As previously indicated, the group expects to deliver first year losses and cash flows in line with expectations for this financial year.
They hope to boost future profits by moving further into the functional foods and beverages market, starting with the launch of a heart-healthy drink developed with Provexis, the UK company whose main product CardioFlow is made from a novel tomato extract.
The venture will be 45 per cent owned by Nutrinnovator and product development will be funded from the company's existing cash resources.
Developed by scientists at the Rowett Institute in Aberdeen, CardioFlow is a patented tomato extract which has been shown in human trials to 'thin' the blood and benefit the circulation.
CardioFlow works by reducing the 'stickiness' of blood platelets which prevents them from self-aggregating and potentially initiating fatal blood clots.
"We are only at the early stages of market research for this product, but we think we have a pretty good marketing campaign for this product that will have a wide consumer appeal over and above that of health food stores," Doug Gardner, financial director of Nutrinnovator told Nutraingredients.
The plan is to initially launch this product in the UK in May 2005, before taking it into the US and Japan.
"These are the key markets into which we can rapidly get the product," said Gardner.
The companies believe that the product will exploit an untapped market opportunity and Nutrinnovatator sees the functional sector as having huge potential. The firm is in discussion with human nutrition research institutes in the UK and New Zealand to assess the potential for acquiring existing intellectual property and developing new functional food claims.
In 2003, Professor David Webb, leader of the Centre for Cardiovascular Science at the University of Edinburgh, joined Provexis' scientific advisory board to help develop a second generation CardioFlow specifically for patients diagnosed with cardiovascular disease.