Low-carb bar company buys Altu brand

GoLower, a Scottish firm, was set up in 2003 offering British-made products as an alternative to the low-carb foods imported from the US during the height of the Atkin's diet craze. It has recently raised £500,000 to bolster its product range of chocolate and coconut bars, as well as low-carb ice cream, and prepare for a listing on London's smallcap stock exchange, AIM. While it is buying a loss-making brand, Hannah Sutter, founder of the firm, says the Altu sales of £298,000 "are not bad at all". "It is lossmaking because they have such huge central overheads," she told NutraIngredients.com. In a results statement in July Provexis had blamed the losses on limited investment and a highly competitive market. But Sutter says the brand needs to be 'slightly repositioned'. "The market is competitive for companies that don't have strong differentiation," she said. "It's actually a very good quality product but consumers need to know why it is so good." GoLower is aiming to reposition the product to fill some of the spaces it has identified without much competition, added Sutter. She added that the firm's current range is seeing sales growth each month, despite warnings that demand for low-carb products has significantly waned. "Low-carb really means low-sugar and with growth in low-GI awareness we are expecting to see continued growth," said Sutter. The sale will also be good for Provexis, which said it would use the £75,000 gained from the sale for 'working capital purposes'. CEO Stephen Franklin said the firm will "now be able to focus its resources and management time on its core business: the development of novel, patented, food bioactives with scientifically-proven health benefits. These will be commercialised via a combination of licensing and own-brand functional foods". External links to companies or organisations mentioned in thisstory: Go Lowerl Provexis