Stepan Acquires Lipid Nutrition Product Lines

The acquired product lines will be integrated into Stepan's Food and Health Specialties business, which will be renamed Stepan Lipid Nutrition.

6/24/2011 --- Stepan Company has acquired the Clarinol, Marinol and PinnoThin product lines of Lipid Nutrition B.V., formerly part of the IOI Loders Croklaan Group. The products will be integrated into Stepan’s Food and Health Specialties business, which will be renamed Stepan Lipid Nutrition. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The sales process for Lipid Nutrition’s lines has been a long one. Back in April 2010, FoodIngredientsFirst reported reliable sources noting that Lipid Nutrition was up for sale.

Stepan announced that the acquired products will combine with the company’s NEOBEE Medium Chain Triglycerides to provide “a unique patented portfolio of nutritional oils with a greater offering to our customers in the Food, Supplement, Nutrition and Pharmaceutical industries worldwide.”

Emile Henein at Stepan Company company told FoodingredientsFirst.com, “Stepan and Lipid Nutrition recognized synergies in markets served as well as applied technologies within the field of nutritional oils. Stepan Lipid Nutrition’s product expertise, global customer base, and strong patent portfolio will support even greater growth opportunities in target markets.”

Heinen said that there will be a transition period of 90 days to integrate the operations of Lipid Nutrition into Stepan Company systems.

Stepan Food & Health Specialties’ primary markets are food, flavor, and infant formula. Lipid Nutrition’s strengths are in the dietary supplements market. The new Stepan Lipid Nutrition will be a stronger supplier to all markets.

Stepan Food & Health Specialties is a leading supplier of NEOBEE (Medium Chain Triglycerides) to the North American markets. Lipid Nutrition has a strong presence outside the U.S. Stepan Lipid Nutrition will have global market reach with the combined portfolio. The business management activities will be centralized in the existing Maywood, New Jersey facility, with a new European sales and operations team office located in the Netherlands.

Stepan Lipid Nutrition will own a strong patent portfolio for the production and marketing of Clarinol, Marinol and PinnoThin. The company’s esterification and structured lipid technology applied to its NEOBEE (Medium Chain Triglycerides) product line will be leveraged in support of global customer requirements. The new global business team will leverage its talents in R&D, process technology, quality and regulatory competence in support of the joined portfolio.

Stepan Lipid Nutrition will target additional market segments, many of which are experiencing high growth rates. The new global portfolio will serve the food, nutritional and pharmaceutical industries, and include the following segments.

• Weight Management
• Sports Nutrition
• Infant and Clinical Nutrition
• Infant Formula
• Medical Food
• Pharmaceutical Excipients
• Dietary Supplements
• Beverages
• Pet Food
• Animal Feed
• Veterinary Applications.
• Functional Foods

Clarinol patent protected Conjugated Linoleic Acid has been sold as a dietary supplement for over ten years as an ingredient to reduce body fat and increase lean muscle mass, with numerous clinical studies driving its growth. It was approved by the US FDA as GRAS for use in certain food products in 2008. Clarinol food approvals are currently pending in world markets.

Marinol naturally concentrated Omega-3 triglycerides are used in clinical and infant nutritional products to promote cardiovascular and neurological health. PinnoThin, derived from pine nuts, functions as an appetite suppressant.

Meanwhile IOI-Loders Croklaan announced the integration of Betapol from their subsidiary company Lipid Nutrition, in their portfolio of specialty fats.

“With the integration of Betapol in our product range of specialty fats, IOI-Loders Croklaan is planning for significant growth in the infant nutrition segment”, said Loek Favre, Chief Operating Officer, IOI-Loders Croklaan Europe.

Betapol, the first human milk replacer, is a vegetable fat blend, prepared by enzymatic rearrangement. It has been specially developed for infant formulas and has a special triglyceride structure that matches the one found in mother’s milk very closely.

Several scientific studies show the benefits of Betapol. Betapol helps infant nutrition manufacturers to produce infant formulas which mimic more the composition of mother’s milk. Betapol has been developed in order to overcome the problems associated with poor fatty acid absorption from infant formula and the negative consequences of this on energy supply, stool consistency and bone development.