This
year holds more promise than the last, say executives, but their
optimism may be overstated. This issue of 24 pages closely examines the thoughts & beliefs of the industry's leading executives ... an excellent source for analysis on where the industry is headed next - Table of Contents below. More than 70
nutrition industry CEOs gathered at the Newport Marriott Hotel in
Rhode Island in June 2000 for the third annual Newport Summit.
Hosted by Heath Business
Partners (HBP), Nutrition
Business Journal (NBJ) and LDI
Group Inc., this annual retreat is the industry’s only meeting
exclusively for executive management.
Company chiefs were in a decidedly
buoyant frame of mind this year, sharing the view that the industry
slowdown reported by many supplement manufacturers and raw material
suppliers in 1998 and 1999 was behind them. “Everybody thought
sales were going to increase in the next six months compared to the
previous six months. Some were talking as much as 30-40% growth,”
said Adam Ismail, a financial analyst with HBP.
Although NBJ does not share quite
such a rosy view for industrywide trends, CEOs both at the Summit
and in NBJ’s annual CEO survey appear to be much more optimistic
about the future than they were at the same time last year. There is
a streak of realism, however, and CEOs recognized that the stakes
are getting higher. “This is no longer a sleepy little industry,
and to prosper, companies must distinguish themselves through
science, proprietary technology, unique distribution attributes or
scale... and sometimes all of the above,” noted Danny Warshay,
managing director of HBP.
As a result, many executives
attending the Summit from smaller, independent companies expressed
much more interest in forming strategic alliances than in previous
years—whether by acquisition or partnership. “People are
realizing they aren’t experts at every stage of the value chain,
especially in herbal supplements,” said Ismail, who noted that
there was a good deal talk regarding alliances to secure supply,
especially in herbs and botanicals.
In tandem with their predictions
for improving market conditions, CEOs’ expectations for valuations
seemed unrealistic. Larger companies can derive higher value from an
acquisition and can therefore justify paying more. “Smaller buyers
can’t be ...
....excerpted from June '00 issue of
NBJ.. order below.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
NBJ
presents the results of
NBJ’s 2nd Annual Executive Review Survey and reflects on the
third annual Newport Summit
1,4-5
Companies
must act now to combat opposition to DSHEA. John Cordaro, President
of the Council for
Responsible Nutrition, sets an agenda for action.........
3
Q&A
with Randy Lindberg, CEO of independent distributor Nature’s Best...........
6
Tom
Newmark, President of herbal supplements manufacturer New Chapter, claims COX-2 story on behalf of the nutrition industry......
7
Financial
analyst Carole Buyers of Tucker
Anthony Cleary Gull summarizes the performance of the Healthy
Lifestyles industry...
8-9
Michael
Potter, President of Eden
Foods, talks to NBJ about independence and excellence in a
consolidating industry
10-11
White
Wave’s
CEO Steve Demos reflects on expansion into the mainstream and
competitive pressures in the soy segment
12-13
CEO
Bill Stewart transitions from the packaged goods to the natural
products industry and leads Naturade
into the mass market.
14-15
Greg
Pulido, CEO and President of Humco,
reviews growth opportunities in the contract manufacturing segment
15-16
TechWatch:
Review
of recent scientific research: phystosterols, botanicals, stanols,
fatty acids and bioactive ingredients in oilseeds
17-18
NBJ’s
Domestic and International Stock Reporter
19-23
Companies Featured Include:
Alpine Health Industries, AMBI, BASF AG, Bioriginal, Cambrex Corp,
Council for Responsible, Nutrition
, Danisco Ingredients , Dean Foods, Degussa AG , Distriborg Groupe,
Eastman Chemical, Eden Foods, Eon AG, Forbes Medi-Tech Inc,
Gardenburger, Groupe Danone, Health Business
Partners, Healthbest, Henkel Group, Horizon Organic, Humco
Holdings Inc., Jupiter, LDI Group Inc., Martek Biosciences, Meadow
Farms, Merck KGaA , More.com, Mothernature.com, Moducare, NBTY,
Naturade, Natural Balance, Nature’s Best, New Chapter Inc.,
Novartis, Omni Nutraceuticals, Organic Matters, Pharmanex, Pure
World Botanicals, Rachel’s Dairy, Reliv International, Reilly
Industries , Rexall Sundown, Royal Numico, SKW Trostberg AG ,
Stellenbosch University, Stonecrest Natural Foods, Thorne Research,
Tree of Life, Tucker Anthony ,
Cleary Gull, U.S. Bancorp Piper
Jafray, United Natural Foods, Veba AG , Viag AG,
Vitaminshoppe.com, White Wave, Wild Oats, Whole Foods Market.
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