Thai amaranth’s future as a scientifically substantiated superfood ingredient

THAI amaranth, an annual herb of the Amaranthus genus (family Amaranthaceae), offers a nutrient‑dense alternative to other leafy greens like spinach. Rich in protein and antioxidants, and well adapted to tropical heat, it is positioned as an affordable superfood by Value Sourcing Co., Ltd in Thailand.

Building on this manufacturing and retail experience, VSC is developing Thai amaranth from a familiar vegetable into a standardized, traceable functional ingredient with potential applications across ready-to-eat foods, bakery, beverages and B2B formulations.

VSC’s longer-term ambition is to establish Thai amaranth as a scientifically substantiated Asian ingredient for regional and global markets. Its current findings on the crop are based on compositional analysis and internal product evaluation, rather than clinical substantiation or approved health claims. Its proposed regulatory pathways in Thailand and Japan also remain future objectives rather than completed registrations.

The company is building a scalable farm-to-market ecosystem from precision agriculture and cultivar selection to processing, product development and commercialization, according to Mr. Chana Vasuvat, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of VSC. He shares more in the following exclusive interview.

Mr. Chana Vasuvat, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Value Sourcing Co., Ltd

What first led you to see the potential of Thai amaranth beyond its traditional use as a local vegetable?

We were not looking for superfood. We were trying to solve a supply problem. Imported spinach gave us recurring issues with consistency, continuity and cost, which pushed us to ask a bigger question which ingredient could help us deliver meaningful nutrition in everyday food more reliably.

That led us back to a crop already familiar in Thai fresh markets. We began characterizing it properly and found promising differences among cultivars. In our own compositional analysis, Amaranthus viridis gave around 7.4% dry yield and showed the most distinctive polyphenol fingerprint among those we screened, while Amaranthus hypochondriacus contained roughly 5% squalene. For us, that was the point when Thai amaranth became more than a vegetable; it became a potential ingredient platform.

Underlying this approach is our “Food as Medicine” philosophy, which we use strictly as a design principle to guide how we select and handle ingredients, not as a claim about what our products can do for consumers.

How are you working with farmers to build a reliable and traceable supply of Thai amaranth at commercial scale?

Reliable supply comes down to process discipline. After several farming trials, we partnered with Siam Forestry, whose large-scale cultivation experience became the foundation of our precision agriculture programme. Our priorities are to focus on consistent quality, no foreign matter and reliable supply.

With ListenField, we use climate, soil and crop-stage data to guide planting, harvesting and grading. We also carry the risk in proof plots, grade the whole harvest into commercial uses rather than simply reject material, and build traceability at plot, cultivar and harvest-window level. The aim is a supply system that is transparent, commercially practical and designed around real seasonal conditions.

What are the challenges in processing Thai amaranth while maintaining its nutritional value and functionality?

Color is the first challenge because amaranth degrades quickly. We manage it through thermal-profile control and IQF rather than additives. In our internal evaluation, accepted by the customer, the color remained acceptable for more than a year in frozen dough and shumai, suggesting potential for clean-label applications.

The bigger commercial constraint is conversion cost. Producing one kilogram of powder requires about 20 kilograms of fresh leaf, and we currently rely on an external processor. Improving that conversion step is now a major priority.

Flavor also needs careful application because the crop has a distinct earthy note. On functionality, we measure marker compounds in the finished product, not only in the raw leaf, because that is what consumers eat.

Which food and beverage applications do you believe present the strongest market potential for Thai amaranth?

We look first at where the ingredients solve a real product need. Chilled ready-to-eat is our immediate opportunity because it matches our manufacturing strength and reaches consumers without changing their eating habits. We also see strong potential in savory fillings, bakery, dumpling and shumai skins, and functional beverages.

At Foodex Japan, for example, visitor feedback on our beverages repeatedly compared the profile with matcha, while Korean visitors noted the absence of a spinach-like aftertaste. That feedback was anecdotal, but it gave us a useful market signal.

Longer term, the largest opportunity is B2B: standardized powder or extract for other manufacturers, including potential clean label color applications. Our approach is to work directly with formulators, solve a specific product problem and scale from there.

How has VSC’s experience in ready-to-eat food manufacturing helped you bring amaranth-based products to market?

It gives us two advantages: a factory and a shelf. We have 17 years of cooked-chilled manufacturing experience and eight years supplying Reo’s Deli through roughly 16,000 7-Eleven stores. That means we can take an idea from cultivar selection and process development through to commercial-scale production and national distribution.

Retail has also taught us that nutrition only matters if the product is convenient, affordable and consistent on a scale. A formulation that works in a small trial may behave very differently on a production line.

That same R&D approach is now being applied to new concepts such as YAKHU, a prospective functional beverage inspired by Thai traditional wisdom and developed around rice-derived natural bioactives. The project reflects how we explore local agricultural ingredients and translate them into more contemporary product formats.

That is why we use Theory of Constraints as a practical discipline: before launching a project, we identify what truly limits throughput and whether the innovation helps solve that constraint.

How can Thai amaranth gain recognition as a global superfood and compete with more established ingredients?

Evidence, standards and patience. Global superfoods are built on credible data, clear specifications and consistent supply, and Thai amaranth will need the same foundation.

We intend to work toward standards relevant to Thailand and Japan, including Ministry of Public Health Notification No. 447 and Japan’s Foods with Function Claims framework. Neither pathway has been undertaken yet, and any work will need to be supported by academic institutions rather than marketing claims.

Today, our evidence is compositional: we have characterized bioactive compounds in selected cultivars, but that is not a health claim or clinical substantiation. The next step is a published, defensible specification based on a named cultivar and measurable marker compounds, supported by disciplined communication that avoids over-claiming.

How do you see the superfood market evolving across Asia Pacific, and where could Thai amaranth find more opportunities in the next five years?

This is my view rather than validated market data, but I see three shifts. First, Asia-Pacific consumers are becoming more open to indigenous ingredients as the cost and carbon footprint of imported superfoods come under greater scrutiny.

Second, the market is moving from “hero ingredients” toward specific needs such as recovery, metabolic health and healthy aging, which will require stronger scientific substantiation.

Third, ASEAN and Halal markets offer a significant regional opportunity. Our ambition is not to create a ‘Thai quinoa’, but to build a specified, traceable and scientifically substantiated Asian ingredient that formulators can confidently use in products around the world.