Nutraceuticals World (NW): These are challenging times for many people. How is Sabinsa helping to support the communities it serves and partners with? 
 
Shaheen Majeed: All of us are feeling the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sabinsa has always supported the vulnerable segments of society through various means. This includes economic support, providing access to education, and infrastructure improvements such as clean water access and building schools and roads in the rural areas where our raw material is grown. Most recently the Dr. Majeed Foundation gave away 5,500 bags (of 10 kilos each) of rice to food-insecure people in Magadi, Karnataka. We consider it our duty to help the less fortunate. 
 
We’re also working hard to support the industry and our customers through all the uncertainty that exists today. Sabinsa believes in strengthening and supporting the base of the supply chain, the growers and producers, to have a sustainable and dependable supply chain. Having our own fair-trade contract farms—supporting and technically guiding/training the growers, processers, and suppliers—can in the long run provide a strong base for sustainable products from the company. In the beginning of the pandemic, we proactively made sure to have full warehouses worldwide so we could meet our customers’ supply needs. We’re continuing to plan ahead.  
 
NW: How concerned are you about quality issues in today’s marketplace, particularly amid the novel coronavirus pandemic? And what advice would you give companies about sourcing and validating raw materials?  
 
Majeed: The current altered circumstances may lead to a change in supply time, quality, quantity, and even the price of ingredients and products. Companies should take more care, strengthen procedures, employ more human resources, and make stringent quality checks to validate the authenticity of the raw materials. With all the vulnerabilities in the supply chain, this is not a time to use a new supplier that isn’t well known and which you’ve no way to audit. The companies without solid supplier-manufacturer relationships are the ones losing the most sleep right now.
 

NW: How valuable is intellectual property? How does Sabinsa work to develop and protect its IP?
 
Majeed: Intellectual property rights have a significant influence on both international and domestic trade of every nation. Without the ability to protect discoveries to recoup investment, no companies would invest in research, and innovation would never take place. Sabinsa’s world-class scientists work tirelessly to discover and develop standardized natural ingredients that make life better. Many of Sabinsa’s innovative, patented nutraceutical and cosmeceutical ingredients have been granted patents across the globe. Sabinsa has around 262 patents, out of which 82 are U.S. patents, and the remaining 180 are international patents. More are currently in process. The company also invests in clinical studies, several hundred of which have been published in peer-reviewed journals, also a form of IP.
 
It’s important to protect intellectual property. Through the decades we have had to take legal action against companies that have stolen our IP many times, unfortunately. We generally win those lawsuits, and often are awarded significant financial restitutions. It is important to protect the rights of the inventor because investment is what drives knowledge and innovation.  
 
NW: Do you think innovation in the natural products marketplace is healthy? 
 
Majeed: Innovation is more than healthy, it’s essential. Think of all the dosage forms that exist today that were never heard of a decade ago. Look at all the condition-specific products consumers can choose from, where in the past they needed guidance to know which herbs and supplements would provide the benefits they were seeking. Just our range of curcumin products alone is a great example of the benefits of innovation. We started with turmeric, which used to just be sold as a powder. We extracted it, and created Curcumin C3 Complex, the most researched curcumin on the market. Then we took innovation further with uC3 Clear and C3 Reduct, offering forms of curcumin without the bright staining color, and a more soluble version that expands applications. 
 

NW: What do consumers expect, or demand, from brands? 
 
Majeed: Brands need to up their game to meet consumers’ higher expectations and review how they can meet new stringent requirements for safety, health, and well-being. Consumers want to be assured that the brands they choose are in control of their supply chains, transparent, and trustworthy. They want proof that there is quality and research backing ingredients. And if your company has no program for sustainability and diversity, you’re on borrowed time.
 
NW: How does sustainability factor into Sabinsa’s business development plans?
 
Majeed: Sustainability is one of the core values of Sabinsa. Whenever a new product is planned, along with the potential safety and economic feasibility, sustainability is a crucial parameter on which the product will be finalized. Sabinsa strengthens its sustainability through hardcore research and intimate involvement in maintaining the supply chain. For example, anticipating future demand as research confirms traditional Ayurvedic use for diabetes, Sabinsa learned that the Indian Kino tree population is threatened. We developed and funded a collaborative program to plant 166,600 trees on 250 forest acres over 10 years, the first conservation program for this high-value, threatened tree species in India, then doubled it the next year.  
 

NW: Are you noticing effects from climate change on the growing, harvesting, and yield of botanical species? 
 
Majeed: Climate change will have major impact on every industry, and is already impacting the natural products industry. It is affecting weather patterns, which have a direct effect on botanicals. Sabinsa’s transfer of technical knowledge to our farmer partners helps them manage the variations the climate induces. We are developing cultivation programs in diverse growing regions to cope with future changes in climate conditions.  
 
NW: LivLonga is a new liver support formulation Sabinsa launched in August. How is this ingredient blend unique, what does the science show, and what market need does LivLonga address? 
 
Majeed: LivLonga® is a unique blend of three scientifically validated natural ingredients: Curcumin C3 Complex®, Livinol™, and BioPerine®. All these potent, plant-derived, and standardized bioactives work in unison to provide holistic health benefits. Curcuminoids are well-known bioactives that have been preclinically and clinically evaluated and supported for their positive impact on maintaining healthy joints, gut, and liver function. Curcumin C3 Complex® is the no. 1 clinically studied curcumin brand listed in the U.S. FDA’s Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) Notice Inventory. Another ingredient Livinol™ is a standardized extract of garcinol (standardized to a minimum of 20%) obtained from kokam fruit (Garcinia indica), which is used as a natural remedy for stomach and liver ailments in India. Garcinol is the major bioactive component in the kokam fruit and is a potent antioxidant that offers multiple health benefits, of which liver protection is the most validated and widely studied. BioPerine®, from the dried fruits of black pepper (Piper nigrum), is standardized for 95% piperine and used as a nutrient bioavailability enhancer.  
 

NW: Sabinsa has a long and storied history of leadership in the natural products industry. What’s on the horizon? What should we expect in the coming months and years?  
 
Majeed: We are increasing capacity of production on many of our stable, long-term items to meet and anticipate growing demand for products such as Curcumin C3 Complex turmeric extract, and Boswellin, our Boswellia serrata extract.
 
We’re focusing on herbal combinations and strengthening them with proven science, which means more clinical studies. We’re expanding outside of India by exploring other traditional world remedies and learning to deliver them in the best forms possible, both ingestible and topical. 
 
Sabinsa will also, always, challenge those that undermine us and the industry, either through outlandish, unsupportable claims, IP theft, product adulteration, or other unethical practices.