Kerry, a world leader in taste and nutrition, has announced a new commercial agreement with Japan-based Kameda Seika to market and distribute the company’s rice-derived postbiotic exclusively in Americas and Europe across a range of applications.
Kameda’s postbiotic Lactobacillus K-1 (Lactobacillus casei subsp, 327) has been scientifically proven to improve both digestive and skin health and can be used in a variety of food, beverages, and supplements. Kerry will drive the commercialisation of this new technology to reach consumers outside of Japan by leveraging the full breadth of the company’s technology portfolio, application expertise and commercial footprint.
Commenting on the agreement, Dr Lekh Juneja, Chairman CEO Kameda Seika said: “We are very pleased to partner with Kerry, a world leader in the development of taste and nutrition solutions for the food, beverage, and supplement markets. Kerry is an ideal partner for Lactobacillus K-1 (Lactobacillus casei subsp, 327), with Kerry’s deep expertise of science backed branded ingredients, including probiotics and postbiotics, their footprint and their presence of dedicated Kerry innovation and application centers of excellence across the globe. We are extremely proud of the development of the Lactobacillus K-1 (Lactobacillus casei subsp, 327), which has already demonstrated many health benefits in clinical trials. We look forward to this partnership with Kerry, who will bring this postbiotic to a much larger global audience.
“Commenting on the new agreement, Dan Benson, Applied Health, and Nutrition Lead for Kerry APMEA, said: “As lifespans increase globally, the search is on to find innovative and sustainable solutions which will help consumers to stay active and healthy for as long as possible. This new postbiotic is a premium science backed ingredient that builds on our core strengths in digestive and immune health. We are excited by the opportunity to incorporate this premium postbiotic into our growing portfolio of science-backed branded ingredients, which includes solutions to improve digestive, immune, cognitive, infant and women’s health.”
Postbiotics are the metabolic by-products of fermentation. Offering similar benefits to probiotics and backed by growing clinical evidence, they present an attractive option for manufacturers seeking out heat and acid stable health enhancing ingredients. Consumer demand for postbiotics is also on the rise, driven by an interest in innovative food, beverages and supplements which support health and wellness.
