Maypro CEO discusses strategic goals for 25% acquisition by Japan’s Itochu Corporation

Maypro Group announces a new partnership with Itochu Corporation, one of Japan’s five largest companies by revenue. As part of this partnership, Itochu has acquired a 25% share stake in Maypro. Through their vertical integration, the two companies aim to leverage Maypro’s portfolio of ingredients and finished products alongside Itochu’s broad global distribution network and retail strength in Asia.

“Itochu’s investment thesis in partnering with Maypro is built on our mission and strategic direction, which it shares and fully embraces. What will change is the amount of resources that we can harness to make an impact on consumer health and to deliver growth to all our stakeholders: customers, suppliers, employees and shareholders,” May Yamada-Lifton, CEO at Maypro Group, tells Nutrition Insight.

“This is why we chose to work with Itochu. Despite its size and incredible business success, it shares our values of humility and seeks to build upon the pillars of our growth, rather than to reinvent them. On our end, we can learn a lot from Itochu’s expertise and experience in scaling up businesses. That is why we see this partnership as a strong fit.”

Toshiyuki Fukai, general manager at the Itochu Corporation, comments: “By leveraging Maypro’s commitment to innovative, high-quality natural products, Itochu looks to unlock new avenues for corporate expansion.”

“With the Itochu Corporation’s global network, we will be able to offer market knowledge and resources to expand Maypro’s customer base. Our mutual experience in vertical integration should also support greater product and service offerings worldwide.”

Market expansion

Maypro aims to expand its market reach and the scope of its product categories through this collaboration.

“Our geographic focus is broad,” states Yamada-Lifton. “We consider the US and Japan our ‘core’ markets. We look at Europe, Southeast Asia and the emerging markets of Brazil, India, Mexico, China and Turkey as growth opportunities for us.”

“From a condition-specific perspective, we prioritize five areas: sports nutrition, anti-aging, cognitive and emotional health, digestive support (with an emphasis on probiotics and postbiotics) and women’s health.”

She adds that “from a technology perspective,” the company is most excited about opportunities in “precision fermentation, microencapsulation and enhanced delivery systems that improve nutrient absorption.”

May Yamada-Lifton, Maypro Group CEO (Image Credit: Maypro Group).Focus on the US and Asia 

Maypro highlights the US as a key focus market, with Yamada-Lifton pointing to several unique opportunities. “The US is the largest health nutrition market where we continue to see very favorable demographic and psychographic trends growing in the mass market.”

She explains that the baby boomer generation, which is currently retiring, is seeking longevity solutions, and Gen Xers strive to maintain their quality of life as they age. Meanwhile, the Millennial generation seeks preventative health, self-optimization and sustainability, while the Gen Zs are growing up taking supplements.

“On a long-term basis, we also see continued population growth in the US (albeit at a slower pace than in the past) while China, Japan and Europe are facing serious demographic challenges,” she continues.

“Finally, we see a lot of potential in the US not only because it has entrepreneurial companies but also because it has entrepreneurial consumers who are willing to experiment and try new products. The latter insight should be credited to professor Amar Bhidé of the Columbia University Irving Medical Center, US, who helped our leadership team understand innovation and entrepreneurship so that we can apply it to our business.”

Discussing the specific segments in the US market that Maypro seeks to tap into, Yamada-Lifton highlights the “growing consumer interest in preventative wellness, self-optimization, shift toward natural and clean label products and sustainability” as notable opportunities for growth.  

Maypro sees favorable demographic and psychographic trends growing in the US mass market.“We will continue to bring the best ingredients and technologies that have succeeded in one market to another. We are actively working with companies from Japan, Taiwan, Spain, Belgium and New Zealand, among others, to bring products that have succeeded in those regions over into the US.”

Maypro hopes to expand its reach through the FamilyMart supermarket franchise, owned by Itochu, and widespread throughout Japan, with locations in Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, China and Vietnam.

“We see opportunities in upstream integration by utilizing food products manufactured or distributed by Itochu to produce natural ingredients such as plant extracts and enzymes. We also see downstream opportunities in partnering with Itochu subsidiaries, customers and partners to deliver our ingredients and finished products to the consumer,” she details.

“FamilyMart is a great example of that. Itochu’s strategy is to supply as much shelf (space) as possible, and we can support that in the nutritional supplement aisle.”

Research and innovation ambition

Through this partnership, Maypro further seeks to leverage Itochu’s resources and network to drive R&D and bring new innovations to market.

“We are looking to synergize with Itochu’s current subsidiary companies that are involved in our industry, even contiguously. We see opportunities to tap into their supply chain of raw materials, which can be used to manufacture value-added downstream products,” states Yamada-Lifton.

Maypro hopes to expand its reach through the FamilyMart supermarket franchise, owned by Itochu.“We also plan to harness Itochu’s extensive business relationships with companies in the food, chemical and life sciences space. Itochu invests in digital health, and we’d like to leverage those capabilities in the nutrition sector.”

Additionally, Yamada-Lifton points to Itochu’s “tremendous” in-house human resources, describing the company as “one of the most desirable to join,” allowing it to attract “the very top talent.”

“We’ve already been extremely impressed with the caliber of their professionals, and we have worked extensively with them. Itochu’s investment in Maypro provides us with capital to invest, and we intend to utilize these for R&D projects, including enhancing our MicroActive ingredient line.”

The Maypro CEO sees the partnership as having the potential to position Maypro and Itochi well against major competitors in the global wellness and nutraceutical market. 

“Over the past 20 years, Maypro has pivoted from price-driven commodities to value-added products that leverage meaningful barriers to entry or have strategic advantages that can allow them to win in the marketplace,” she asserts.

“While this required greater investment, it helped us accelerate our growth, and we plan to maintain this as our competitive strategy. We’ve learned a lot and refined our execution. But to accelerate our growth in an increasingly competitive market, we need scale and greater resources. And that’s what our partnership with Itochu provides.’