Korea Yakult Sells Self-Developed 'Probiotics Lactic Acid Bacteria Raw Material'

Korea Yakult Probiotics Plant Exterior View

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Sunghye] On the 9th, Korea Yakult announced that it will start selling probiotic lactic acid bacteria raw materials developed in-house.

The strains sold by Korea Yakult as a domestic and international business-to-business (B2B) product are Lactobacillus complexes certified by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety as individually recognized health functional food ingredients (which may help reduce body fat).

They were created by combining the patented lactic acid bacteria ‘KY1032’ and ‘HY7601’ developed by Korea Yakult Central Research Institute. These are Korean-type lactic acid bacteria isolated from kimchi varieties collected nationwide. Research began in 2002, with a total research period of 17 years and development costs of 3 billion KRW invested.

Korea Yakult has signed contracts with diet supplement companies (Health Balance, Hurum) to supply the complex. They plan not only to supply raw materials but also to develop new products independently.

Korea Yakult has decided to actively expand the sales of probiotic lactic acid bacteria as a new business starting with the Lactobacillus complex.

Currently, Korea Yakult holds a total of six individually recognized ingredients and 24 patented lactic acid bacteria strains. Through the B2B business, they aim to replace imported foreign lactic acid bacteria raw materials and activate the domestic health functional food market by supplying lactic acid bacteria raw materials owned by the company.

To this end, they have made facility investments exceeding approximately 100 billion KRW. In 2014, they completed the country’s first multipurpose probiotics plant on the Pyeongtaek factory site and established a mass cultivation system for lactic acid bacteria. Last year, they completed a new state-of-the-art production facility in Pyeongtaek, establishing an integrated process system from probiotic lactic acid bacteria cultivation to production.

Shim Jaeheon, head of the Korea Yakult Research Institute, said, “Based on a library of over 4,500 strains collected through various channels, Korea Yakult researchers have been striving to discover probiotic functionalities,” adding, “We plan to expand the B2B business beyond Korea to overseas markets and develop it as a new growth engine.”