexpensive and effective regimen when caring for COVID-19-positive patients.

Past research featuring observational and experimental evidence has linked vitamin D to a variety of communicable and non-communicable diseases, whereas zinc contributes to an immune modulatory and antiviral effect.

As a result, a team of researchers from India, the US and Canada have devised an RCT to test their hypothesis that the two nutrients could affect treatment outcomes among individuals with COVID-19 in India.