US vitamin and dietary supplement brand Nutrilite said Thursday that it is launching the upgraded all-in-one dietary supplement Double X in Korea next month, calling it a product tailored to local eating habits.

“Double X has been upgraded to tailor to the Korean market, which we developed by determining habits and cultures over the past 10 years,” said Sam Rehnborg, head of the Nutrilite Health Institute and son of the Nutrilite founder, in an interview with The Korea Herald. Rehnborg was in Seoul on Thursday for the Double X launch. 

“It is the first time for us to get to this extent to develop product customized to certain market,” he added.

Nutrilite is an 80-year-old vitamin and dietary supplement brand under the US health-to-beauty company Amway. It entered the Korean market in 1991. 

Double X, Nutrilite’s signature all-in-one dietary supplement, was launched in 1998 and upgraded in 2009. 

According to Rehnborg, Double X is currently sold in some 59 countries, but there are 20 variations -- the formula differs from market to market as part of the company’s localization efforts, but all formulas share the same base material of phytonutrient-rich plant concentrates. 

The latest, third-generation version of Double X contains 14 vitamins, 10 minerals and 20 phytonutrient-rich plant concentrates.

“According to our research, Koreans do not consume enough purple foods like grape, blueberry, blackberry and fig. (That’s why) we upgraded Double X’s purple plant concentrates blending formula to offer Koreans with optimal health,” he said. 

The product also includes extra vitamins B and D, for Koreans who do not get enough sunlight from outdoor activities and do not meet their vitamin B requirements through food. Nutrilite said it also added a new nutrient called molybdenum, which enhances antioxidant activity inside the human body. 

Amway Korea said Nutrilite has conducted experiments on how Double X affects the human body with a number of research teams from Ewha Woman’s University, Konkuk University and others.

The results of the research, which showed that consumption of Double X can decrease free radicals and help reduce DNA damage, were published in the January issue of science journal Nutrients, it added. 

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)