SunOpta completes formation of Fruit Group Structure

13/10/05 SunOpta Inc. has announced that the formation of the SunOpta Fruit Group, based in Los Angeles, California, has been completed. The SunOpta Fruit Group will be a leading supplier of quality frozen fruit-based products to the private label, food service and industrial markets in North America. The newly-formed Fruit Group, consisting of the combination and integration of Organic Ingredients Inc., Cleugh's Frozen Foods Inc. and Pacific Fruit Processors, Inc., all based in California, will generate total annualized revenues of approximately $100 million.

Organic Ingredients, Inc., a supplier of organic private label products with significant expertise in sourcing fruits and vegetables worldwide, has experienced annual revenue growth in excess of 75% since SunOpta's acquisition of 51% of the company in September 2004. (SunOpta acquired the remaining 49% of Organic Ingredients in April, 2005.) The company's growth is being driven by the addition of a number of new private label contracts, including contracts to supply organic fruit juices to several major retailers in the U.S. which are expected to generate approximately $5 million in annualized revenue. Organic Ingredients is also planning to launch a new line of natural and organic Italian-style sparkling sodas and flavored waters for the branded and private label markets in North America.

Cleugh's Frozen Foods, a supplier of frozen fruits to the private label, food service and industrial markets, with annualized with revenues in excess of $50 million, is also experiencing significant growth in the private label sector. Anticipating additional growth, the company recently installed new polybag packaging equipment to improve yields and increase polybag capacity by 30%. In addition, the company is implementing a number of efficiency measures and assessing expansion projects to better serve its customers.

Pacific Fruit Processors, a supplier of fruit bases for the dairy, bakery and beverage markets, with annualized revenues of approximately $20 million, has recently completed the expansion of its frozen storage capabilities. The newly-built 10,000 square foot freezer is expected to generate considerable savings related to freight and third party warehousing. Over the past few months, Pacific has been experiencing significant growth in a number of applications for its fruit bases, including yogurts, smoothies and bakery products, with particular focus on organic products.

SunOpta Inc. is an operator of high-growth ethical businesses, focusing on integrated business models in the natural and organic food markets. For the last seven consecutive years, SunOpta was included in Profit magazine's 'Profit 100' list of the 100 fastest growing companies in Canada. The Company has three business units: the SunOpta Food Group, which specializes in sourcing, processing and distribution of natural and organic food products integrated from seed through packaged products; the Opta Minerals Group, a producer, distributor, and recycler of environmentally friendly industrial materials; and the StakeTech Steam Explosion Group which engineers and markets proprietary steam explosion technology systems for the pulp, bio-fuel and food processing industries. Each of these business units has proprietary products and services that give it a solid competitive advantage in its sector.

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