The company, founded in 1992, has shown impressive growth momentum over the last four years, trebling its turnover in this time thanks to an innovative range, competitive pricing and its strategic presence in the US market.
Turnover for 2004 reached €34.8 million, growing by 23.7 per cent on the prior year. Results released today from this year's first quarter -turnover of €8.38 million, a rise of 8.7 per cent on the prior year's quarter, or 13 per cent at a constant exchange rate - suggest that the Avignon-based company will continue to experience double-digit growth.
"We have previously forecast growth of between 10 and 15 per cent for this year and we can now confirm that this is online," chief executive Jacques Dikansky told NutraIngredients.com.
Good organic growth has allowed Naturex to invest in adding new business. In January a public share offering, oversubscribed 4.7 times, raised €10.66 million, which will fund "two or three" acquisitions in specialty food or nutraceutical ingredients either in Europe or the United States.
"We are more likely to buy in the nutraceutical sector which is still fragmented and has not yet gone through the consolidation seen in food ingredients. There are less and less small and medium-sized ingredients firms around," explained Dikansky.
Naturex will continue to benefit from the good growth in nutraceuticals, which account for 47 per cent of its turnover. It had strong sales in 2004 from berries, like cranberries and blackcurrants, and also in saw palmetto.
However Dikansky says its success also comes from its wide-ranging product offering, boosted by the acquisition of Brucia in California in 2002. It now offers more than 300 different nutraceutical extracts, more than many of its competitors.
"With this many, it is difficult to launch new products. We are concentrating on different forms, particularly soluble ones for adding to beverages or yoghurts. We have also bought new granulation equipment in California and are looking to offer granulated versions of our current products," said Dikansky.
The rosemary business of rival Hauser-RFI, acquired last year, has also contributed to growth (6.1 per cent of the French firm's growth in 2004) and rosemary is now its biggest product, responsible for about 12-13 per cent of its turnover. Naturex produces more than 100 different extracts from this single raw material.
"One of the reasons for our strong growth is that we have done lots of R&D on different product forms. We have a very wide range of rosemary extracts, including products soluble in oil, or in water, and some with little taste," noted Dikansky.
The company also gains competitivity through its 2500 square metre production plant in Morocco, the leading producer of rosemary leaf and a strategic location for other Mediterranean raw materials like olive leaf, grape seed extract and herbs.
It is now seeking to increase its market share in Asia, through a new office opening in Singapore this month.
"Asia is the weak point for Naturex. The market accounts for about 20 per cent of global plant extract sales but only 5 per cent of our turnover. We hope to change this in the next four to five years," explained Dikansky.
The company has already demonstrated the benefits of its presence in the US market, which accounts for 70 per cent of its nutraceutical sales.
"Our equal footing in Europe and the US has been an advantage for us over other firms who are dominant in one market or the other. This has helped increase our volumes," added Dikansky.
It will join a handful of other European and US plant extract firms seeking to increase sales to this market.