Motueka’s Emma Graham plays a pivotal role in the success of an international company, Anagenix, as a “product champion”. A global ingredient supplier for functional food, supplement and nutraceutical producers, Anagenix covers Asia, Europe, UK and USA and at this year’s Natural Health Products New Zealand Industry Awards the company scooped three awards, including the coveted Supreme Award.
As the second longest-serving team member, Emma says she was “proud” of the company’s success, which alongside the Supreme Award saw them take home the FernMark Licence Programme Growth Award due to their remarkable 300% growth in the last year and the Marketing Award for over $2 million in sales.
The Award’s lead judge, Lorraine Moser, says New Zealand’s natural health products industry has a heritage of pioneers.“This year’s Awards winners exemplify the great job our sector is doing in continuing to push boundaries with innovations, further enhancing New Zealand’s international reputation as a source of high-quality natural health products,” says Lorraine.
Emma, a forensic scientist, joined the company in 2014, three years after its inception, and “helps Anagenix to translate proven science into consumer benefits” which in turn assists the company to identify market opportunities and develop brands for their functional food ingredients.“I really enjoy the variety of work. It’s a small company so everything’s always changing which is cool,” says Emma.
Established in 2011 to provide a commercial link between ground-breaking New Zealand plant bioactive research and the world’s best supplement producers, Anagenix works with nationwide research institutions to bring the best of this country’s horticulture to the world of nutraceuticals. Providing technical support world-wide, Emma has dealt with customers from America to Serbia.
Harnessing New Zealand products, particularly the “nutritional powerhouse” of kiwifruit, Emma says there are more products in the pipeline that include a product for blood glucose management and the company has plans to expand further into Asia. Their growth is occurring at a rate of knots, with the team now numbering 11, up from the 4 it began with, while its product portfolio also continues to increase and with the support of a Singapore-based marketing director, they now have a “great sales tool kit”.
“The marketing has really helped us communicate the story behind our ingredients to the customers, it’s driven our growth and allowed us to expand,” says Emma.
Source: The Guardian (24 June 2020 issue)
