KUALA LUMPUR: Duopharma Biotech Bhd and US-based food tech company The Live Green Co are collaborating to develop plant-only wellness foods and plant-based pharmaceuticals in Malaysia.
The collaboration involves the development, manufacturing and commercialisation of plant-only wellness foods and plant-based pharmaceuticals for Duopharma Biotech’s consumer healthcare range.
Additionally, it involves the substitution of animal-based or synthetic ingredients and the development of products for people with special dietary requirements.
Duopharma said it will bring at least two reformulated products to the market by 2024. The brands that will soon carry plant-only or plant-based tags include Flavettes, Champs, Proviton, Uphamol and Naturalle.
Duopharma group managing director Leonard Ariff Abdul Shatar said the collaboration allows the group to expand the number of plant-only wellness foods and plant-based pharmaceuticals that it can offer to consumers, thus expanding its market potential, while simultaneously reducing its carbon footprint from non-sustainable ingredients and under-optimised manufacturing processes.
“Consumers are now more conscious and educated about sustainable consumption. Plant nutrition is a healthy alternative to wellness products with animal-derived or synthetic ingredients. There is a growing movement towards making healthier food and supplement decisions, and we aim to be among the companies meeting this demand in Malaysia and in our wider global market,” he told a press conference at a signing ceremony today.
Leonard Ariff remarked that the production cost of products using plant-based materials will be higher but only for the short term.
“Ultimately, as more and more companies jump on the bandwagon, you're going to get scalability of production even albeit from plant-based material that will drive down costs over the longer term,” he clarified.
As the US dollar is rising while other currencies such as the euro are weakening, the group is looking at opportunities to import from countries whose currencies are at par with the ringgit.
“In fact, some of the equipment that we import from Europe is all denominated in euros, although raw materials are in US dollars. Duopharma is exporting roughly 8–9% of our revenue. This gives us a natural hedge to a degree because we're exporting in US dollars and we're buying our raw materials in US dollars,” he explained.
In reply to a question, Leonard Ariff said Duopharma is working with a few parties, including Australian and other companies in the region, to look at the feasibility of cannabis-related healthcare products.
“But it's a bit of a chicken and egg (situation) because we need to understand the regulatory frameworks to make sure we don't run afoul. Until the regulations are clarified, it's not something that we're putting all our efforts behind. But it is one of many projects that we're working on,” he added.
