The Canadian group announced last week it acquired 100 percent of the outstanding common share of Brantford, Ontario-based Neo-Nutritionals, which develops and manufactures a wide range of natural health products.
"The acquisition of Neo-Nutritionals backward integrates SunOpta's existing natural health products production and distribution platform in Canada," SunOpta spokesperson Susan Wiekenkamp told NutraIngredients-USA.
"SunOpta operates a number of vertically integrated models in grains, ingredients and fruits and this adds yet another dimension to these capabilities." Neo-Nutritionals manufactures tablets, capsules and powders to sell to branded natural health product companies and to private label companies.
SunOpta has been diversifying its focus and operations over the past few years, with a series of acquisitions, though it continues to underscore one primary objective: vertical integration of operations from ingredients to products.
This is the case of the Neo-Nutritionals acquisition.
"The business is a great fit with SunOpta and supports our strategy of vertical integration in key components of our businesses," said SunOpta president and CEO, Steve Bromley.
The company has three business units.
The SunOpta Food Group sources, processes and distributes natural products.
Opta Minerals recycles environmentally friendly industrial materials and SunOpta BioProcess engineers and markets proprietary steam explosion technology systems for the pulp, bio-fuel and food processing industries.
Neo-Nutritionals is set to fit into SunOpta's natural health products manufacturing and packaging platform.
As part of its acquisition of Purity Life Health Products in 2006, SunOpta operates a dietary supplement bottling operation in Rockwood, Ontario.
However, this facility currently goes through third parties to manufacture products for bottling.
As such, the Neo-Nutritionals acquisition will allow this to be changed to internal production.
Neo-Nutritionals employs approximately 20 people and operates an 18,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility located in Brantford, Ontario.
SunOpta said it will expand the plant over the next six months.