KZN’s Smart Food
FUTURELIFE® is a smart food company that has become synonymous with healthy on-the-go lifestyle products. 
Paul Saad, CEO of Futurelife said, “The product is very well accepted and has become recognised for its healthy properties. Futurelife is enjoyed by a diverse consumer group from sports persons, to diabetics to those suffering from immune deficiency.”
The company is recognised as the fastest growing health food manufacturer in South Africa. However, Futurelife is also remarkable for the large number of unique factors that may be associated with the brand’s success.
Futurelife can be mixed in a bowl with cold or warm water and/or milk and eaten as a cereal, or it can be mixed with more water and drank as a health shake.
Currently, functional ingredients that can help prevent disease or promote optimal health are a key innovation in the food industry. Futurelife includes a large number of functional ingredients such as omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, added protein, and prebiotics, which well ensure that the product lives up to its “smart” food label.
Further to this list is Moducare® which is a daily immune supplement made from a patented blend of natural plant sterols and sterolins. The reason this inclusion is so important is that nutrients are far better absorbed by the body when they are taken as a food and not as a concentrated supplement.
A recent clinical trial, published in the internationally recognised Biomed Journal of Nutrition, which found that Futurelife supports the immune functions of the body, was downloaded 3000 times in the first month of its release. This interest says a great deal about the product’s international reach and the growing global interest it is currently receiving.
Futurelife is presently undergoing a three year trial to test its efficacy on diabetics.
Futurelife Protein, which has 30% protein content, is endorsed by Informed-Choice and has been clinically tested to be free of banned substances. To gain this valued endorsement FUTURELIFE® HIGH PROTEIN Smart food is tested on a monthly basis by the International HFL Sports Science laboratory.
As a part of the solid emphasis on being a functional food, and in addition to its high energy product range, Futurelife has launched a range of energy bars, a children’s product and  Futurelife Zero, which has no cane sugar added. Futurelife has entered into a joint venture with Clover to launch a ready-to-drink version of the product, which will be launched shortly.
Of importance is that Futurelife does not use genetically modified organisms (GMO) in its products. Saad said that company had embraced the use of NON-GMOs at considerable cost but believed that this was necessary to satisfy consumers’ needs. Futurelife was the first company in the functional food market in South Africa to make the move to NON-GMO products.
Futurelife is a proudly KwaZulu-Natal brand, which has been born and developed in the province. Saad said. “I am a KZN boy, and once a KZN boy always a KZN boy.”   As such he has resisted the normal trend to move to Gauteng and would like to further consolidate the business within the province.
Part of entrenching Futurelife in KwaZulu-Natal is through backward integration. Saad would like to increase the provision of NON-GMO maize and soya through utilising subsistence farmers as part of the supply chain. He said, “Farmers would be guaranteed an off-take of their products, which is crucial to their success.”
Developing a private public partnership is essential to ensure that the project is sustainable. Futurelife is currently in the process of setting up protocols and meetings with the newly appointed MEC for Agriculture, Mr Cyril Xaba. Saad said that he has been told that Mr Xaba,  â€œIs a dynamic individual who wants to make a difference in the economy.” He added, “Of necessity investment in farming infrastructure is required, notably the construction of NON-GMO silos.”  Futurelife has had to build their own silo to avoid contamination from genetically modified produce but additional ones are necessary to facilitate logistics as well growth in the supply chain.”
Growing the supply chain is close to Saad’s heart as this would be in keeping with his original intentions for the product.  Saad said that he is an altruist at heart who is not necessarily motivated by profit but by humanitarian causes. His aim is to make a difference in people’s lives by supplying a product that can improve the health and well-being of everyone. He said, “Much of Futurelife‘s value is in that its success transcends profit.”  The product was primarily intended  as a social project to help improve the lives of malnourished and disadvantaged people in sub-Saharan Africa.  Saad is currently setting up offices in Dubai to facilitate the supply of the product to people in times of famine, drought, war or other crises.
Futurelife’s research and development team is also undergoing a  learning process in how best to package and distribute the product. Part of this process is the inclusion of sterile water in a dual pocketed sachet so that an instant meal may easily be mixed and consumed.
Saad believes that his company’s achievements are based on both his desire to succeed and his enjoyment of overcoming challenges.  His advice to other entrepreneurs is that you have to know your own mind and that you must not let others easily influence your decisions.
 Futurelife is ready to notch up additional firsts as it continues to transform people’s lives.
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