Omega Nutritional Market Arguably the Largest Supplement Market Category in the World
Naturally Splendid Develops HempOmega™ Superfood Line
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 24, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In the last decade, sales of coconut water have gone from zero to over $1 billion USD, driven by its mystique as a super-hydrating natural health drink. HempOmega™, a patented, water soluble, plant-based omega product has the potential to grip the consumer's imagination – and wallet - in the same way.
Naturally Splendid (TSX-V:NSP) (OTCQB:NSPDF) (FRANKFURT:50N) - a Canadian Superfood manufacturer is on the leading edge of this "Superfood" trend. Superfoods are food products considered "beneficial to your health". The Company is developing products and markets for HempOmega™ and has just received its first commercial production run – one metric tonne of the patented hemp-based omega 3 product.
Omega nutrition provides multiple health benefits, including: weight loss, increased energy, lowered cholesterol and blood pressure, faster recovery from disease or injury, reduced inflammation and improvement in circulation and immune system. Product testing for HempOmega™ has been carried out in conjunction with the BC Cancer Research Agency. The initial study confirmed that HempOmega™ displayed superior "bio-availability" and stability to "control sample" vegetable oils - which can often be degraded by sunlight and oxygenation.
The omega nutritional market is arguably the largest supplement market category in terms of dollars generated annually. Packaged Facts puts the omega-3 products market at about $24.4 billion (€19 billion) in 2011.
According to Packaged Facts, a 2010 Gallup study of nutrient knowledge and consumption found that in 2011, 34% of shoppers chose products because of their omega-3 content.
Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting firm, believes the global omega-3 ingredient market grew to $1.89 billion in 2011, up from $1.68 billion in 2010.
Double-digit growth is forecast from 2012 to 2016.
According to Euromonitor International, the retail value sales of foods (including milk formula) and drinks with added omega fatty acids reached $30 billion in 2012.
Sales of foods/beverages carrying an omega-3 claim reached $1.8 billion in U.S. supermarkets in 2011 (Nielsen, U.S. Healthy eating trends: part 1. Jan. 26. 2011.)
In an Ipsos Reid survey conducted by BioAccess, Canadian respondents showed that a full 80% of Canadians are influenced to buy a product if it contains omega-3 fatty acids.
The Hartman Research Group determined that 52% of Americans are currently attempting to increase their intake of omega-3 ingredients – and HempOmega™ has the potential to be a powerful delivery mechanism. In Canada, there has been a 1,700% growth in consumption of omega-3 natural health products in the last ten years.
Following years of development at their base at the University of British Columbia, Boreal Technologies, NSP's technology partner, has commenced production of the plant based omega 3 product-line. It will be available as an additive to existing food products and beverages as well as a stand-alone omega 3 supplement.
To date approximately $16 million has been spent by Boreal developing technologies and products and NSP has secured exclusive North American rights to market HempOmega™ and H2Omega™, as well as the FlaxOmega™, CanolaOmega™, and ChiaOmega™.
Boreal's Chairman, Charles Brink, is a veteran of the functional food and beverage industry. His recent business venture was the creation of a consumer products company that reached $1 billion in sales in less than four years.
Boreal's technology delivers omega nutrition more efficiently to the human digestive system, offering increased bioavailability and sustainability. The proprietary manufacturing process transforms nutritious but insoluble hemp oil into a stable, aqueous suspension, or converts it into a fine, dry powder.
In an exclusive interview with the Financial Press - Naturally Splendid CEO Craig Goodwin states, "The opportunities for HempOmega™ continue to expand. Beyond human food, there are significant commercial opportunities present in livestock feed and pet food markets. Longer term potential exists for the inclusion of HempOmega™ in aquaculture, cosmetics, cosmeceuticals and nutraceuticals. Our exclusive marketing rights for these breakthrough omega 3 products, which includes HempOmega™, extends North America wide."
Naturally Splendid plans to conduct research and product development specifically targeted for the pet food market at the Food Science and Technology Centre located in Brooks, Alberta. The center will develop optimized pet food formulations and processing capabilities followed up with nutritional and performance testing at an approved lab. The goal of this study is to develop pet superfoods fortified with HempOmega™ in order to provide optimum nutrition for pets and participate in this multi-billion dollar market.
In addition, tests were recently conducted at the University of Manitoba by Professor James House. These studies confirmed the effectiveness of HempOmega™ in feed for chickens resulting in a significant increase of over six times (6X) the omega 3 levels found in eggs of chickens that consumed a current commercial feed product. As well, the actual meat of the chickens showed over three and a half times (3.5X) increase in levels of omega 3. Astonishingly, while increasing the 'good fats' (omega 3&6), testing showed that the 'bad fats' (transfats) were actually reduced.
Importantly, these tests have also proven Boreal's ability to convert plant-based omega oils into powder and aqueous forms without changing the composition of the oil, leaving all the benefits of omegas intact. Boreal's HempOmega™ powder has clinically demonstrated enhanced nutritional integrity.
Boreal's scientists have discovered that omega oils are problematic because of their lack of stability, and limited end-uses. NSP's intention is to deploy omegas in a new format, and that is where HempOmega™ comes in.
"With a water soluble powder, we can create differentiated products and sell them to a wide spectrum of end-users", states Goodwin. "This product is easier to handle, ship and store and will have an extended shelf life over the basic oil. We hope to change the nutritional standard. So that the omega symbol "Ω" is not just used as a marketing tool associated with trace amounts of omega. Our products will contain meaningful quantities of omega offering nutritional value and measurable positive health outcomes.
Goodwin continues to say, "The wholesale market for HempOmega™ will not only complement our healthy offerings, it has the potential to surpass our retail line by a wide margin. We are focusing on retail now to build a solid business platform and generate cash flow to support our vision for biotech food solutions. We will continue to build the retail line to support the R&D side, it's good synergy. We're penetrating retail chains with our current NATERA brand products, and using the cash to develop new, innovative products like HempOmega™ that we expect will generate significant interest in the bulk sales category."
Thrifty Foods, Vancouver Island's largest grocery retailer, will be carrying select products from the NATERA™ hemp-based superfood line throughout its entire retail chain. Thrifty Foods is a division of Sobeys who is already carrying the line. NATERA™ products can be found in large retailers such as: London Drugs, Save On Foods, PriceSmart Foods, HomeSense, Winners, Urban Fare and Nature's Fare Markets.
Goodwin and his team are also exploring the concept of commercializing HempOmega™ in the pet and livestock food sectors, linking the nutritional benefit in commercial animal production to potential health benefits in pets.
Consumer demand for pet food, health and wellness products, grooming and pet related accessories is growing at a rate of 4% annually according to Packaged Facts. The overall market in Canada for pet related items reached $6.6 billion in 2012 and is expected to grow to $8.3 billion by 2018.
This macro trend toward Omegas and healthy eating can be observed in the share price of healthy food companies like United Natural Foods and Whole Foods Market - up 300% and 350% respectively in the last 5 years. Annie's Organics, a retailer of healthy product lines, was recently purchased by General Mills for $820M.
The global functional food market has exploded from $164 billion in 2007 to a projected $240 billion in 2014.
Naturally Splendid (NSP) is currently trading at $0.25 with a market capitalisation of $10 million.
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CONTACT: Naturally Splendid Enterprises Ltd.
2435BetaAvenue
Burnaby, BC, V5C 5N1
Phone: (604) 559-8051
Fax: (604) 570-0934
E-mail: info@naturallysplendid.com
Website: www.naturallysplendid.com
