Unilever, Provexis carve deal for Fruitflow spreads

By Jess Halliday

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Coca-cola Platelet Provexis

Functional ingredient innovator Provexis has secured a new 12-month
deal with Unilever to investigate the use of its Fruitflow
technology in the multinational's spreads brands.

The two companies have been working together since March, when they signed an initial 12-month exclusivity agreement to develop a second generation of Provexis' tomato-based Fruitflow technology, aimed at anti-platelet aggregation. The upshot of this collaboration was a pilot-scale version of a new version of the bioactive, said to be 35 per cent more concentrated than the original syrup, which was designed for juice drinks. This is said to have yielded positive results in a human trial. Under the new agreement the companies will look to apply this technology in vegetable-based fat spreads. To allow this to happen, Unilever is to transfer some manufacturing assets to Provexis. The ingredient is based on compounds contained in the clear fraction of tomatoes that inhibit blood platelet aggregation, thereby smoothing blood flow and helping to maintain healthy circulation and heart. Provexis had previously proven the original technology in its Sirco juice product, which it brought to market in the UK. It stopped manufacturing Sirco this summer, however, as it decided to focus its energies on working with partners rather than building its own brand. It makes considerable sense for Unilever to be considering Fruitflow for its spreads portfolio, since it has already established a presence in such products aimed at heart health - for example, its Flora Pro Activ margarine for cholesterol management. Rights for other product catefories including fruit juice drinks, products marketed for DVT, OTC medicines, medical foods, dietary supplements, and prescribed medicinal products, rest with Provexis. However last month rumours were circulating that a deal is on the cards between Provexis and Coca Cola for use of the technology in beverages. The soft drinks giant has already made several forays into functional drinks. Leatherhead Foods predicted last year that sales of heart health foods will rise by about 60 per cent over the 2004-2009 period to reach $5.7bn by 2009.

Related news

Show more

Related products

show more

Sweetening solution for active nutrition

Sweetening solution for active nutrition

Content provided by ADM | 19-Feb-2024 | Case Study

When you add GrainSweet® Liquid Maltodextrin to your active nutrition applications, you get the production efficiencies, clean labels, and clean tastes...

Golden Omega® Sustainability Strategy

Golden Omega® Sustainability Strategy

Content provided by LEHVOSS Nutrition | 11-Sep-2023 | Data Sheet

Commitment to sustainability at Golden Omega® is ever growing as they continue to put objectives in place to secure a better environment for the future....

Omega-3:Nutrition and Application Insight

Omega-3:Nutrition and Application Insight

Content provided by Cabio Biotech (Wuhan) Co., Ltd | 31-Jul-2023 | White Paper

Omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have numerous positive health benefits and are among the most extensively studied micronutrients....

Related suppliers

Follow us

Products

View more

Webinars