Due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) outbreak last year, interest in health worldwide has increased, and the health functional food (hereafter dry food) market has grown rapidly. According to the Korea Health Functional Foods Association, the dry food market in 2020 is worth 4.9 trillion won, up 6.6% from the previous year. The market size this year is expected to exceed 5 trillion won.
The growth of the dry food market is not just due to COVID-19. With the extension of life expectancy, interest in 'living well' has increased. Accordingly, both companies are knocking on the door of the dry season market. This means that Kolmar BNHN, the No. 1 ODM for dry equipment manufacturers in Korea, has laid the foundation for another leap forward.
The best technology created by ‘HemoHim’
Kolmar NH is the first private joint venture established in February 2004 by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute and Kolmar Korea. The combination of Kolmar Korea's cosmetics and pharmaceutical manufacturing know how and financial power and the Atomic Energy Research Institute's immune function improvement technology has established itself as an 'absolute force in dry equipment ODM'.
The place where technology, which can be seen as the most important element of dry season ODM, is born is Kolmar BNH’s ‘Food Science Research Center’. An official from Kolmar NH explained, “The Food Science Research Center does not consist of a single research institute, but gathers at the Cosmetics Research Center, Microbiium Research Center, and Skin Natural Products Research Institute to create new ideas that do not exist before by converging various technologies. . For Kolmar NH, it was possible to create a kind of 'synergy effect' by collecting cosmetics and dry food research institutes in one place.
A research institute that implements a 'miniaturized version of the factory'
The prototype room is a place where raw materials are measured, manufactured, and formulations are reviewed. I could see the researchers working hard to make samples of various formulations. The tableting room is where the mixed raw materials are manufactured in the form of tablets. Tablets made in the tableting room are produced as samples through a coating process to increase stability.
Here, dry dried products are tested to see what temperature and conditions they can withstand to measure shelf life. Place the samples in two stability chambers set at 40 degrees and 4 degrees, respectively, and test whether the products change when placed in what environment. When I opened the 40 degree room, I felt the warm moisture, and the 4 degree room felt the cold air.
Along with the facilities, the Food Science Research Institute is preparing several systems to encourage researchers' research capabilities. Researchers who develop new technologies or formulations that did not exist before are given incentives as compensation. In addition, the company is operating the ‘Seokoh Technology Awards’ system, which awards prizes and plaques to researchers who have led the development of hot topics. The Seok Oh Technology Grand Prize is awarded once a year by comprehensively evaluating new technology development, entry into new business according to new technology, and increase in sales. The researcher who wins the first place enjoys the honor of operating the central conference room in the Institute of Advanced Technology under the name of the winner.
Above all else, Kolmar BNH researchers place importance on customer satisfaction. As the No. 1 dry food ODM company, we have the principle that all companies that want to sell dry food are customers. Currently, Kolmar NH has more than 300 customers, including Atomy, Chong Kun Dang Health, Green Cross, E-Mart, Ring Tea, Ceragem, and Dongkuk Pharmaceutical.
It is the fate of the 'No. 1 company' to respond well to the changing market trends. Recently, cosmetic companies are trying to enter the 'inner beauty (edible cosmetics)' market. These products, which can promote health from within the body, are classified as dry food. In this regard, the Institute of Technology, where the cosmetics research institute and the dry food research institute come together, is considered a place where the best inner beauty products can be produced. An official from Kolmar NH explained, "Based on the technology and market analysis data that Kolmar H has accumulated, we are accelerating the diversification of inner beauty products by adding research technology to the marketing area that requires cosmetic technology."
Targeting overseas markets from China to Australia
The spread of COVID-19 has hindered companies from expanding their business, but Kolmar H.H. was an exception. This year's earnings growth continues. In the first quarter of 2021, Kolmar BNH's consolidated sales increased by 35% compared to the same period of the previous year to 173.8 billion won, and its operating profit was 28.4 billion won, up 18% from the same period of the previous year.
What stands out is the entry into overseas markets. In July last year, Kolmar Kolmar established “Kolmar Jiangsu” on a site of 75,840 square meters in total area in Jiangsu Province, China. Based on its outstanding technology and facilities, Kangso Kolmar signed a 12 billion won dry food manufacturing business agreement with Ainider Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (Ainider) in May. It is the first time that a Korean dry food company has entered the Chinese market and provided a total ODM service from product R&D to production with Korean technology. The newly developed products include lactic acid bacteria, omega 3, kombucha, and melatonin, and 10 types of dry food.
In addition to China, Kolmar NH continues to export to the United States, Japan, Canada, Singapore, and the Philippines. Kolmar NH received manufacturing and quality capability (TGA GMP certification) in Australia, famous for its clean dry food, in May. Accordingly, the products made at the Sejong plant can be exported to Australia. The significance of this certification is 'simplification of export procedures'. It has become possible to advance into all parts of Europe, including New Zealand, which has signed a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) with Australia, and Oceania. This is because countries that have MRAs with Australia have simplified export procedures based on Australian certification.
As the dry food market grows, more companies are jumping into it. This means that if you do not differentiate yourself, even the first person can always fall behind.
To this end, Kolmar NH plans to further strengthen the “crossover” of technology through various research institutes located in the Advanced Institute of Technology. Among them, the place where expectations are gathered is the 'Biome Lab'. The Biome Research Institute, which opened in August last year, introduces candidate substances and develops them in cosmetics, dry food, and pharmaceuticals. The specific goal is to develop an immune-oriented dry diet through the Biome Research Institute and to develop new drugs for autoimmune diseases and respiratory diseases in the long term.
Microbiome is a compound word of microbe and biome, and it is a concept that includes all the communities of microorganisms in a specific environment and their genomes. Recently, as the correlation between the microbiome existing in the human body and health conditions and diseases has been revealed, the development of cosmetics and foodstuffs using the microbiome is being actively carried out.
In addition, Kolmar NH, as the No. 1 dry food ODM company, has 'product leadership' and has set the goal of constantly developing and researching differentiated products. Finding the unique functionality from domestic natural materials and making the functionality into differentiated formulations and products were set as future directions.
A Kolmar NH official said, "Kolmar BNH, which already has pharmaceutical level facilities and quality, will move forward as a company that gives more trust to consumers based on this." "We plan to actively invest in facilities and R&D technology."
