The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ("MAR"). With the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service ("RIS"), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
24 January 2020
Tekcapital Plc
("Tekcapital", the "Company" or "the Group")
Portfolio Company Update:
Salarius Secures Additional Food Ingredient Broker Partner for MicroSalt®
Tekcapital Plc (AIM: TEK), the UK intellectual property (IP) investment group focused on creating marketplace value from investing in university technology, is very pleased to announce that its 97.5 per cent. owned portfolio company, Salarius Ltd, has secured an agreement with a national food ingredient broker, Hanks Brokerage, to assist in the sale of Microsalt® to snack food companies in the southwestern United States.
Hanks Brokerage, Inc. was founded in 1979 and recently celebrated their 40th anniversary this past year for supplying products and ingrediants to the food industry. Hanks Brokerage represents ingredients and finished products to food manufacturers, restaurant chains and food service distributors.
The agreement continues to build on an important dimension to the Salarius sales strategy that includes attendance at food trade shows such as Expo West, Supply Side West and the Texas IFT show, working with "best in class" sales partners and an ongoing direct B2B outreach. As of the date of this announcement, over 25 potential customers are in the process of testing and evaluating applicability of Microsalt® for their snacks and other product lines.
"We are very excited about our partnership with Hanks Brokerage and working with their team of sales professionals to expand brand awareness and accelerate sales of Microsalt®. Our partnership is a win-win-win as we are offering their customers a unique, on-trend, innovative ingredient that will also help consumers lower their sodium intake." says Victor Hugo Manzanilla, CEO of Salarius.
"Hanks Brokerage is proud to partner with Salarius, to provide a great solution to meet the challenges of sodium reduction in formulations. We prefer adding product lines such as Microsalt® to our partner listing because it provides a new and innovative solution to a problem in the industry and because of the great team behind the product. We look forward to growing with Salarius and having a long-term partnership in the industry" says Greg Hanks, President of Hanks Brokerage.
MicroSalt® is a proprietary salt made with micron-size salt particles that dissolve in the mouth significantly faster than regular salt, delivering an increased sensation of saltiness with much less salt, and as a result, approximately 50% less sodium. MicroSalt is Non-GMO, all Natural, Kosher and Gluten Free.
Market Information
The low sodium ingredient market is estimated to reach US$1.76 billion by 2025 with a CAGR 11.7%1. The highly competitive global savory snacks market is expected to reach US$108 billion by 20212.
Dr Clifford Gross, Executive Chairman at Tekcapital, commented: "We are glad to see the expansion of Salarius' go to market effort to additional geographical markets in the United States."
About Salarius ltd
Salarius, is the developer and manufacturer of a proprietary low sodium salt called MicroSalt®. Salarius is passionate about improving lives with healthier food and is taking the lead in the industry by providing the best low-sodium salt solution, based on the mechanical transformation of the salt particle itself. This solution is the only one that delivers real salt flavor, because it is salt. The technology produces salt crystals that are approximately one hundred times smaller than typical table salt, delivering a powerful saltiness as the micro-grains dissolve in the mouth, with approximately 50% less sodium consumption. Additionally, the ultra-small particle size enhances product adhesion, which reduces waste and provides enhanced flavor consistency. To learn more please visit https://salarius.co/.
About Tekcapital plc
Tekcapital creates value from investing in new, university-developed intellectual properties and provides a range of IP investment services to make it easy for organisations to commercialise university-developed technology. Tekcapital is quoted on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (AIM: symbol TEK) and is headquartered in Oxford, in the UK. For more information, please visit www.tekcapital.com
LEI: 213800GOJTOV19FIFZ85
For further information, please contact:
Tekcapital Plc |
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Via Flagstaff IR |
Clifford M. Gross, Ph.D. |
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SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker) |
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+44 (0) 20 3470 0470 |
Richard Morrison / Charlie Bouverat (Corporate Finance) |
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Novum Securities Limited (Joint Broker) |
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+44 (0) 20 7399 9427 |
Colin Rowbury (Corporate Broking) |
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Flagstaff Strategic and Investor Communications +44 (0)207 129 1474
Tim Thompson/Andrea Seymour/Fergus Mellon
This press release is for informational purposes only. The information herein does not constitute investment advice nor an offer to invest and may contain statements related to our future business and financial performance and future events or developments involving Salarius that may constitute forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by words such as "expect," "look forward to," "anticipate" "intend," "plan," "believe," "seek," "estimate," "will," "project" or words of similar meaning. We may also make forward-looking statements in other reports, in presentations, in material delivered to customers, stakeholders and in press releases. In addition, our representatives may from time to time make oral forward-looking statements. Such statements may be based on the current expectations and certain assumptions of Salarius' and/or Tekcapital's management. Please note that these are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and factors, including, but not limited to those described in various disclosures. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying expectations not occur or assumptions prove incorrect, actual results, performance or achievements of Salarius or Tekcapital may vary materially from those described explicitly or implicitly in the relevant forward-looking statement. Neither Salarius nor Tekcapital intends, nor assumes any obligation, to update or revise these forward-looking statements in light of developments which differ from those anticipated.
References
1 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sodium-reduction-ingredient-market
2 https://zmrindustryjournal.us/8402/savory-snacks-market-size-share-expanding-across-the-globe-by-2016-2024/
