New Zealand-based nutrition and e-commerce company calocurb has launched its 100 percent plant-based, non-GMO weight management supplement into the US market. The product is designed to curb cravings and reduce calorie intake by around 20 percent at meal or snack time.

Made from just three ingredients, a New Zealand hops flower extract, rosemary leaf and canola oil, calocurb claims to be the world's first consumer product to activate “the bitter brake” – a natural, evolutionary mechanism that creates a feeling of fullness or satiety.

The active ingredient in calocurb is Amarasate, an extract derived from a specific variety of hops flower sourced from New Zealand.

According to calocurb, the appetite management properties of Amarasate are backed by science. Developed by New Zealand's Plant & Food Research institute over a six-year project, the extract was found to be the most effective compound (out of more than 900 plants screened) to trigger “the bitter brake” – an evolutionary response whereby bitter compounds trigger a “stop eating” signal in the brain.

When coupled with patented capsule technology, calocurb progressed through clinical trials to demonstrate significant calorie intake reduction over measured meals and snacks.

“calocurb is a game-changer when it comes to healthy, sustainable weight management. While there are no magic pills out there, we do believe our product helps people to feel confident and in control of their food choices – especially with obesity and overweight at epidemic proportions around the world,” says calocurb CEO Sarah Kennedy.

The weight management ingredients market is divided into various application sectors: satiety ingredients/appetite suppressants, fat burners (thermogenic ingredients) and other weight management ingredients, including laxatives, carbohydrate blockers or substitutes, fat blockers or fat replacers and metabolism regulators.

“Calocurb sits apart from these and represents a real breakthrough in the category. It curbs appetite, overeating and hunger management without the usual negative side effects of twitchiness and bloating associated with other products,” she says.

As instructed on the label, the only guidelines are to take one capsule an hour before meals or snacks and no more than two capsules a day. calocurb is available via the company’s website on a subscription basis at a cost of US$49.95 for a one-month supply