The astaxanthin ingredient provider was topped winner of the Editors’ Award for Toddler and Baby Diet Initiative in NutraIngredients-Asia Awards 2025.
The awards ceremony happened at Bangkok final Wednesday (September 17), where 17 awards were presented to modern, commercially profitable and clinically-backed useful components, dietary supplements, and speciality initiatives.
AstaReal was introduced the Editors’ Award for Toddler and Baby Diet Initiative for its venture “AstaReal Pure Astaxanthin for Kids Digital Eye Pressure.”
The initiative was on how the corporate has accomplished and confirmed constructive ends in what is claimed to be the world’s first clinical trial on astaxanthin and its effects on digital eye health in children.
Particularly, the 12-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 64 youngsters from India confirmed that astaxanthin supplementation may scale back each continual and acute digital eye pressure as in comparison with placebo.
This provides on to present findings on astaxanthin’s antioxidative advantages, and the way it may help cardiovascular well being, cognitive perform, be a part of, muscle, and pores and skin radiance.
The judges stated they have been impressed with how the entry tackled a problem that was much less talked about within the youngsters’s well being area, the place the main focus tended to be on cognitive, bone, and peak progress. The corporate additionally confirmed resolve by investing in a first-of-its-kind medical trial that would form future product innovation.
AstaReal emerged because the winner against two other finalists, particularly AdriVital Liquid Calcium Drink and China toddler system agency Junlebao’s Youcui Baoai.
Chatting with NutraIngredients the subsequent day after the ceremony at Vitafoods Asia, the corporate stated that the constructive medical outcomes and the award would open doorways for a brand new phase creation, the place astaxanthin may change into the ingredient of alternative for teenagers eye well being.
It is because whereas astaxanthin is efficient for adults, there was an absence of medical proof on its advantages for kids, which additionally implies that the ingredient just isn’t but broadly utilized in youngsters dietary supplements.
The corporate believes that the doorways are actually opened for creating new youngsters dietary supplements utilizing astaxanthin.
“What we are able to do with this award is to additional add worth after which increase our partnering manufacturers’ product line-up after which create extra precious merchandise for a distinct market phase – on this case, youngsters eye well being,” stated Dr. Vincent Wooden, president of AstaReal Pte Ltd.
This additionally marks a brand new milestone for the corporate.
“The successful entry was for us, a milestone, as a result of whereas it’s recognized that astaxanthin is protected and efficient, it’s unclear whether it is efficient for teenagers.
“Because of this we wish to to start with, check it and compete on this award, in order to indicate that not solely our ingredient is efficient in adults, however it is usually efficient in youngsters which can be nonetheless rising and are going through challenges relating to digital eye fatigue,” stated Carlo Alberto Muratore, assistant supervisor, Worldwide Gross sales & Advertising Division, Life Science Gross sales Group, Fuji Chemical Industries – mum or dad firm of AstaReal.
Merchandise innovation
Astaxanthin can be utilized as a single product or formulated with synergistic components like lutein to help eye well being amongst youngsters and adults.
Dosage codecs sensible, it could possibly be utilized in a spread of merchandise from smooth gels, to two-piece capsules, tablets, water-soluble powder, water-soluble emulsion and extra, stated Muratore.
Second medical trial in Malaysia
AstaReal has launched into a second medical trial to additional validate the advantages of astaxanthin for teenagers eye well being.
As in comparison with the primary medical trial, this trial will final for an extended interval at six months, whereas utilizing the identical dosage of 4-mg astaxanthin every day for the intervention group.
“There’s some very attention-grabbing indicators that we wish to examine additional.
“In our first medical trial, there have been attention-grabbing information displaying a slowing down of myopic development charges, which was mind-blowing, and we needed to reply this actually huge query: ‘may it actually assist in slowing down myopic development?’” stated Dr. Wooden.
“In that case, we would be the first vitamin answer to care for this,” he stated.
The trial will happen in Malaysia and the concept got here from a watch clinic chain that the corporate has been partaking with.
“We have been speaking to one of many largest eye clinics in Malaysia, and so they concentrate on youngsters well being.
“They’ve developed a number of complement SKUs for eye well being, however to strengthen their advertising and marketing, to get stronger well being claims, we have been related to a principal investigator specializing in medical research, and we then took it from there,” he stated.
