YORK based Optibiotix Health is to see its weight management ingredients expand into the cereal market after a deal with a UK supplier.

The York Science Park headquartered firm, which develops compounds to tackle obesity, high cholesterol, diabetes and skin conditions, has entered into a manufacturing and supply agreement with John Morley Foods (Morleys).

The agreement grants Morleys an exclusive licence to manufacture and supply Optibiotix’s SlimBiome weight management technology in muesli packs within the UK, in return for 50 per cent of the profit.

Morleys is a private company and a leading supplier of ingredients to breakfast cereal and food manufacturers including major retailers and many global consumer food brands. Morleys have invested “substantive resource” over the last six months in developing a range of muesli products containing SlimBiome to be sold as own label products to major retailer or as product line extensions to existing well- known brands.

SlimBiome, a patented combination of natural ingredients developed by experts to provide hunger free weight loss, recently won the award for Weight Management of the Year at Vitafoods European trade show.

The new deal will see Morleys promote and expand the supply of SlimBiome in muesli packs, bringing it to the attention of major retailers and branded cereal manufactures within the UK.

Stephen O’Hara, chief executive of OptiBiotix, said: “We are pleased to announce the signing of a manufacturing, supply and profit sharing agreement with Morleys.

“We chose Morleys due to their reputation as one of the UK’s leading suppliers of specialist ingredients and the energy and passion they have shown in developing a wide range of muesli products containing SlimBiome over the last six months.

“We believe working with Morleys, and similar partners around the world, provides the best opportunity of meeting the requirements of major retailers and global brands who are looking to develop healthy products to meet growing consumer demand.”

Mr O’Hara said the agreement is another step in expanding the range of products containing SlimBiome to meet the needs of major UK retailers and the large consumer markets of India and the USA.

Simon Brown, managing director of John Morley Group added: “This is an exciting development, and a range like this has not been done by anyone else.

“Our plan is to launch single serving muesli pots as well as the standard bagged format to target the individual market.”