GLG Life Tech Corporation (Nasdaq:GLGL) (TSX:GLG) ("GLG" or the
"Company"), the vertically-integrated leader in the agricultural
and commercial development of high quality stevia and all natural
and zero calorie food and beverage products, announces the creation
of a new subsidiary, AN0C Stevia Solutions Company Limited to focus
on providing naturally sweetened zero and reduced calorie food and
beverage formulations to customers outside mainland China.
Since the launch of our initial consumer products, AN0C has
received an increasing number of interest and requests from both
our international customers and potential customers to provide them
both stevia technical help or actual food and beverage formulations
to develop zero or low calorie naturally sweetened food and
beverage products. We have decided to set-up this new business in
order capitalize on this international business
opportunity.
The new company will be headed by Mr. James Chen who brings over
30 years of consumer beverage and food formulation experience and
is responsible for developing many leading food and beverage
products in Asian markets including China and Japan. Mr. Chen has
held senior positions with President Enterprises Corporation as
well as serving as a leading formulation consultant to many food
and beverage companies in Asia. The VP of Technology will be
Mr. Kevin Li who has been working as GLG's VP of Technology and
Chief Engineer. Mr. Li has over 10 years experience in the
stevia industry and has been involved in many of the GLG China
patents developed in the last three years. A key contribution
to the IP and know-how of this new subsidiary is the over 500
beverage formulations and over 1,000 food formulations developed by
our partner CHAFC which all are sweetened by GLG's stevia and
formulated with only natural flavors and colors.
All solutions and formulations provided to our customers will be
natural based - natural sweeteners, natural flavours and natural
colours. AN0C and AN0C Stevia Solutions will only provide all
natural formulae including sweeteners, flavors and colors in zero
or low calorie beverage and food products. AN0C Stevia
Solutions customer mandate is to focus on customer opportunities
internationally and AN0C Anhui will focus on opportunities in
Greater China, Mainland Taiwan and Hong Kong. AN0C Stevia
Solutions is already working on customer opportunities in the
Middle East and India, and expects soon to be working on customer
opportunities in other parts of the world with GLG's existing
stevia distributors or through direct customer inquiries.
Mr. Kevin Li, VP Technology for AN0C Stevia Solutions stated,
"The use of stevia in beverage and food applications is not easy
because of the more than 10 steviol glycosides that exist in stevia
extract which is different than sugar or artificial sweetener that
usually has only one single component. Rebaudioside A (RA) and
Stevioside (STV) are the two steviol glycosides that taste closest
to sugar whereas Rebaudioside B (RB) and Rebaudioside D (RD) are
the main causes of after-taste. To get the taste as close to sugar
as possible, it is necessary to get the RA and STV as pure as
possible and to remove as much of the RB and RD as possible to
trace amounts. If RD and RB levels are not controlled to trace
levels within a limited range, they will not only affect the taste
but also it will affect the consistency of the extract from one
production batch to the next. Through GLG's extraction
technologies, we are able to reduce RD and RB to a limited range
that provide for consistency of our stevia extracts to ensure a
consistent taste is produced for food and beverage producers one
batch to the next. We have also found that the combination of
high purity of RA and STV work better than either high purity of RA
or high purity of STV on their own do in most of our beverage and
food formulas. As a result of this finding, we created BlendSureTM
and it is the main stevia extract that AN0C is working with today
in its beverage and food applications. BlendSureTM has
followed the GRAS process and we recently received a letter of no
objection from the FDA."
Mr. James Chen, President AN0C Stevia Solutions stated, "AN0C
Stevia Solutions will provide stevia formulation solutions for
different beverage and food applications to small, medium and large
size customers. We see this as a real opportunity since most
beverage and food companies do not have a deep knowledge of stevia
technology to make it work easily. In order to replace sugar
or artificial sweeteners with stevia in different beverage and food
applications, we need to use different types of BlendSureTM with
natural flavors in different combinations to develop the best
taste. Stevia is a high intensity sweetener and its density is
light and can be difficult to apply in beverage and food
production. We have seen similar problems also occur for reduced
sugar volume in food applications. We have addressed all of these
problems or challenges and can now provide our customers with the
best solutions for zero or low calorie naturally sweetened food and
beverage products."
Dr. Luke Zhang, Chairman and CEO of both GLG Life Tech
Corporation and AN0C stated, "I am proud to lead GLG's and AN0C's
vertically integrated team that starts from our patented seeds
through to our BlendSureTM, the new form of stevia extract, and
finally to the AN0C Stevia Solutions. In my over 11 years working
experience on stevia, it is very important to build the vertically
integrated business and team to cover agriculture, industrial
processing and formulation for this new sweetener. Now we are able
to provide stevia products from seeds, leaf, extracts, beverage and
food products to application solutions to both of our industrial
customers and to AN0C's consumer products. Mr. Chen has
worked in beverage and food formulation for over 30 years and is
the right leader for our new company – AN0C Stevia
Solutions. Mr. Li is the Chief Engineer and VP of Technology
in GLG and has developed many know how technologies and patents
including BlendSureTM, RA, STV, RB and RD and he makes the perfect
partner for Mr. Chen as there is a great deal of synergy between
their two areas of expertise. I have full confidence in these two
world-class experts and that they will lead their teams from
industrial processing to application solutions working together to
satisfy any need from our customers."
The new company will be a 100% owned subsidiary of AN0C Hong
Kong and will also be incorporated in Hong Kong. Under the
shareholder's agreement GLG will have the right to appoint two
directors and China Agriculture and Healthy Foods Company (CAHFC)
will have the right to appoint one director.
About GLG Life Tech Corporation
GLG Life Tech Corporation (Nasdaq:GLGL) (TSX:GLG) is a global
leader in the supply of high purity stevia extracts, an all natural
zero-calorie sweetener used in food and beverages. The Company's
vertically integrated operations cover each step in the stevia
supply chain including non-GMO stevia seed breeding, natural
propagation, stevia leaf growth and harvest, proprietary extraction
and refining, marketing and distribution of finished product. GLG's
advanced technology, extraction technique and premier, high quality
product offerings make it a leading producer of high purity, great
tasting stevia extracts. For further information, please visit
www.glglifetech.com.
The GLG Life Tech Corporation logo is available at
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=7994
About AN0C
AN0C focuses on the sale and distribution of all natural zero
calorie food and beverage products in China that are sweetened with
stevia provided by GLG Life Tech Corporation. GLG is a global
leader in the supply of high quality stevia extracts and holds an
80% controlling stake in AN0C with China and Healthy Foods Company
Limited (CAHFC) holding 20%. Dr. Luke Zhang, Chairman and CEO of
AN0C, is supported by an experienced team of senior executives
recruited from the beverage industry in China. For further
information, please visit www.an0c.com.
Forward-looking statements:This press release
contains certain information that may constitute "forward-looking
information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of
applicable Canadian and United States securities laws. All
statements relating to plans, strategies, projections of results of
specific activities or investments, and other statements that are
not descriptions of historical facts may be forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements and information are
inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results
could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a
number of factors, which include, but are not limited to,
operational risks, the effects of general economic conditions,
changing foreign exchange rates and actions by government
authorities, uncertainties associated with legal proceedings and
negotiations, industry supply levels, competitive pricing pressures
and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the public documents
filed by the Company with Canadian and United States securities
regulatory authorities. Forward-looking statements and information
may be identified by terms such as "may", "will", "should",
"continue", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "believe",
"intend", "plan" or "project", or similar terms or the negatives of
these terms. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in
the forward-looking statements and information are reasonable, we
cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance,
or achievements. The Company's forward-looking statements and
information reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the
date the statements are made. The Company assumes no obligation to
update forward-looking information should circumstances or
management's estimates or opinions change, except as required by
law.
CONTACT: Sophia Luke
Vice President of Investor Relations
GLG Life Tech Corporation
+1 (604) 669-2602 Ext 104
ir@glglifetech.com
Glg Life Tech Corp (MM) (NASDAQ:GLGL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Glg Life Tech Corp (MM) (NASDAQ:GLGL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024