Partnership Opportunities for the University of Auckland in the Nutraceutical and Functional Food (NFF) Sector

Abstract

The global market for nutraceutical/functional food (NFF) products is rapidly growing and is valued at around US$140 billion. Consumers are increasingly buying NFF products for their health benefits. The growing market is attracting multinational companies from the food & beverages (F&B) industry as well as the pharmaceutical industry to innovate and manufacture NFF products. Making health claims adds value to the products, but is strictly regulated and requires significant investment in R&D to gain a better understanding of the bioactivities and functionalities of the NFF products. Research collaborations and strategic R&D partnerships with universities are increasingly seen as a cost effective way to accelerate innovation in the NFF sector. The research question is: “What are the opportunities for the University of Auckland for large scale, strategic partnerships with multinational NFF companies based on international best practice?” The University of Auckland’s NFF-related programmes focus primarily on maternal and infant health, digestive health and immunity, as well as mobility and metabolic diseases in the general population and particularly among the elderly. These research themes overlap with those conducted by big multinational players in this sector. To identify suitable potential partners for the University of Auckland, the top 100 multinational companies from the F&B and pharmaceutical industries were analysed, and 25 companies were identified with significant NFF product lines. From these, ten companies had a global spread of R&D centres, had significant presence in New Zealand (NZ), and have a track record of industry-academic collaborations (IACs). The shortlisted companies were: Abbott, Danone, Fonterra, Kellogg, Kraft Foods, Nestlé, Otsuka, PepsiCo, Unilever and Suntory. Based on the interviews with three key NFF researchers at the University of Auckland and a deeper analysis of NFF activities of the shortlisted companies in NZ, six companies were selected as suitable potential strategic partners for the University of Auckland. These six companies are the preferred partners for the three researchers, and are likely to trust the New Zealand’s business environment due to their existing significant presence and activities in NZ. My final recommendations are for five companies in ranking order for potential strategic partnership with the University of Auckland as follows: 1. Fonterra; 2. Nestlé; 3. Suntory; 4. Abbott; 5.Danone. Based on these recommendations, it is recommended that the University of Auckland work together with ATEED, NZTE and other relevant stakeholders to examine these companies in greater depth and develop value propositions for attraction and expansion towards a strategic industry-academic partnership.