Divine internationalism: Indian supplement brand set for US, Nepal and Dubai expansion

Its products range from multivitamins, vitamin C, and protein products, including branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), essential amino acids (EAA), isolate protein, and whey protein concentrate.

The five-year-old company currently sells its products across India via online and offline channels – including supplement stores and gyms by working with over 400 distributors.

Divine Nutrition is a brand owned by Vedant Nutraceuticals. The company's manufacturing facility has been registered with the US FDA under the bioterrorism act/Food Facility Registration (FFR) system.

Having its manufacturing facility registered with the US FDA, the company believes it is in good stead for overseas expansion, with Nepal, Dubai, Bangladeshi and the US in its plans, although there are also queries about its products from Australia and New Zealand, it said.

It is expected to venture into the Nepal market first.

“The FSSAI certification [which all food and beverage operators in India need to obtain] is known by the Indians but US FDA is known worldwide.​

“Registering our facility with the US FDA is like adding a badge to our products. Globally, people know about it. It increases the credibility of our products and can positively affect our sales,”​ legal advisor advocate Lokesh Khaire told NutraIngredients-Asia.​

Despite COVID-19, he said that the company spent only about one month from the date of application to receiving the US FDA certificate register its facility with the US FDA. 

“It took us around 20 to 30 days once we applied to get the US FDA registration.​

“These days, everything has been communicated via email and the process is relatively easy so long as you fulfill all the criteria needed,” ​he said about the online registration.

As part of the process, the US FDA would assess information provided about the manufacturing facility, such as the types of activities conducted at the facility and types of products made in the facility.

In India, Divine Nutrition’s top three bestsellers are its protein products, namely Icon Isolate (whey-isolate protein product), Hunk Gainer (whey protein concentrate and whey protein isolate product), and EAA Gold Series.

Although the company is heavy on protein products, Lokesh emphasised that the firm’s target audience were not only athletes, but also individuals who are looking for supplements to meet their wellness needs.

“Ours are not just sports nutrition products…For example, if I go to the gym and I want to lift more weights, then the product will help me in lifting more weights, gaining more muscles.​

“But if I don't go to the gym and just want to get the proper protein intake, this will also help me maintain that. That’s why I can’t say that the products are targeted at a particular group of people. They are for everyone.”​

Vegan trend ​

Riding on the popularity of vegan foods, the company has also developed vegan protein supplements.

One example is Super Green, which consists of pea, soy, and brown rice protein, as well as papain and prohydrolase enzymes meant for aiding digestion and absorption of protein.

He said that although dairy remained a staple in diets across India, there has been a rising demand for vegan food and supplement.

“The proportion of people adopting the vegan diet is not very big, but the number of people opting for such products is big enough for us to want to create vegan products,”​ he said, adding that most consumers interested in vegan have been the younger population.