The consumer industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by convenience, environmental sustainability, and aesthetics, and the growing importance of food safety and transparency, personalized nutrition, and digital food management technologies. In the last three years alone, there have been over 662,000 patents filed and granted in the consumer industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Health & wellness in consumer: herbal medicinal products. Buy the report here.
Smarter leaders trust GlobalData
According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 116,000 patents to analyze innovation intensity for the consumer industry, there are 30+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Herbal medicinal products is a key innovation area in health & wellness
Herbal Medicinal Products are medicines made from plants, as well as extracts from plants or parts of plants. Herbal products include dietary supplements, herbal medicines, and other products that contain plant materials and are intended to treat or prevent diseases or promote health.
See Also:
GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 340+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established consumer companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of herbal medicinal products.
Key players in herbal medicinal products – a disruptive innovation in the consumer industry
‘Application diversity’ measures the number of applications identified for each patent. It broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.
‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of countries each patent is registered in. It reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.
Patent volumes related to herbal medicinal products
| Company | Total patents (2010 - 2022) | Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies |
| Royal DSM | 93 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Nestle | 73 | Unlock Company Profile |
| The Fynder Group | 46 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Unilever | 45 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Monde Nissin (UK) | 44 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Japan Tobacco | 41 | Unlock Company Profile |
| MycoTechnology | 33 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Ecovative Design | 33 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Qingdao Jinjiahui Food | 29 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Mitsubishi Life Sciences | 26 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Ajinomoto | 25 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Nisshin Seifun Group | 23 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Kewpie | 20 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Givaudan | 18 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Harbin Haotuo Biological Science & Technology Development | 17 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Guangdong Yuewei Edible Fungi Technology | 17 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Kotobuki Realty | 16 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Angel Yeast | 15 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Zhejiang Shouxiangu Pharmaceutical | 15 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Lesaffre Group | 15 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Jiangsu Kanion Pharmaceutical | 14 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Mizkan | 14 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Emergy | 13 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Roquette Freres | 13 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Grape King Bio | 13 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Wittington Investments | 13 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Nerthus ApS | 13 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Harvard Bioscience | 13 | Unlock Company Profile |
| BIOHM Health | 13 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Terramino | 12 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Vivatis Pharma | 12 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Guangxi Guilin Natural Food | 12 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Yakult Honsha | 12 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Fugenbio | 12 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation | 11 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Government of South Korea | 11 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Wuhu Sanshan District Green Food Industry Association | 11 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Clara Foods | 11 | Unlock Company Profile |
| BP North America | 10 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Canadian Pacific Algae | 10 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Uni-President China | 10 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Harbin Weiping Technology Development | 10 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Asahi Group | 9 | Unlock Company Profile |
| L'Oreal | 9 | Unlock Company Profile |
| RAG-Stiftung | 9 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Menon Renewable Products | 9 | Unlock Company Profile |
| BASF | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Zero Egg | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Wuhe Master Tong Food | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
| DMK Deutsches Milchkontor | 8 | Unlock Company Profile |
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Royal DSM is one of the leading patent filers in herbal medicinal products. Some other key patent filers in the space include Nestlé, The Fynder Group, and Unilever. Nestlé has introduced a powdered plant-based protein as part of its Mahler brand. The product enables consumers to enhance egg-based dishes such as omelettes, offering an economical yet nutritious way to create such meals.
In terms of application diversity, Menon Renewable Products leads the pack, with Harvard Bioscience and BIOHM Health in the second and third positions, respectively. By means of geographic reach, Kewpie holds the top position, followed by Givaudan and Mizkan.
Herbal medicinal products will find increased adoption among people, as they are becoming more interested in natural and traditional forms of healthcare. Herbal medicines often align with this preference, as they are derived from plant-based sources and have been used in traditional healing practices for centuries.
To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the consumer industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Consumer.
Premium Insights
From
The gold standard of business intelligence.
Blending expert knowledge with cutting-edge technology, GlobalData’s unrivalled proprietary data will enable you to decode what’s happening in your market. You can make better informed decisions and gain a future-proof advantage over your competitors.
GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.
GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
