Evolva Acquires Fluxome’s Resveratrol Business

Evolva Holding SA (Reinach, Switzerland)-an ingredients supplier specializing in fermentation-based production and whose nutrition ingredients include saffron, vanillin, and stevia-has agreed to acquire all of the assets related to the resveratrol business of Danish ingredients firm Fluxome A/S. Evolva says its own expertise in yeast fermentation–based ingredient production may help streamline the production of Fluxome’s PureVera resveratrol ingredient. PureVera is a 98%-pure, natural, trans-resveratrol derived from grapes and produced via yeast fermentation.

According to an Evolva press release, Fluxome’s resveratrol business had suffered due to high production costs and selling price. “Evolva expects to leverage its own technologies to reduce manufacturing costs and further enhance the competitive advantage of Fluxome’s resveratrol,” Evolva stated.

As part of the deal, Evolva will acquire all of Fluxome’s scientific and technical assets related to resveratrol. It will incorporate the business into its own Danish operations, retaining a small number of Fluxome employees.

Notably, Evolva will not take over Fluxome’s U.S. sales and marketing organization. Instead, Evolva says it will focus driving resveratrol sales in Asia. Additionally, Evolva is not acquiring Fluxome’s other ingredient arm for polyunsaturated fatty acids.

“Like our current product portfolio, resveratrol is produced by fermentation in yeast, and there are many technical similarities to our successful vanillin program,” said Evolva CEO Neil Goldsmith in the press release. “This added product significantly advances Evolva’s portfolio, and we expect significant operational and technical synergies from this transaction.”

Evolva said it expects the Fluxome acquisition to begin positively impacting its cash flow starting in 2014.

Fluxome’s resveratrol is self-affirmed GRAS in the United States and has European Novel Foods approval. It is used in dietary supplements, as well as in chewing gum, beverages, and antiaging moisturizing creams.

Evolva says a 2012 Frost & Sullivan report indicated sales of resveratrol ingredients were $50 million in 2011 and predicted double-digit growth rates. Currently, Evolva says, resveratrol from “low-purity Japanese knotweed extracts, primarily from China, dominate the market.”