JW Biotech Challenges Health Functional Food Market with 'Fucoxanthin'

JW Biotech (CEO Yang Jaewon) announced on the 15th that it will soon launch a product using the marine microalgae extract 'fucoxanthin' on the market.

Fucoxanthin is a powerful antioxidant found in seaweeds such as miyeok (Undaria pinnatifida) and dashima (Laminaria japonica). Although it was discovered decades ago and its various health-related functionalities have been documented in over a hundred research papers, it is still a new substance that has yet to debut in the health functional food market. Until now, mass production has been difficult, and since dried miyeok or dashima contain only about 0.1% fucoxanthin, its commercial value was low, delaying product development.

Recently, Microalgae Source (MAUS), a KAIST technology spin-off company, succeeded in mass-producing microalgae fucoxanthin. JW Biotech signed an exclusive supply agreement with this company and began product development. They plan to obtain food approval by March and first introduce it to the market as a general food product. Currently, they are discussing ODM and OEM contracts with Hanmi Pharmaceutical, and plan to proceed with registering the new ingredient with the US FDA and securing export partners in the future.

JW Biotech expects fucoxanthin to satisfy consumers seeking next-generation health functional foods. A company representative explained, “Microalgae containing fucoxanthin are cultivated in closed facilities, preventing environmental destruction and eliminating the risk of contamination by hazardous substances such as microplastics. Furthermore, multiple clinical trials have confirmed that long-term consumption is non-toxic, ensuring safety and meeting consumer demands for trustworthy raw materials.”

He added, “We anticipate leading the next-generation health functional food market with microalgae fucoxanthin developed purely through domestic technology. We also expect to drive sales growth by commercializing fucoxanthin products, which have faced industrial utilization limits due to high production costs and distribution difficulties.”

According to the Korea Health Supplements Association, the top five individual recognition health functional food items had sales of 231.4 billion KRW in 2021. Since 2019, no new individual recognition health functional food has surpassed the top five items to change the market landscape. The company believes that fucoxanthin can establish itself as a new super health functional food ingredient going forward.

Meanwhile, fucoxanthin has various functions. According to numerous scientists, its reported benefits include eye health, body fat reduction, improvement of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, gut health, anti-cancer effects, diabetes improvement, anti-inflammatory effects, skin health, and dementia improvement.