Seeking to expand in nutraceutical segment, Anil Bioplus Ltd (ABL) will invest Rs 150 crore in a greenfield plant at Halol near Vadodara in Gujarat to increase production of calcium and sodium gluconates.
Anil Bioplus Ltd is a venture of Anil Group of Companies based in Ahmedabad. The company claimed in a statement that it is the first company in the country to introduce gluconates through fermentation process in India.
Nutraceutical, coined from words ‘nutrition’ and ‘pharmaceutical’, is a food or food product that reportedly provides health and medical benefits, including the prevention and treatment of diseases.
Commenting on the company’s entry into nutraceutical segment, executive director of Anil Bioplus Ltd Darshan Mehta said, “With gluconates, we will enter the nutraceutical industry. We believe that the value added segment in the entire food processing industry offers maximum growth and so we will enter the nutraceutical segment to harness the potential as this industry is still in its nascent stage in India.”
The manufacturing of gluconates, Mehta further said, is in line with the company’s policy of introducing new value added products regularly.
“The new greenfield capacity is expandable. It has infrastructure that is USFDA approved and will also manufacture enzymes and citrates,” he said.
The company expects the new facility to be operational by next financial year, which would primarily cater to domestic and global market demand.
ABL claims to be the only manufacturer of calcium gluconate in India through fermentation process.
There are few other manufacturers of calcium gluconate, but they use the ‘electrolysis’ process, which is expensive.
Calcium gluconate is used as a source of calcium in veterinary and nutraceutical applications while sodium gluconate is used in construction and chemical industries.
