The company previously supplied the North American for over 10 years through local distributor Jedwards International, and the new office responds to growth in the North American omega-3 and a desire by the company to “further develop the market potential”, said Steve Dillingham, the newly appointed head of the Montclair, NJ office.
“Our exclusive distributor agreement expires with Jedwards in early 2012,” explained Dillingham. “We anticipate and hope that we can continue to collaborate with Jedwards on a non-exclusive basis towards the market, in order to serve both high volume and low volume customers with our traditional omega-3 fish oils, and our new-to-market omega-3 concentrates. “
Market boost
The omega-3 market is booming, and was recently valued at a whopping $8 billion by Packaged Facts. the market grew 17% from 2009 and such growth is predicted to continue, according to a report by the market researcher,.
The US dominates with sales of $4bn (€2.78bn) in foods and drinks compared to $1.3bn (€900m) for dietary supplements, with much of the food and beverage figure accounted for by omega-3 fortified infant foods and formulas.
Dillingham told NutraIngredients-USA: “The main market for us is still on the supplement side -- but as the ultra-pure high omega-3 concentrates continue to build, we see a natural cross-over into the food and beverage area, as formulators can deliver the desired omega-3 load into their fortified functional foods and beverages using less ingredient material, making the formulation process much easier.
“However, the same benefit goes on the supplement side, where formulators using our omega-3 concentrates can pack a higher omega-3 load into a capsule using less material, allowing for smaller capsule size and the ability to formulate with other health-providing ingredients to make custom blend supplements with unique health promoting properties.”
VivoMega
GC Rieber’s range of traditional fish oils and new-to-market omega-3 concentrates, including concentrates with up to 90% total omega-3 content, was recently rebranded as VivoMega.
The VivoMega branding allows the company to provide a more visible assurance of GC Rieber Oils' product quality, purity, consistency, and sustainable sourcing practices, said Dillingham.
“What we are offering the North American market that is new are ultra-pure omega-3 fish oil concentrates (up to 90% total omega-3) and the ability to provide custom concentrate products, working directly and closely with the product development and brand teams from our customers to produce signature concentrates and blends for their brand portfolios,” he added.