December 10, 2003

By: Doug Murphy
Website: http://www.1st-in-vitamins.com

Novartis and The Quaker Oats Company form North American joint venture in functional foods

The Quaker Oats Company and Novartis Consumer Health, Inc. announced today that they have entered into a joint venture to form Altus Food Company, a new company, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Altus plans to develop and market functional food brands in the United States, Canada and Mexico. This represents the first time a global healthcare company and an international food marketing company have come together to create foods with health benefits covering a wide range of therapeutic areas.

Altus will have unique access to its parent companies' strengths in brand marketing and selling, nutrition science, taste technology and manufacturing to pursue category leadership in functional foods. The new company plans to develop and market foods that are specifically formulated and scientifically proven to provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition. The functional foods category is estimated at 10 – 20 billion (US) dollars in the U.S. and is expected to grow at a rate of 10 percent annually.

"The Quaker Oats Company and Novartis Consumer Health are ideal partners to pursue the growth of the functional foods market," said Al Piergallini, president and CEO of Novartis Consumer Health Worldwide. "Novartis' product development skills and consumer health care business complement Quaker's consumer food marketing expertise and brand leadership. Quaker is credited with dramatically growing one of North America's most successful brand-name functional foods, Gatorade."

"We are extremely excited about this alliance. Not only does Novartis Consumer Health have the nutrition knowledge and clinical research skills necessary to create superior products, but it also is a leader in functional foods. Its recent launch of the Aviva brand in Europe is just one example," said Greg Shearson, president and general manager of Altus Food Company, and former vice president – Quaker New Ventures. "The challenge for the new Altus team will now be to turn the expertise of both parent companies into breakthrough new products that exceed consumer expectations."

About The Author:

Doug Murphy is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.1st-in-vitamins.com.  Recommending the best vitamins, minerals, herbs and weight loss products for optimum health.