Tata Chem to enter probiotics; Chennai plant soon

Tata Chemicals plans to make a splash in the probiotics market by producing high-purity carbohydrate oligosaccharides, a nutraceutical (a combination of nutrition and pharmaceutical) that target and enhance digestive health.

The company expects to commission its first nutraceuticals plant at Sriperumbudur near Chennai shortly.

Ramakrishnan Mukundan, Managing Director, told

Business Line that the plant is going through trial productions and in the next two months it will start commercial production. “The Chennai plant will be the base for nutrition business. We are looking at consumer space through nutrition and wellness, and farmer’s through farm productivity,” he said.

What it does The carbohydrate oligosaccharides improve human ability to absorb nutrients, especially minerals, from food thereby, improving bone health and immunity and reducing allergies, cholesterol and harmful bacteria.

They are also recognised as water-soluble fibres that keep bowel movements in fine fettle.

“Our stomach has the highest concentration of bacteria which helps us to digest food. So, if the bacteria are happy then your digestive system is happy and you get all the nutrition to lead a happy life,” explains Mukundan.

The company’s Nano and Biotechnology Lab in Pune have come out with a series of products to address the nutritional needs.

The first set, including oligosaccharides and polyols, has been commercialised.

Till now, the prebiotics and probiotics were done through synthetic route but Tata Chemicals took the biotech route and arrived at a much purer product, he said.

The domestic nutraceutical market, which has been growing at a healthy CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of 18.46 per cent, is expected to touch ₹19,500 crore in the current fiscal, according to an industry research report.

The domestic nutraceutical market is highly concentrated in South India, followed by East with top three States being Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, it said.

Talking about the new plant, Mukundan remarked in a lighter vein, “As a company we started in the west (Mithapur, Gujarat), we went to North (unit in Babrala, UP) acquired a company in the East (Haldia, West Bengal) and now we are in the South. We have completed the full circle.”