Founded in Denmark in 2017, Bactolife is moving from pioneering biotech solutions (“biosolutions”) to the commercial launch of a new category of science-backed food ingredients: Helm binding proteins. The company expects to launch commercially this month, with an initial focus on health supplements and functional foods and beverages.
The technology takes a different approach to gut health by binding unhealthy metabolites in the gut while leaving beneficial bacteria undisturbed. According to Fredrik Gumpel, senior vice president of the Asia-Pacific region, the approach “complements established gut health ingredients such as prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics, adding a new approach to supporting gut health.”
The opportunity comes amid growing interest in more proactive gut health solutions across Asia. For companies involved in health supplements and functional foods and beverages, Gumpel sees an opportunity to use Helm binding proteins to develop differentiated products and expand their gut health portfolios.
“Consumers are increasingly looking beyond general digestive health towards solutions that help maintain gut resilience against everyday challenges,” he said.
For Bactolife, that shift is creating opportunities to work with established companies in health and nutrition as it moves toward commercialization. Rather than positioning its technology as a replacement for existing gut health ingredients, the company sees it as an additional tool for companies developing products for increasingly health-conscious consumers.
“Our ambition is to bring Bactolife’s science-backed food ingredients to the region and partner with leading local companies.”
Fredrik Gumpel, Bactolife’s Senior Vice President of the Asia-Pacific Region
The Asia-Pacific is a major priority for Bactolife, and the company is taking a focused approach to entering this diverse regional market. Singapore and Hong Kong are set to be its initial launch markets, while it is also engaging with companies in Japan, South Korea and Australia.
Many of the potential partners are regional brand leaders with established footprints across Asia. Gumpel said this could allow Bactolife to introduce Helm binding proteins through existing consumer brands in its initial markets and, over time, expand across the wider region.
Japan has a particularly important role in this strategy. Its advanced scientific research, sophisticated consumer market and strength in functional foods, health and nutrition make it both a potential market and a partnership hub.
“We are interested in collaborations spanning scientific research, product innovation and commercialization,” Gumpel said, particularly with Japanese companies that have an established presence across Asia and knowledge of local markets and regulatory environments.
Having lived and worked in Asia for almost a decade, including with a Japanese company, Gumpel brings a personal understanding of the region’s diversity. Bactolife now aims to combine that regional perspective with its biosolutions platform as it moves toward commercialization.
“Our ambition is to bring Bactolife’s science-backed food ingredients to the region,” he said, “and partner with leading local companies” to translate the potential of Helm binding proteins into consumer products that are relevant across the Asia-Pacific.
