Source: LOHAS Weekly Newsletter
Published: Monday, December 01, 1997

Tokyo food dealer Vanity Inc. has been named the exclusive sales agency for United Natural Foods Inc.’s (UNFI) line of Organic Baby-brand foods in Japan. Initially, 15 different baby foods will be sold, priced at about $2 per jar. Sales are expected to reach $48 million for the first year.

Nestle SA (NSRGY) subsidiary Perrier Vittel will own 100% of the San Pellegrino mineral-water group after purchasing 51% of the remaining stock from the Mentasti family. San Pellegrino had 1996 sales of 750 million Swiss francs in 50 countries under the San Pellegrino, Levissima and Panna brands.

The Netherlands specialty food products group Nutricia NV (N.NUT) will take an 80% stake in Sweden’s Vitamex International AB, a 200-employee nutraceutical firm expected to post a 7 million guilder net profit on sales of 120 million guilders. Based on an agreement earlier this year in which Nutricia gained a minority interest, Vitamex will be retroactively consolidated from July.

Rexall Showcase International, a division of Rexall Sundown (RXSD), has opened a Hong Kong network marketing operation with about 700 distributors handling up to HK$l.5 million in monthly sales.

Cultor Food Sciences, a division of Cultor Corp. of Helsinki, opened a Customer and Technology Center in Ardsley, NY. Cultor scientists will research new ingredients and manufacturing processes for a variety of products including functional foods.

Maruha Corp. of Tokyo, one of several Japanese companies increasing exports of health food product ingredients, now exports 1 billion yen worth of chondroitin—extracted from shark and cow cartilage—mainly to Europe. It plans to start exports to Asia and the U.S. in partnership with a European health food company.

U.K. flavors producer Borthwicks PLC was acquired

by Danisco AS, a supplier of

flavorings and functional foods ingredients.

Europe’s Food and Drink Federation, the British Retail Consortium and the U.K.’s Institute of Grocery Distribution have announced plans to label genetically modified maize and soy in January if official labeling rules aren’t yet adopted. Soy from this year’s U.S. harvest, of which about 15% was grown from modified seed, already is arriving in the European Union.

China’s State Science and Technology Commission and State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine are working to formally register at least two kinds of medicines in Western countries by the end of the century, hoping that traditional Chinese medicinal theory will be accepted. If proposed goals are achieved, the total trade volume of traditional Chinese medicines could exceed $2 billion by 2000.

HerbTech Inc. (HTK.A) announced an exclusive distribution agreement with Amrion Inc. (AMRI), a subsidiary of Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFMI). The three-year renewable agreement provides for minimum purchases by Amrion Inc. of $1 million annually and grants the exclusive right to distribute HerbTech’s products in the U.S. Amrion also has nonexclusive rights to distribute HerbTech products in Russia, The Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Egypt, Ecuador, Peru and Barbados.

Amway will invest $30 million for a new plant in China producing personal care products and supplements.

According to a Realeat Gallup Survey published in March, there are 3 million vegetarians in the U.K., up 20% from a 1995 survey. A quarter of women aged 16 to 34 no longer eat red meat, and 8.9% of the overall population now avoids it. Some 46% are eating less red meat, due to the BSE crisis and concern for a healthy diet. The vegetarian foods sector grew in the U.K. by 15% to $610 million in 1995. Traditional prepared foods with substitutions for animal ingredients are most popular. The market is likely to double within the next two to three years, said the Soil Association, a British organic foods trade association, according to a November USDA report.