The Dutch ingredients firm has partnered with Tempo Canada since June 2006 for distribution and customer service in Canada. It already has an office of its own in the United States, but by extending the agreement with Tempo into the US as well it is aiming to expand its customer base in that country.
The company said its focus in the US will remain "similar" to its European ingredient focus, on weight management and heart health.
"We are already in the US so this is not an expansion," John Kurstgens, Lipid Nutrition global marketing manager, told NutraIngredients.com. "But it's an opportunity to expand our customer base."
As the company moves further into the global nutraceutical market, it is also gearing its research and development in Europe towards other regulatory environments as well as securing patents.
"We're working very hard looking into the regulatory environment for dietary supplements and functional foods market," said Kurstgens, who added that patents are an important aim for the company.
Lipid Nutrition develops and markets naturally-derived lipid ingredients for the nutrition market. Its branded flagship products are Clarinol CLA for body and lean muscle mass and PinnoThin for weight management. In 2006 Pinnothin received the Frost & Sullivan Product innovation award and the silver award at Healthy Ingredients Europe.
The company's other branded ingredients include Safflorin isomerized safflower oil for immune health, Marinol concentrated fish oils for heart health and brain development as well as Betapol human milk fat substitute for infant nutrition.
"By expanding our partnership with Tempo Canada into the United States market it provides us with a tremendous opportunity to expand the customer base for our innovative products and still provide the best customer service available to the industry, which is very important to us," said Bob Rasmus, business unit manager of Lipid Nutrition North America.
In 2006, Lipid Nutrition was declared a separate entity from parent company Loders Croklaan, with a new CEO in Europe to guide the firm. Its North American headquarters are in Channahon, Illinois, while Tempo is headquartered in Oakville, Ontario, with offices in Montreal and Western Canada.