Agreement with leading UK bread manufacturer
15.05.2000 - Nutri Pharma ASA (Oslo Stock Exchange: NUT), the Norwegian functional foods company, today announced that it has signed a product development agreement with a leading bread manufacturer in the United Kingdom....
Oslo, Norway, 15 May 2000
Nutri Pharma ASA (Oslo Stock Exchange: NUT), the Norwegian functional foods company, today announced that it has signed a product development agreement with a leading bread manufacturer in the United Kingdom. The purpose of the agreement is to develop the first bread containing Nutri Pharma's proprietary cholesterol-lowering product, Abacor®, in the UK. For competitive and strategic reasons, the bread manufacturer and the terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The market for bread in the UK is currently worth £2.5bn per annum, and £30bn in Europe. Although growth in traditional bread has been static in Europe and the UK, value-added breads have grown by 68% in the past four years, and some estimates suggest that functional bread are capable of winning 3% of market share. Functional foods contain natural active ingredients that may prevent common diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
"Over the past few months, we have signed collaborative agreements with international partners to develop Abacor® products in fruit and vegetable juices, yoghurts, and breads. The Abacor® range of products is fast becoming an internationally recognised brand associated with good health," said Michael Oredsson, CEO of Nutri Pharma. "We have earlier signed a similar agreement with a large Nordic bread supplier, and with this agreement we have started developing similar bread-based products in the UK. Our partner's position as market leader, and its reputable expertise for innovation in the bread market, is the ideal complement to Abacor's® core strengths in combining optimal efficacy in cholesterol reduction with great taste".
Abacor® is a patented combination of isolated soy-proteins and soy-fibres, with high fixed levels of isoflavones. Clinical studies have shown that intake of Abacor® lowers LDL cholesterol by 15-20% after four months. One month after the end of each study, all patients had returned to pre-treatment cholesterol levels, demonstrating that the effect is tied to the intake of the product, and that the beneficial reduction in cholesterol levels can only be maintained with continued intake of Abacor®.
Nutri Pharma ASA, based in Oslo, Norway, was founded by Dr Lars Høie, MD, PhD (Appl) and Trond Syvertsen (MBA) in 1993. The
company is focusing on innovative functional foods based on proprietary soy-technology, and is committed to addressing the
growing incidence of prevalent lifestyle disorders, including elevated cholesterol levels, obesity and type 2 diabetes. The
company has recently signed a marketing and distribution agreement with General Nutrition Corporation in the US and Canada,
and has recently signed a co-branding agreement with Delmonte Foods International for cholesterol-lowering Abacor fruit and
vegetable juices. Nutri Pharma's weight-loss product Nutrilett® has held a market-leading position in the Nordic Countries
since its launch in 1989 with aggregated sales in excess of $150 million, and the company is about to roll-out Abacor®, a
range of cholesterol-lowering functional foods. In May 2000, Nutri Pharma listed on the Main Board of the Oslo Stock Exchange,
and is a composite of the total index.
For further information, please contact:
Michael Oredsson, CEO Nutri Pharma ASA.TEL: +45 3338 4000
David Speechly, PhD, MBA. Noonan/Russo Ltd.TEL: 0171 726 4452