Japanese firms eye India with pills to keep you young, healthy

Kaneka Corporation and Hydride Ion Corporation have entered into a  pact with Indian pharmaceuticals firm Generix Lifesciences to sell  such food supplement pills and other such feel good products in the  country, officials said.

"One capsule a day will enhance the overall quality of life,said  Ramesh Rajan, director of Genlife. Nutraceuticals make people feel  good and live healthy and longer, without any side effects," Rajan  told IANS.

Delhi-based Generix Lifesciences has formed a unit called Genlife to  market these nutraceutical and food supplement products and promote  their use with the help of their Japanese partners.

Initially the company will focus on popularising the use of food  supplement pills in Delhi and the National Capital Region and then  would gradually move to other major cities across the country.

"In the medium term, our plan is to import just the ingredients and  manufacture the products in India. It will reduce the cost  significantly," said Sandeep Jha, director at Genlife, adding the  products would be repackage at their factory in Roorkee.

Officials explained that globally, the nutraceuticals market is valued  at $124 billion and was expected to touch $225 billion by the end of  this decade, with the US, Europe and Japan accounting for over 80  percent of the market share.

In India, Rajan said, the nutraceutical supplement market is currently  estimated at around $1 billion, including the unorganised sector. "The  market size is expected to touch $8 billion by 2020.

Speaking to IANS, Isao Otsu, managing director of Kaneka in India,  said the company foresees a huge potential in India. A Japanese  conglomerate, Kaneka Corp reported a $5.6-billion revenue last year  and plans to open manufacturing units in India.

Rajan said among the reasons for low use nutraceuticals in India was  the lack of availability and high cost. "Customs duty is 70 percent.  Then you have 12.5 percent as value added tax. All this put together  makes almost half the cost," he said.

For example, one nutraceutical capsule currently costs around  Rs.80-120, but prices can be reduced by 30-40 percent with economics  of scale and if the taxes and duties are reasonable. These products  are not hurting any domestic industry.