At the same time, Kaneka has concluded a license agreement with ABB to grant Kaneka the exclusive rights for production and sales of ABB's products in the US, Canada and Japan.
Kaneka aims to achieve Y10bn ($91m) sales in 2022 by developing and launching differentiated new products.
Functional dairy
Lactic acid bacteria have been in the spotlight for their effect and efficacy not only on intestinal function and immune system, but also to allergic symptoms and infectious diseases.
The interest and business of dairy products such as yogurt, functional foods and dietary supplements containing lactic acid bacteria is also rapidly increasing, Kaneka said.
The market for health foods using lactic acid bacteria has exceeded $2bn in North America. In Japan, many new products, including yogurt and dairy beverages containing lactic acid bacteria have been launched in the market, and there is an expectation demand will continue to increase.
ABB has extracted more than 550 original probiotic strains and sells a wide range of clinically-documented probiotics products to health food and pharmaceutical companies worldwide.
Expanding globally
Kaneka has been expanding its functional food business globally such as regenerative co-enzyme Q10 (Kaneka QH), polyphenol derived from licorice (Kaneka Gravonoid) and plant-derived lactic acid bacillus.
Kaneka has also started a dairy products business, including milk, butter and yogurt in Japan under technical cooperation with Belgium’s Pur Natur Invest BVBA.