Hexagon Nutrition Limited has commercially launched VIT A+, a stabilized vitamin A palmitate ingredient developed by Particles for Humanity, at the Micronutrient Forum Global Conference in Accra, Ghana. The product targets the gap between what food manufacturers add during fortification and what consumers actually absorb — a gap driven by vitamin A's well-documented instability under heat, humidity, and extended transit.
For foodservice procurement officers and food manufacturers sourcing fortification premixes for African markets, the launch matters because VIT A+ is engineered to integrate into existing production lines. It is compatible with bouillon, wheat flour, and sugar — three of the continent's highest-volume fortifiable staples — using current fortification equipment and processes. That drop-in compatibility removes the capital barrier that has historically slowed adoption of advanced micronutrient technologies.
Production Scale
The commercial launch follows a full-scale process validation campaign conducted in India, where Hexagon Nutrition manufactures the ingredient. According to the companies, each validated batch produces enough VIT A+ to fortify approximately 600 million servings of food. That throughput is significant for procurement teams evaluating supply reliability: it suggests the ingredient can support national or regional fortification mandates without creating bottleneck risk at the manufacturing level.
The encapsulation material used in VIT A+ protects the active vitamin A palmitate during storage, distribution, and cooking — the three stages where conventional vitamin A is most vulnerable to degradation. Consistent retention at the point of consumption is the core commercial argument, because fortification programs are under increasing scrutiny from development funders and regulators to demonstrate actual nutritional impact, not just declared content on a label.
Operator and Buyer Signal
Hexagon Nutrition, which exports nutrition products to more than 70 countries, will lead commercialization and distribution across Africa, working with food manufacturers, government fortification programs, and development partners. Vikram Kelkar, Managing Director of Hexagon Nutrition, framed the launch as a delivery mechanism for what fortification programs have long promised but struggled to consistently achieve at scale.
For operators and ingredient buyers watching the micronutrient and functional ingredient category, this launch signals a broader shift: encapsulation technology once reserved for pharmaceutical applications is moving into commodity food-manufacturing budgets. As mandatory fortification regulations expand across sub-Saharan Africa, suppliers who can document nutrient retention through the supply chain — not just at point of addition — will carry a competitive sourcing advantage.
Brands operating in the bouillon and seasoning segment in particular should note that VIT A+ was explicitly validated for that application, a category that competes intensely on cost but increasingly faces pressure from development-finance buyers to prove nutritional efficacy. Procurement teams evaluating ingredient supplier readiness for fortified product lines would be well-served to request retention data across the specific storage and cooking conditions relevant to their markets.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
