Nandan to enter nutraceuticals

Nandan Biomatrix, the Hyderabad-based agri-biotechnology and medicinal plantation company, is foraying into active nutraceutical ingredient manufacturing and marketing. The company is going to set up a large-scale herbal extraction and process facility in Hyderabad.

The company is mainly eyeing the overseas markets, where the nutraceutical industry has progressed. It has also formed a joint venture company in Malaysia to connect the country with other Asian and overseas markets.

The company has also tied up with a few large domestic companies in the nutraceutical market for regular supply of nutraceutical ingredients

including herbal extract solutions. While the nutraceutical sector is yet to emerge in India as a large volume business segment, the global market for nutraceuticals is currently pegged at $11.5 billion. The global market mainly comrises the US and certain European markets with players also from these markets.

"Since most of these nutraceuticals are purely based on natural extracts, there is high demand for quality ingredients coming from countries like India," said Nandan Biomatrix MD V Bhaskar Rao.

Nandan Biomatrix, which had signed a memorandum of association (MoU) with International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) for R&D on medicinal plants for deriving nutraceuticals.

The company is engaged in a gamut of agri-biotech activities such as direct and contract farming of various herbs, aromatic plants and bio-fuel plants since a decade.

It is also the first company to set up Horti Processing Park, in association with Andhra Pradesh Government to process horticultural produce for greater value addition and integrate the supply chain.

In 2004, Firstcall India Equity Advisors had picked up 6-10 per cent equity stake in Nandan Biomatrix as the latter announced a Rs 22.50 crore expansion plan in medicinal plants cultivation, processing and formulations.