OptiBiotix strikes manufacturing and supply deal with Cereal Ingredients

Life sciences business OptiBiotix Health has entered into a manufacturing and supply agreement with Cereal Ingredients, it announced on Tuesday.

The AIM-traded company said the agreement would grant CII a licence to manufacture and supply OptiBiotix's ‘SlimBiome’ as an extruded product in CII's range of cereal based particulates in the US, in return for 50% of the profit, with an agreed cost of manufacture and minimum sales price per kilogram.

It described Cereal Ingredients as a privately held speciality ingredients manufacturer based in Kansas, dedicated to the development, manufacture and supply of “unique, high-quality” food ingredients.

Cereal Ingredients has incorporated SlimBiome into their range of cereal and protein based particulates and speciality ingredients, OptiBiotix explained.

It said the technical innovation extended the application of SlimBiome into bakery products, breakfast cereals, crackers, toppings, as well as increasing the range of options for healthy snacks, yoghurts and cereal bars.

That significantly extended the scale of the opportunity, the board explained, and created the potential to develop “healthy functional products” for the US cereal, snacks, and sports nutrition market.

Under the terms of the agreement, CII would use their “best endeavours” to promote and expand the supply of SlimBiome across the US, bringing it to the attention of as many buyers as possible.

SlimBiome, a patented combination of natural ingredients developed by experts to provide hunger-free weight loss, would be supplied by CII as an extruded product to add flavour, texture and functionality to baked goods, cereals and a diverse range of other food applications.

OptiBiotix said the agreement is a “strategic step” to access the global healthy ingredients market with an “established and respected” supplier of unique, high quality, value added functional food ingredients.

“We are pleased to announce the signing of a manufacturing, supply and profit sharing agreement for the US markets with Cereal Ingredients,” said OptiBiotix CEO Stephen O'Hara.

“We chose Cereal Ingredients due to their industry reputation and world leading expertise in incorporating functional ingredients like SlimBiome into extruded cereal and protein based particulates bringing added value and differentiation to the cereal, snacks and sports nutrition markets.”

O’Hara said OptiBiotix was “particularly impressed” by the investment in development work, marketing and customer engagement carried out by CII during negotiations, which gave both companies a “high level of confidence” in the scale of the opportunity.

“We believe working with CII, and similar partners around the world, provides the best opportunity of fully exploiting the functional benefits of SlimBiome to improve the health of customers around the world.”