Nurture, Inc.: Providing Companies With The OatVantage™
Since 1992 Nurture, Inc., Devon, PA, has focused on research and development technologies for the manufacture of value-added components of oats, including oat oil, oat protein and oat beta-glucan, and has been granted over 20 patents. It is this work, according to Griffith Parker, CEO, that has provided the foundation for the development of a commercial process for the manufacture of OatVantage™, the first economical, highly concentrated source of oat bran (50% oat beta-glucan) in convenient dose.
Mr. Parker went on to explain the significance of Nurture's all-aqueous (water-based) and all-natural processing technology to the nutraceuticals market. "The value of this technology is that it allows for the economical concentration of beta-glucan from oats, while maintaining the efficacy and integrity of the functional nutritional benefits," he said. "Our all aqueous system will not damage the oat bran or co-products, and if you are familiar with agronomics today, you need to know how to sell every part of the grain to achieve an economical product for an individual market, and our process allows us to do that."
Developing innovative products and technologies is one thing, but the market's readiness for the benefits of the ingredient, product and technology is another story. According to Mr. Parker, some of the primary challenges of the nutraceuticals space are low awareness of the health benefit, the consumers' trust in a product's delivery of that benefit and utilization of ingredients that are proprietary yet connect with the consumer. "With a cholesterol-lowering benefit, you really need an ingredient that is familiar to the consumer-one in which the consumer is comfortable with the benefits of consuming it. I think OatVantage has these qualities and has the power to bring new awareness and value to existing brands," he said, adding, "Before consumers are going to try a new functional ingredient, it generally takes a long time for the ingredient to get into their nutritional vocabulary and the cost of creating consumer awareness and interest is immense." In the case of oats and OatVantage, the oat bran craze already created the initial awareness of the heart health benefits. Since then, two major, highly trusted cereal companies have continued to spend millions of dollars each year communicating the relationship between oats and heart health.
Today, market research shows that 54% of adult consumers associate oats with heart health and 30% of adult consumers would like to see this benefit on the product label. Mr. Parker feels OatVantage provides marketers the opportunity to leverage this consumer interest in adding the heart healthy benefits of oats to their product. "With over 42 clinical studies on oat bran and continuing research, we believe the growing interest in oat bran is here for the long term," he said.
Another prong to the OatVantage story is the opportunity to provide an FDA approved health claim. According to Mr. Parker, Nurture has been able to create a concentrated, economical form of oat beta-glucan that will enable marketers to formulate products that qualify for the health claim. Mr. Parker explained, "Under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), many of the marketers are very cautious about making cardiovascular health claims because they feel they might be interpreted by regulators as making a drug claim. In our case, we are using a claim that FDA has already approved, and is applicable to conventional foods as well as dietary supplements."
FDA's heart health claim states that a product containing 750 mg of beta-glucan from oat bran (1.5 grams OatVantage as a snack dose) is eligible to make the heart health claim for the reduction of cholesterol, along with a statement as to the intake of the product in conjunction with a diet low in cholesterol and saturated fats. FDA has recommended a diet consisting of a total of 3 grams of oat beta-glucan per day to help lower cholesterol. By way of comparison, said Mr. Parker, to get a full day's dose of oat beta-glucan as suggested in the heart health claim, one would have to consume up to 50 grams of other beta-glucan supplements on the market, 90 grams of whole oat cereal, 60 grams of oatmeal or just 6 grams of OatVantage.
In terms of whom this product is intended for, Mr. Parker said, "We are basically looking to target people that are concerned about elevated cholesterol and heart health. We like to think that our ingredient could be the first line of defense."-R.M.
