Brisbane, 16 April 2018 – In a significant step to accelerating the positive growth of PERKii, Uniseed congratulates its investee Perkii Pty Ltd in announcing that PERKii Probiotics has commenced a national distribution partnership with an Australian leader in retail cold-chain distribution, Manassen Foods Australia [MFA]. PERKii™ is a start-up company from the University of Queensland, that has released the world’s first water and juice drink with 1 billion microencapsulated probiotics and only 37 calories!
Peter Devine, Uniseed CEO and Perkii Chairman stated “PERKii’s partnership with Manassen represents an exciting opportunity to distribute PERKii probiotics in retail outlets throughout Australia.”
MFA is one of Australia’s leading independent grocery importers and distributors, providing a one stop-shop solution for brand owners domestically and across the globe. They have working relationships with all Australia’s corporate retailers and service over 5,000 independent retailers direct to store nationally.
The partnership will commence April 2018 with the new 350ml probiotic water range, with early success including a trial with Woolworths Grocery in selected NSW and Victoria stores and a national ranging in the new Better-For-You beverage range in Caltex [700 stores].
MFA Managing Director, Simon Stewart stated “Manassen is excited to welcome PERKii as its latest innovative brand partner within the ‘better for you’ area of probiotic beverages.”
“Manassen has introduced a number of new brands in the ‘better for you’ area such as FulFil & Popcorners to our existing stable of premium brands including Baby Bel, Paul Newmans Own, Bio Cheese, Tilda & Marions Kitchen. We see truly innovative products like PERKii as the future of retailing, delivering incremental sales to the customer and a positive benefit to the final consumer.”
PERKii CEO, Matthew Kowal is buoyed by the partnership possibilities, commenting “Manassen brings 65 years on Australian retailing experience combined with state of the art logistics management to our innovative probiotics product. We have the benefit of utilising their significant infield sales and merchandising teams along with a corporate grocery and organised trade team with decades of experience, and day to day communication with the major players.”
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Contacts
Peter Devine
CEO Uniseed
p.devine@uniseed.com
Matthew Kowal
CEO PERKii
matt@perkii.com
+61-7-3365-7956
About Perkii
PERKii™ is a start-up company from the University of Queensland, initially supported by Uniseed and the Brisbane Angels group, that has released the world’s first water and juice drink with 1 billion microencapsulated probiotics and only 37 calories! PERKii offers consumers an option to manage weight, improve gut health and boost immunity with 1 Billion live Lactobacillus casei with proven health benefits in a refreshing, light and great tasting low calorie drink. Derived from the ProGel technology, also invented at the University of Queensland, this drink protects and improves probiotic stability by encapsulating them in tiny natural beads called Microgels. Microgels keep the probiotics alive in drinks and the acidic stomach resulting in improved delivery of probiotics to the gut. PERKii comes in 3 delicious core flavours, Lime & Coconut, Strawberry & Watermelon and Mango & Passionfruit and a range of seasonal limited-edition flavours. For more information, go to www.perkii.com.au.
About Manassen Foods Australia
MFA is a privately-owned company dedicated to serving the Australian food industry. With an exceptional stable of the finest imported and local food brands, MFA is one of Australia’s leading independent grocery importers and a one stop-shop solution for brand owners across the globe. A diverse brand portfolio spans many food categories in the retail and food service trade. We employ a dedicated and passionate workforce of over 200 people whose values, commitment to excellence and corporate pride are demonstrated through their service to the company and our customers. Manassen has introduced a number of new brands in the ‘better for you’ area such as FulFil & Popcorners to our existing stable of premium brands including Baby Bel, Paul Newmans Own, Bio Cheese, Tilda & Marions Kitchen. Mannasen works closely with brand owners to realise the potential of exciting food brands domestically and from around the world, by introducing them to the local marketplace for all Australians to enjoy. For more information please visit: https://manassen.com.au
About Uniseed
Uniseed (www.uniseed.com) is a venture fund operating at the Universities of Melbourne, Queensland, New South Wales and Sydney, as well as the CSIRO. Uniseed’s mandate is to facilitate the commercialisation of research partner generated intellectual property by targeted investment in highly promising technologies. Uniseed’s investments cover a range of technology sectors. To date, the fund has exited a number of investments; a drug to treat nerve pain (Spinifex Pharmaceuticals acquisition by Novartis); a drug in development to treat fibrosis (Fibrotech Therapeutics sale to Shire plc); an IT security technology (Vintela sale to Quest Software Inc.); a semi‐ conductor technology (Fultec sale to Bourns Semiconductor Inc); and a headlice treatment (Hatchtech) sold to Dr Reddy’s Laboratories.