Business
SunOpta Announces Agreement with Germany's Mikro-Technik to Expand Fiber Portfolio and North American Distribution
SunOpta Announces Agreement with Germany's Mikro-Technik to Expand Fiber Portfolio and North American Distribution.
About this update from Sunopta Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\n\nTORONTO, June 26 /CNW/ - SunOpta, Inc. (SunOpta or the Company)\n(Nasdaq:STKL) (TSX:SOY) announced today it has entered into an exclusive\nlicensing arrangement with Mikro-Technik GmbH & Co. KG of Burgstadt, Germany\n(Mikro-Technik) for the sales, marketing and distribution of Mikro-Technik's\nwheat and bamboo fibers, and its powdered cellulose products in North America.\nThese products, which are complementary to the current fiber portfolio of the\nSunOpta Ingredients Group, will be marketed under the SunOpta brand name.\nArt McEvily, President of SunOpta Ingredients commented that \"The\nagreement between SunOpta Ingredients and Mikro-Technik is a strong step\nforward in meeting two important strategic goals: the diversification of our\nfiber portfolio, with varieties other than oat; and increasing the Company's\npresence in the international arena. We look forward to working closely with\nMikro-Technik to drive sales of these unique, functional fibers in the North\nAmerican food industry.\"\nChristian Bumm, Managing Director of Mikro-Technik commented: \"We are\npleased to have established this commercial relationship with SunOpta\nIngredients. The collaborative effort will enable Mikro-Technik to expand in\nthe food market while allowing us to remain focused on our core fiber\ndevelopment and manufacturing competencies.\"\nThe SunOpta Ingredients Group, an operating unit within the SunOpta Food\nGroup, is a leading supplier of value-added, healthful ingredients to the\nglobal food industry with a core focus on edible fiber products derived from\noat, soy and other agricultural raw materials. A key component of the\nCompany's growth strategy is to expand its fiber business globally by\nleveraging its core competencies in the development, manufacture, and\napplication of highly functional food fibers. This includes the\ndiversification of its product portfolio beyond insoluble oat fibers,\npenetration of new market segments such as pet foods, and acceleration of\nsales growth in international markets.\nSunOpta also announced that sales of the internally-developed,\nproprietary SunOpta Soy Fiber S-200, which was introduced earlier this year,\nare well ahead of expectations. Significant supply agreements have been\nreached with several customers including a major industrial baked goods\nmanufacturer. Due to the str...