BASF SE and Vital Therapeutics Pvt Ltd have entered into a strategic partnership to bring a new choline chloride product to the feed industry in India and the rest of South Asia.
Vital Therapeutics is a leading manufacturer of vitamin premixes and veterinary formulations in India. The two companies will provide a range of choline chloride powder formulations to address specific market needs.
A sufficient supply of choline, important for building lecithin, acetylcholine and ceramides, contributes to a vital and productive flock. Animals can produce certain amounts of choline themselves, but it does not suffice to meet their own demand. Therefore, it is beneficial to add choline to feed. The new choline chloride powder feed supplement comes in two formulations: a 60 percent corn cob-based formulation for application in poultry and dairy; and a 50 percent silica-based formulation for aquaculture. The new products will be marketed as “Vitachol 50” and “Vitachol 60” by Vital Therapeutics and co-branded with BASF.
“This strategic alliance is the beginning of a new level of cooperation between BASF and Vital Therapeutics. This partnership between BASF and Vital Therapeutics has opened up a new market segment for choline chloride powder formulations while offering the premium product to our customers at competitive price levels to meet their expectations,” said Venugopal Setty, managing director, Vital Therapeutics Pvt Ltd.
Extension of product offering to Indian market
BASF has also entered into a distribution agreement with Avitech Nutrition Pvt Ltd, a leader in the field of animal nutrition in India, with expertise in feed additives, especially vitamin and mineral premixes, to extend its organically-bound trace elements (glycinates) product offering to feed producers in South Asia.
Trace elements are essential micronutrients required by all animal species. An insufficient supply of trace elements leads to major health and performance-related impairments, for example reduced feed intake and growth performance, impaired immune function and fertility.
Under the collaboration, glycinate-premixes manufactured by Avitech will contain high-quality of organically-bound trace elements (Copper-glycinate, Manganese-glycinate, Iron-glycinate and Zinc-glycinate) from BASF. The new product will be marketed by Avitech and co-branded with BASF.
“Our local reach, coupled with BASF’s global technology, represent a product offering that meets the market need for superior organic minerals,” said Rahul Kapur, managing director, Avitech.
“With the superior customer contact, market presence and reach of Vital Therapeutics and Avitech Nutrition, BASF will now have the possibility to offer our high-quality products throughout the Indian market,” said Stephen Crisp, regional head, BASF animal nutrition Asia Pacific.
BASF’s new phytase, Natuphos E, unlocks vital nutrients for feed industry
As the first company to offer a phytase for the global feed market more than 25 years ago, BASF had set a new standard in feed phytase technology with the launch of Natuphos E in 2016. With unprecedented enzyme stability, Natuphos E helps poultry utilize phosphorous and other key nutrients more efficiently, ensuring more productive and sustainable output for the animal feed industry and local farmers.
