Functional Ingredient Bank Grows into a Food R&D, Demonstration, and Commercialization Platform

Core Infrastructure of the Institute
In Just One Year: 2,300 Cases of Testing and Equipment Support Provided to 61 Companies
Strengthening the Functional Ingredient Industry Ecosystem

As the domestic food industry integrates with advanced technologies such as health functionality, precision nutrition, and alternative medicine, it is transforming into a high value-added sector. In this context, the Functional Ingredient Bank, operated by the Korea Food Industry Cluster Promotion Institute (hereinafter referred to as the Institute), is establishing itself as a core infrastructure for innovation in the functional ingredient-based food industry. Since the official launch of the Functional Ingredient Bank in June last year, the Institute has been fully operating its functions for testing and analysis, demonstration, equipment utilization, and technical support necessary for the development of functional labeled foods, thereby structurally strengthening the domestic functional ingredient industry ecosystem.

According to the Institute on December 3, the Functional Ingredient Bank has supported 184 tests and analyses for 23 companies over the course of about one year since its opening.

Researchers from the Functional Food Department of the Korea Food Industry Cluster Promotion Institute are conducting functional ingredient extraction work at the Functional Ingredient Bank. Korea Food Industry Cluster Promotion Institute

Food products are broadly divided into general foods and health functional foods. Functional labeled foods are general foods, not health functional foods, but they contain functional ingredients that meet certain standards. The Functional Ingredient Bank supports the efficacy verification of functional ingredients, which are central to functional labeled foods, and ensures the safety of these ingredients. An official from the Institute emphasized, "In addition, we have provided a total of 2,132 equipment utilization services to 38 companies and established an experimental and process environment necessary for functional verification, including extraction, concentration, and marker component analysis. This figure represents an increase of about 77% compared to the previous year, demonstrating that the Functional Ingredient Bank is faithfully fulfilling its role as a national shared infrastructure that replaces the experimental base for small and venture food companies."

Through the technical support project for the development of functional labeled foods currently underway at the Functional Ingredient Bank, 14 new functional labeled foods are being developed in 2024 and about 40 in 2025. This accounts for about 7% of the approximately 800 functional labeled foods currently registered in Korea.

The Institute is continuously expanding access to its research and development infrastructure to develop the Functional Ingredient Bank into a full-cycle research, demonstration, and commercialization platform, rather than merely a testing and analysis support facility. To secure the scientific evidence required by the functional labeled food system, the Institute operates a support system for efficacy verification linked to human application trials, helping companies efficiently prepare clinical data that would be difficult to obtain through their own research alone. In addition, the Institute is expanding technology transfer and patent support programs so that research outcomes on functional ingredients can be translated into actual product development, thereby supplementing companies' research capabilities and increasing their utilization of technology.

Researchers from the Functional Food Department conducting animal experiments at the Functional Evaluation Support Center of the Korea Food Industry Cluster Promotion Institute.

In particular, the recently activated support for shared laboratory operations is providing practical assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises with limited access to equipment and facilities. The shared laboratory opens up a wide range of experimental infrastructure required for quality verification and formulation research, as well as equipment for the extraction and analysis of functional ingredients, offering companies a development environment equivalent to that of having their own laboratory. This enables companies to reduce research and development (R&D) costs and investment burdens while shortening development periods and enhancing their competitiveness in technology commercialization.

Alongside this, the Institute is actively conducting promotional activities centered on domestic and international events to spread the functional labeled food system and publicize corporate achievements. At the 2024 Busan Food Industry Expo, the Institute showcased 14 functional labeled food products developed through its technical support project, and hosted tasting events, product presentations, customized corporate consulting, and promotional video screenings. The Institute evaluated that it achieved results in raising awareness of functional labeled foods and identifying market demand by combining consumer surveys with on-site consultations.

At this year's Seoul International Food Industry Exhibition (Food Week Korea), the Institute introduced 11 new products reflecting technical support for functional labeled foods and company support cases based on the Functional Ingredient Bank. By strengthening its customized technical consulting program, the Institute systematically guided companies through the development process of functional labeled foods (from ingredients to demonstration, advertising review, and market entry), thereby promoting the system, expanding corporate participation in support projects, and raising industry awareness.

The Institute's support achievements are also being recognized on the international stage. In August this year, at the official exhibition hall of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Food Security Ministers' Meeting held in Incheon, the Institute presented the outcomes of its functional labeled food technical support project, showcasing the competitiveness of Korean functional foods to the international community.

Going forward, the Institute plans to further advance the structure of the functional ingredient industry centered on the Functional Ingredient Bank and expand customized support for functional labeled food development companies at each stage of growth, thereby further strengthening the technological foundation of Korea's functional food industry.

Dukho Kim, President of the Institute, stated, "The Functional Ingredient Bank is evolving beyond simply storing or supporting ingredients to become a national platform equipped with all the functions needed in the functional ingredient industry, including demonstration, verification, and technology commercialization. We will continue to strengthen ingredient expansion, demonstration-based advancement, and responses to overseas markets to build a new value chain connecting farmers, companies, and consumers, and to enhance the competitiveness of Korean companies in the global functional food market."

Joint Planning: Korea Food Industry Cluster Promotion Institute·The Asia Business Daily

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.