Partners
Since launching its first commercial product in the third quarter of 2007, HerbalScience has entered into exclusive partnerships with leading food and herbal products companies.
Bright Foods Group Co. Ltd: In 2007, HerbalScience entered into a Strategic Partnership with Bright Foods Group Co. Ltd, the largest food and consumer products distribution company in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The strategic partnership was formed to be the cornerstone of Bright Foods’ effort to become the leader in product development and distribution in the fastest growing segment of China’s food industry; functional or healthy foods. As part of the strategic partnership, HerbalScience was tasked to use its proprietary functional ingredients as the core of a product development effort that would brand-extend Bright Foods' leading PRC food brands into the functional or healthy food channel. To facilitate this major PRC project, Shanghai Sugar Cigarette & Wine (SSCW) Ltd, the distribution arm of Bright Foods, and HerbalScience entered into a Joint Venture Complete Health Ltd. Complete Health Ltd selects foreign-branded functional food products for PRC distribution and develops under the Complete Health brand functional or healthy food products for distribution through the Bright Foods distribution system. The goal is to make Complete Health the leading functional food brand in China. Starting in Shanghai, Complete Health is rolling out multi-branded functional food products using Complete Health kiosks in the food and drugstore retail system in China. The store-in-store concept allows Complete Health and its products to quickly establish a dominant presence and position by utilizing China’s largest food retail store system
New Chapter Inc.: In 2007, HerbalScience entered into an exclusive agreement with New Chapter Inc., North America’s premier herbal products brand. The agreement provides for the utilization of HerbalScience’s proprietary functional ingredients in New Chapter products for marketing and distribution in the health and wellness retail channel in North America. New Chapter distributes through 5000+ health, wellness and organic stores, including Whole Foods and Wild Oats, in the USA and Canada. New Chapter launched the first product with a HerbalScience ingredient, a product for immune enhancement, in late 2007. Five additional products will launch in 2008 for urinary tract health, feminine hygiene, seasonal allergies and cardiac health.
NutraCea Inc.: In January 2008, HerbalScience entered into two Joint Ventures with NutraCea Inc, a world leader in rice technology and stabilized rice bran. The companies established Rice Science LLC, a company that utilizes NutraCea’s proprietary Stabilized Rice Bran as feedstock to develop proprietary functional ingredients targeted for such specific health conditions as joint health and inflammation, control of normal blood sugar levels, diabetes and immune system enhancement. NutraCea and HerbalScience also formed Rice Rx LLC, a company that is mining NutraCea’s proprietary Stabilized Rice Bran for single molecule drug discovery for licensing or sale to late-stage life science and pharmaceutical companies.