SUPER FOODS… THE ANSWER TO EU LEGISLATION?
Added: (Wed Jan 21 2004)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
This month sees the launch of the first totally organic food supplement from UK-based G&G. Called Essential Food, the product boasts all key nutrients in its content and is based around a new, revolutionary form of cereal called Pre-Sprouted Barley. Research and development on this product has taken almost five years and the key factor in choosing Pre-Sprouted Barley was its incredible live enzyme content, giving all other ingredients a much higher bioavailability. But does the launch of Essential Food herald the start of a general response by the health industry to the looming EU restrictions on supplements?
Brand manager Noel Nile denies this is the case: “We were working on this product long before Brussels debated the supplements directive. Currently there are legal challenges going on anyway with regard to the EU legislation. We support these fully and still market an extensive range of vitamins and supplements ourselves. Essential Food is a stand-alone product which, after 38 years in business, we feel is our finest to date.”
But other industry sources say there could now be a trend towards nutritional products that fall into the category of a ‘food’ rather than a vitamin, mineral or herbal supplement. “If the legislation goes through next year in its present format, many suppliers will be unable to afford registration of proprietary formulas.’ said one supplier. “A nutritional food formula gets round this and, in many cases, appeals to a wider market.”
G&G’s managing director, Jeremy Stephens, disagrees: “Yes, there probably is a broader market out there for super food-type products but they have to offer genuine benefits and also be different to anything else. There must be around thirty different choices of B complex products available for instance, but not too much between many of them. That is not the case of a product of this sort, where good research is at a premium and where the consumer wants to know what makes it different and worth buying.’
Essential Food’s other organic ingredients include flaxseed, bilberry, turmeric, barley grass, ginkgo biloba, carrot and apple, as well as naturally harvested kelp and spirulina. Recent tests in Scandinavia have shown that the foundation of its formula, Pre-Sprouted Barley, yields literally 400% more energy than the normal grain. The product comes in powder form and is available in 200g and 600g tubs.
G&G claims this is the first, fully certified organic food supplement of its kind anywhere. There is no question that there is currently a buzz in both the European and American health markets about Pre-Sprouted Barley. There can be little doubt though, that Essential Food’s success on the High Street will be will watched closely by competitors as the shadow of Brussels hovers over the industry. Essential Food will be available in health food shops and independent pharmacies across the UK and backed by an extensive marketing campaign.
About G&G Food Supplies
G&G manufactures and distributes food supplements of all kinds. The company, which employs 80 staff, is totally independent and was established in 1965.
G&G Food Supplies Ltd
Vitality House, 2-3 Imberhorne Way
East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 1RL
Tel: 01342 312811
Fax: 01342 315938
Web: www.gandgvitamins.com