Probi and Viva 5 Corporation form Probiotic Business Development Alliance in North America
Probi has signed a business development agreement with Viva 5, a US probiotic specialist, granting them license rights within Consumer Healthcare for Probi Digestis®and Probi Defendum®in North America. Probi will work with Viva 5 to further strengthen its commercial position as well as the presence and consumer awareness of the Probi brand in the North American market place. Viva 5 and Probi are already engaged in commercial discussions with select US-based companies.
The value of the US probiotic dietary supplements market is approximately USD 900 million. It is a highly fragmented market where products are sold through several sales channels. The three biggest brands collectively account for approximately 25% market share, but the fourth brand is limited to a 3-4 % market share as reported by Euromonitor.
“The agreement between Probi and Viva 5 will be a signficant opportunity to exploit the full potential for Probi Digestis®and Probi Defendum®in the US marketplace. Targeted commercial agreements with a range of companies, each with a strong position in their respective sales channel, is required in order to achieve this. This is where the expertise and commercial network of Viva 5 will play an important role in complementing Probi’s existing partner network. The financial structure of the agreement is transparent and will allow both companies to capture attractive returns,” says Michael Oredsson CEO of Probi.
Viva 5 is a full service partner to the dietary supplement industry with expertise in areas ranging from brand and product development to production and claim support. Viva 5 has a broad customer network ranging from big international players to mid-tier and smaller customers. Product differentiation will play a key role in the market optimisation, in this Viva 5’s local contacts will be critical.
“We are very excited to team up with Probi and are equally impressed with their long history and dedication to high-quality, science-based probiotics. There is clearly a need in the North American market for clinically researched, shelf-stable probiotics and we believe the Probi strains are some of the most extensively documented and efficacious strains in the marketplace. We have received tremendous initial interest from key industry players and we expect to launch several products containing Probi probiotic strains in the North American market in 2013,” says Tony Corey, Vice President of Viva 5.
Probiotics have been one of the most successful dietary supplements categories in the US over the past few years. The category is expected to grow at an annual rate of 14 % over the next 5 year period according to Euromonitor.
The information is such that Probi AB must disclose in accordance with the Swedish Securities Market Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Michael Oredsson, CEO, Probi, phone +46 46 286 89 23 or mobile +46 707 18 89 30
e-mail: michael.oredsson@probi.se
Niklas Bjärum, Vice President Marketing & Sales, Probi, phone. +46 46 286 89 67 or mobile: +46 705 38 88 64,
e-mail: niklas.bjarum@probi.se
Toney Corey, Vice President, Viva 5, phone +1-954-331-8153, e-mail: tony@viva5corp.com or info@viva5corp.com
ABOUT PROBI
Probi is a leading player in the probiotic research and the development of efficient and well-documented probiotics. The research areas include: gastrointestinal tracts, immune system, metabolic syndrome and stress and recovery. Probi’s customers are leading companies in the functional foods and consumer healthcare business areas. Total income for 2011 was MSEK 95.0. Probi’s share is listed on the Nasdaq OMX Stockholm, Small Cap. Probi has approximately 4,500 shareholders. For more information, please visit www.probi.com.
ABOUT VIVA 5 Corporation
Viva 5 Corporation is a U.S. and International leader in sourcing, product development, manufacturing, regulatory & marketing support for a variety of channels in the nutrition, health & beauty, and pharmaceutical industries. Our specialties include the development of innovative, proprietary and efficacious products that create incremental revenue opportunities for our distribution and retail partners in the U.S. and abroad. For more information, please visit www.viva5corp.com.
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