Nutrition Business Journal's summary of the weekly nutrition industry news.
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TRANSACTIONS
Frutarom Industries Ltd. will acquire 100% of the share capital of the British company Belmay Limited in consideration for a cash payment of
$17.1 million. Belmay's sales for 2006 totaled to approximately $15.1 million. Frutarom's sales for 2006 totaled $287.2 million, an increase of 17.8% compared with 2005. The net profit rose
by 10.6% to total $29.7 million. The acquisition is expected to significantly strengthen Frutarom's research and development capabilities in the field of flavors, mainly for soft drinks and
alcoholic beverages, with emphasis on natural flavors. Belmay’s recently established research department on organic product development will be integrated with Frutarom's growing business in
the organic product market.
Planet Organic Health Corp., a Canadian natural products industry company, comprising manufacturing, distribution and retail, will acquire 100% of the shares of Mrs.
Green's Natural Market, Inc. for an undisclosed cash purchase price. Mrs. Green's is one of the leading natural and organic food retailers in the Northeastern U.S. Based on
management prepared financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2006, Mrs. Green's had revenue of $38 million EBITDA. "This merger marks a new era for Planet Organic,"
reports Darren Krissie, Planet Organic's CFO. "We have made several retail acquisitions in our history and Mrs. Green's will be our largest acquisition to date, which gives Planet
Organic an excellent platform to continue with further U.S. expansion."
BUSINESS NEWS
Both Herbalife and Shaklee announced that they have received direct-selling licenses from China's Ministry of Commerce. Herbalife, headquartered in Shanghai,
sells more than 30 products in China. The company operates its own manufacturing facility in Suzhou, China, that produces products for local use and export. Now that a license has been granted,
distributors will be allowed to conduct business outside of retail locations owned by Herbalife in the particular province and cities named in the direct selling license. Shaklee Chairman and CEO
Roger Barnett commented, "We are delighted that Shaklee is one of the first US companies approved under China's new Direct Selling regulations, and express our gratitude to the Chinese
government for this opportunity and vote of confidence."
RESEARCH NEWS
Chemicals found in grape seeds may help ward of skin cancer due to regular exposure to the sun, according to the results of an animal study reported at the annual meeting of the
American Chemical Society. Researchers from the University of Alabama, Birmingham exposed hairless mice to ultraviolet-light. Some of the mice they fed a standard diet
supplemented with grape seed proanthocyanidins, or GSPs, while control mice were fed a standard diet without this supplement. Dietary supplementation with GSPs inhibited light-induced
carcinogenesis, study chief Dr. Santosh K. Katiyar told the conference. Mice supplemented with GSPs had up to 65 fewer tumors than control mice did. "It suggests that regular consumptions of
GSPs as a dietary supplement may be beneficial for the prevention of skin cancers," Katiyar said in a written statement.
NEW PRODUCTS
Manitoba Harvest launches the first organic non-dairy hempmilk as an alternative to dairy, soy, nut and grain-based drinks. Hemp Bliss is the first line of organic
hempmilks in North America. Offered in Chocolate, Vanilla and Original varieties, Hemp Bliss naturally provides a boost of 1,200 mg of Omega-3 essential fatty acids and 5 grams of protein per
serving, and is offered in a 32 FL oz container for a suggested retail price of $4.99. It is estimated that consumers in America will purchase $300 million in hemp products this year. Over the past
5 years, Manitoba Harvest’s sales have grown more than 1,000%, and contracts more than 6,000 acres of hemp seed production in Manitoba with more than 20 farmers that are shareholders in the
company. Manitoba Harvest owns and operates a kosher and USDA certified organic facility and their products are distributed to thousands of stores in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Japan.
Coca-Cola North America announced plans to launch Diet Coke Plus with vitamins and minerals that will further test the concept of functional soft drinks in the wake of
declining sales in CSDs and still skyrocketing growth in mostly carbonated energy drinks. Diet Coke Plus will be marketed as a source of vitamins B3, B6, and B12 as well as zinc and magnesium and
will be launched in April. Diet Coke Plus will reportedly use the slogan "great taste has its benefits" with each eight-ounce can of Diet Coke Plus proving 15% of the daily value of
Niacin, B6 and B12, 10% of the daily value for zinc and magnesium.
DSM’s satiety ingredient Fabuless continues to penetrate dairy as Campina extended its use of Optiwell branded products to Germany from its start
in The Netherlands. Fabuless, previously known as Olibra and Reducal, works by encapsulating particles of palm oil in oats and the slow digestion of the oat fraction enables Fabuless to penetrate
deeply into the intestinal system, sending a message of fullness to the brain. DSM recently introduced the ingredient in a dietary supplement format in Boots stores in the UK, under the name
SlimThru.
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