An Auckland business – Anagenix - has won two major international awards in quick succession for an innovative
ingredient made from organically-grown gold kiwifruit. The ingredient is used in prebiotic products, which promote gut
health by providing food and fibre for gut-friendly bacteria.
The Asia-Pacific region’s probiotics market is predicted to grow from $17.5bn in 2018 to more than $25bn by 2025, while
the prebiotic market is set to enjoy almost double-digit CAGR (compound annual growth rate) over the period, as benefits
far beyond digestive health are more widely understood.
New Zealand-owned Anagenix manufactures and markets high-quality scientifically-formulated prebiotic and other
ingredients used by health supplement and nutraceutical manufacturers. Its products are locally grown kiwifruit and
boysenberry-apple powders, gently processed from non-GMO whole fruits, to retain a high level of bioactivity. The
company’s products are also BioGrow NZ organic certified, halal and kosher.
Its Livaux prebiotic ingredient was this week awarded the Prebiotic of the Year by the Asia-Pacific region’s leading
supplements, health and nutrition publication NutraIngredients Asia. In July it also won the sister publication’s Prebiotic of the Year award in the United States.
This year’s NutraIngredients Asia awards received a record number of entries. When conferring the Best ingredient of the
Year award for prebiotics, judges comment they were impressed with Livaux’s clinical evidence, commercial strategy and
the product’s back story.
Anagenix General Manager Chris Johnson says: “We are very excited to win this award as well as the USA one. Winning in
both continents enforces Livaux’s position globally.
“The Anagenix team has been working on Livaux, building the science and marketing portfolio to back up the product for
the last four years.”
Mr Johnson describes Livaux as a “precision prebiotic” in that the prebiotic effect is targeted to support the growth of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (F.prau), which is low in people suffering from IBS, IBD and Crohn’s disease. As an extremely oxygen sensitive bacteria, F.prau cannot be taken as a probiotic supplement. Consumers who want to improve their gut health and promote the growth of
their resident F.prau, therefore need to take a prebiotic like Livaux.
“As a whole-fruit solution, it is safe and effective for children and adult formulas, including for specific health
conditions such as IBS, IBD (Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis) and celiac disease sufferers.
Livaux is as an active ingredient to support microbiome and repair digestive health in products in manufactured and sold
in USA, New Zealand, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and China.
It is available in New Zealand by way of Lifestream’s Kiwi Bio Boost and Kiwi Bio Boost Kids products, which both
contain it as the active ingredient.