Register for free to
view the full innovation profile.
BIOVIT extracts vitamins and minerals from organic plants, fungi and algae, allowing foods to be fortified without relying on petrochemical-derived synthetic vitamins.
About
BIOVIT is on a mission to improve the health of people and the planet through the use of natural vitamins and minerals. BIOVIT micronutrients are extracted from organically grown plants, fungi and algae, making 'clean-label' fortification of food and drink products possible.
Most supplements and fortified foods use artificial vitamins, which are isolated compounds often made using environmentally-damaging solvents and petrochemicals from oil and gas. BIOVIT’s micronutrients are different: they’re in their natural form, within a food matrix. Research shows that the other bioactive compounds and phytonutrients in food matrices can aid the absorption of micronutrients and increase the range of health benefits (Weaver and Gibbons, 2025).
With £2.7m in R&D funding support from the UK Government, as part of its ‘Better Food For All’ initiative, BIOVIT works with universities, NHS Trusts, and R&D partners to clinically test the stability, bioavailability, and efficacy of its natural vitamins and minerals.
BIOVIT is ideally placed to be a key member of the Sainsbury's Challenge Network. Our innovation directly addresses the challenge's aim of better maintaining nutritional value across the whole food and beverage sector, and also provides ways to recover lost nutritional value through our innovative circular extraction processes.
Key Benefits
BIOVIT's natural vitamins and minerals enable food producers to fortify their products, without the use of artificial, petrochemical-derived vitamins. The inclusion of micronutrients at 15% of their Recommended Intake (RI) unlocks associated legal health claims, such as ‘supports immunity’ and ‘reduces tiredness’, which are both enabled by the inclusion of vitamin B12 from organic shiitake mushroom extract.
Since BIOVIT micronutrients are derived entirely from organic produce, all brands can benefit from our clean-label credentials. For example, they can include ‘organic lemon peel extract (a natural source of vitamin B6)’ on the ingredients list, instead of ‘Vitamin B6’. This is a key distinction, since consumers are gaining an understanding that the vitamin name alone means it’s isolated and made artificially. It also appeals directly to consumer demand for natural micronutrients.
Products containing BIOVIT micronutrients can carry the ‘BIOVIT Trustmark’, which tells a consumer that all of the nutrients within a product are of natural origin. Consumer research conducted by Swansea University has shown statistically significant increases in consumer willingness to buy a product and how much they would be willing to pay, with the inclusion of the BIOVIT Trustmark on packaging (Swansea University for BIOVIT, 2025 - full report available on request).
BIOVIT are currently engaged in projects funded by Innovate UK and the Welsh Government's SMARTFIS scheme to develop the world's first range of circular vitamins and minerals, extracted from UK food processing waste, creating new efficiencies in the existing food supply and transforming waste streams into sources of nutrition.
BIOVIT’s circular fortification involves extracting vitamins and minerals from food processing waste, which can then be reintegrated into the processor’s products, enabling fully-circular food and drink fortification, and unique ‘circular’ sustainability claims.
With 10.7 million tonnes of food wasted annually in the UK, 28% of which is from food manufacturers (WRAP, Food Surplus and Waste in the UK, 2023), and 95% of consumers believing that food waste should be recycled (Upcycled Food Association, Impact Report, 2022), there is a clear need and demand for circular food fortification. And with up to 68% of the micronutrients grown within foods not being consumed, due to losses in processing, there is huge potential to improve the efficiency, sustainability and health-giving impact of the food industry (from BIOVIT’s ongoing circular vitamin C research (IUK funded, 2025). Details available on request).
BIOVIT has conducted extensive testing into natural nutrient stability, allowing us to accurately predict degradation within a broad range of product applications, and formulate natural micronutrient blends which ensure a food product’s nutrition declaration is compliant throughout the entirety of its shelf life. BIOVIT has validated its patent-pending process, for ensuring natural nutrient content within a food product, with a number of the UK’s leading food and beverage companies.
BIOVIT natural vitamins and minerals have also been clinically evaluated in a randomised intervention trial at Swansea University to compare their bioavailability and efficacy with artificial counterparts. Results are highly promising, proving that BIOVIT’s natural nutrients are equally, if not more, bioavailable than their artificial equivalents. This research is currently under peer review for publication in a high-impact journal in 2026, and will play a pivotal role in the future of the food industry and its approach to fortification.
Applications
BIOVIT's target market centres on food and beverage companies and supplement brands who want to enhance their products' nutritional value, and make associated legal health claims, without the use of artificial ingredients. 'Clean-label' brands and those wishing to market their products as '100% Natural' or as containing no artificial ingredients can use BIOVIT natural vitamins and minerals to fortify their products without compromising their brand identity, while unlocking a host of new ‘functional benefit’ USPs to aid in marketing.
Certified organic brands are restricted from using artificial vitamins and minerals, preventing them from entering the functional food space and leveraging health claims, but as we source all our vitamins and minerals from organic produce, BIOVIT micronutrients are the only currently available option for fortifying organically certified products.
Uptake from food and beverage companies is driven by end-consumer demand for natural vitamins and minerals. Safe Food Advocacy Europe’s 2024 survey of 5,000 participants found 86% of European consumers prefer products with only natural ingredients, while 83% want transparency on whether vitamins within a product are natural or artificial (SAFE, 2024).
In October 2025, BIOVIT commissioned Vypr to survey 250 Sainsbury’s customers, and found:
- 92% would prefer natural to artificial vitamins in their food products.
- 71% expect everyday food products to contain only natural vitamins and minerals (this expectation doesn’t meet reality, as these foods are currently fortified artificially).
- 55% would be willing to pay more for foods fortified with natural vs artificial vitamins. (Vypr, 2025) - full report available on request.
This survey shows Sainsbury’s customers have an overwhelming preference for natural nutrients vs artificial fortification, and that current artificially fortified products are falling short of their expectations. With half of customers willing to pay more for naturally fortified products, there is a significant opportunity for a new premium ‘naturally fortified’ category.
BIOVIT natural vitamins and minerals are set to impact the growing functional food market, valued at over $281bn globally and forecast to be worth over half a trillion dollars by 2028 (Statista, 2025). BIOVIT natural vitamins and minerals enable functional products with legal health claims, while avoiding ultra-processed artificial vitamins and isolated minerals, which can be marketed based on clear, evidence-based health and environmental benefits.
BIOVIT’s natural vitamins and minerals give food and beverage producers new, healthier, more sustainable ways to fortify their products, meeting consumer demand while creating a healthier planet.