Speaking to FoodManufacture.co.uk at the opening of SiS’s new manufacturing facility at Nelson in Lancashire last Tuesday [May 1], Moon said SiS’s growth would be driven by the company’s rigorous science-based approach to product development together with its close working relationship with top athletes and sports bodies across a number of disciplines.
While SiS had grown by 13% since last June, Moon said April was “going well” and he expected even better results going forward as a result of better marketing and new products being introduced. The growth is supported by investment – some £500,000 in the last few months alone, said Moon. “20% growth a year … that is the ground we are targeting,” he added.
Moon, who used to work on GlaxoSmithKline’s Lucozade brand, said: “This is the platform to give athletes better nutrition and better science. For me, this is start of a journey.”
SiS was originally set up in 1992 to develop sports nutrition products for endurance athletes in cycling, rowing and triathlons. It is currently gearing up for an expected surge in demand as the London Olympics approaches, with products sold to consumers and elite athletes through supermarkets such as Asda, Tesco and Waitrose, as well as online and through wholesale and specialist shops. Around 10% of its output is exported.
The factory opening also marked the re-launch of SiS’s range of products, rebranded and simplified into two core ranges: SiS Go for sports preparation and performance (which come in the form of carbohydrate ‘fuel’ and hydration drinks powders; isotonic, caffeine and L-Carnitine gels, and energy bars); and SiS Rego (which come as drink powders and protein bars) for recovery after exercise.
The manufacturing facility, known as ‘The Innovation Centre’, occupies approximately 3,530m2 of space and employs around 58 staff. It is accredited to the Informed Sports quality assurance programme for suppliers of sports nutrition products. This guarantees that products supplied have been tested for banned substances by the sports anti-doping laboratory, HFL Sport Science.
“Since acquiring SiS in 2011, we have focused our attention on further development of the science behind the sports nutrition products and building on the brand’s excellent reputation in endurance sports,” said Moon. “Today’s opening follows strong growth at the end of last year and reinforces our market-leading position in sports nutrition for endurance athletes.”
The investment enables the business to respond to key growth opportunities in the sports nutrition market and deliver endurance nutrition to a wider audience. The new factory – which includes a new isotonic gel packaging line installed at a cost of £250,000 to support the manufacture of new Go Plus Nitrates products – will improve raw-material handling and traceability, offering greater control over SiS’s supply chain, production processes and product quality.
According to SiS, Go Plus Nitrates have already been well received by elite athletes and have been tested with GB Olympic and leading pro-cycling teams. Two further human clinical trials and further product performance development of these products are planned during 2012.
“With our new products and innovation pipeline we are in a good position to maximise the opportunities in sports nutrition and enhance the scientific capability of the SiS business,” added Moon. “The brand re-launch and significant increase in marketing support will help us build on the momentum we’ve generated.”
Provexis, which is listed on the Alternative Investment Market, also plans to develop further commercial opportunities for its Fruitflow product as part of its collaboration with ingredients specialist DSM. This includes the potential integration of Fruitflow technology into existing SiS sports nutrition products, with further development and product testing in progress.
Fruitflow was one of the first products to gain Article 13.5 health claims approval – emerging and proprietary science – for its anti-thrombotic properties from the European Food Safety Authority.