Iron Asylum India, based in Bengaluru, is a distributor and marketer of imported food supplements across India. With the burgeoning fitness and sports industry, the company is expanding into the D2C segment and intends to introduce new sports nutrition products in 2023. In an interview with nuFFooDS Spectrum, Vishnu Menon, the Founder of Iron Asylum India, shares insights on the company’s latest developments.
How are you exploring the space of products that support brain health in the sports nutrition arena, given their success in other categories?
These products are called Nootropics. Nootropic supplements enhance focus, alertness, memory, creativity, and overall cognitive function. Lack of focus and attention can directly impact performance in sports and other physical activities. Achieving great focus in sports requires undivided attention, which is very difficult to achieve through our daily diet alone. Hence, supplementation is a practical solution, making nootropic supplements relevant not only in the fitness industry but also in the overall sports industry.
Currently, many pre-workout supplements in the fitness industry contain nootropic ingredients for their beneficial effects. We are also working on a project with Prosupps USA LLC to manufacture a range of pre-workouts with similar benefits.
Could you please update us on the newly launched sports nutrition supplements and products in the pipeline?
We are currently involved in more than 20 product manufacturing projects in India, with some already launched and others in the pipeline. Our entire range will be available to users by 2023. As the exclusive partner for the Prosupps India Manufacturing Project, Iron Asylum offers the entire sports nutrition range, which includes whey protein, amino acids and more.
Prosupps is the world’s best-selling pre-workout product, and its range of products is popular not only among fitness athletes but also among sports professionals. We are currently working on various products with Prosupps. These include Hyde Thermo, a pre-workout product supplemented with nootropic ingredients and CapsiMax, a novel ingredient that helps increase metabolism and thermogenesis for fat loss. Another product is Hyde Max Pump, which contains Nitrosigine, an ingredient that holds multiple patents, which increases blood flow as a vasodilator, leading to improved athletic performance and libido, as well as cognitive function.
Alpha Whey is another product we offer, a protein blend with multiple whey components that is third-party certified for purity. Each box comes with a batch test result inside. The protein claim for Alpha whey is 24 grams/serving as per the label. However, the result showed that it contains at least 26 grams/per serving. We also have Prosupps L-Arginine 1000 mg tablets.
We are also involved in the Insane Labz importation project, where Iron Asylum serves as the official partner in India to make their products available to users all over India. Insane Labz, USA offers unique and popular hard-core energy products such as pre-workouts, fat burners and more. Some of their most popular products include Psychotic Pre-workout (Hardcore energy pre-workout), Insane Cuts (Hardcore energy fat burner), and Kill H20 (Diuretic).
What was the revenue of the company in FY 2022-23? What do you expect in FY 2023-24?
In FY 2022-23, we sold more than $12 million worth of products. For FY 2023-24, we are projecting a 300 per cent increase in sales.
What is the size of the sports nutrition supplements market in India and how do you see market opportunities?
There is no official data available, but our finance department reports indicate that sports nutrition in India is worth over $500 million. There are endless opportunities for brands to introduce innovative and user-focused products in this market.
What are the regulatory challenges in the Indian sports nutrition supplements segment? How important is it to focus on clean labels?
In the food industry, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the regulatory board, has very strict and clear guidelines on the ingredients to be used and about the label claims. But the sad truth is these regulations are not followed by many of the Indian-origin brands which often affects consumers’ trust in the entire market.
One of the other challenges that the industry is facing is that many products come through unauthorised channels. Those products can be either fake or altered and can be very harmful to the user’s health. All our authorised products have an Iron Asylum stamp and a verification code to authenticate.
Please share your thoughts on the plant-based sports nutrition category.
It is very difficult to fulfil our nutrient requirements, particularly for protein and healthy fats with a strictly vegetarian or vegan daily diet. To overcome this challenge, dietary supplementation may be necessary. However, many Indians follow a vegetarian or vegan diet and are aware of the importance of nutrition and fitness. As a result, there is a significant potential for the growth of plant-based nutrition in India.
Please highlight the R&D efforts of the company in the sports nutrition segment. How much has been invested in the R&D of your products, and where are your facilities based?
Iron Asylum has its own formulation and R&D team based in Bengaluru to research, analyse and develop sports nutrition products in India. We have developed many popular products for Prosupps and Enhanced Labz in India. Our in-house production and QC team help us release only the best products. We have invested significantly in R&D, and our facilities are based in Bengaluru with warehouses spread across the country.
What are your plans for product development, international exports, and expansion?
Iron Asylum has export contracts signed with Russia, and we are in discussions with many other potential partnerships. We are also working closely with Prosupps on their Hyde Energy drink project for India. Our plans for product development include expanding into Exercise and Athletics (EA) sports supplements and gaming supplements, which we expect will be popular and in demand in the future.
Mansi Jamsudkar
(mansi.jamsudkar@mmactiv.com)