BOULDER, CO--(Marketwire - February 16, 2011) - Key leaders in the nutrition industry will be honored by Nutrition Business Journal (NBJ) at the 14th annual NBJ Summit, July 19-22, and were featured in the annual Business Achievement Awards issue.
NBJ is the premier publication for the nutrition, natural, organic, dietary supplement and integrative medicine industries. The NBJ Awards give recognition to the industry's brightest stars who have made a significant impact in the fields of health, wellness and nutrition.
"The industry had another big year in terms of growth, science and sustainability, but lacked in innovation," said Marc Brush, editor-in-chief of NBJ. "Hopefully 2011 will be a risk-taking year for companies to invest more in product development."
Three companies were recognized for growth including: Nutra Bridge, Aker BioMarine and the largest player in the U.S. dietary supplement industry, NBTY.
Honored for efforts on behalf of the nutrition industry was Roy Upton, who established the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia in 1994, which has since revolutionized the use of and attitudes toward botanicals in America.
Scientific achievement awards went to Danisco for moving the field of probiotics forward in a major way and Tishcon for enhancing the bioavailability and credibility of CoQ10.
Pierre Fitzgibbon, president and CEO of Atrium Innovations received a Management Achievement award for his leadership and successful track record with numerous acquisitions.
Investment in the Future Awards went to Standard Process, recently recognized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for its impressive employee wellness program; and Stratum Nutrition for rapid expansion beyond its core animal nutrition business and strategic relationships across the globe to spark product innovation.
Receiving an award for Education was Ikhlas Khan for his prestigious role at the University of Mississippi's National Center for National Products Research and as director of the Food and Drug Administration's Center of Excellence for Botanical Dietary Supplement Research. In these roles, Khan distinguishes dozens of botanicals from frauds and develops teaching courses for FDA inspectors, manufacturing companies and trade groups on properly identifying botanical products.
Stonyfield Farm was honored for its environmental and sustainability decisions that have steered the company for the past 27 years. In 2010, Stonyfield completely eliminated petroleum-based plastics in its multipack yogurt cups, replacing them with polylactic acid plastic made from corn, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 48 percent.
For her painstakingly researched indictment of chemical farming and its negative impact on human health, Maria Rodale, CEO of multimedia giant, Rodale Inc., was given an Organic Excellence award for her book, Organic Manifesto, that's designed to be a wake-up call to consumers about the urgency for organic farming expansion. And Alacer, maker of Emergen-C vitamin-drink mixes, received a Philanthropy award for aligning with charities such as Keep a Breast Foundation, Surfrider Foundation and Operation Gratitude and giving back a percentage of product sales with every purchase made by consumers.
Two awards were given for outstanding stock performance: Whole Foods Market, for the second straight year, and Medifast for its significant growth cycle.
Ten companies were recognized for being involved with the most impressive nutrition industry deals of 2010, including: Carlyle Group's purchase of NBTY for $4 billion; BASF's acquisition of Cognis for $3.8 billion; KeHE Food Distributer's purchase of natural and organic distributer Tree of Life; ConAgra's purchase of Elan Nutrition; Metagenics' acquisition of Bariatric Advantage; Trygg Pharma's purchase of EPAX; Martek Biosciences purchase of Amerifit Brands; Diversified Natural Products merger with Thorne Research; Diamond Foods acquisition of natural potato chip company, Kettle Foods; and TPG Growth's 25 percent stake in supplement marketer Schiff Nutrition for $48.8 million.
The Business Achievement Awards issue published in January also includes a question and answer with one of advertising's most influential creative directors, Alex Bogusky formally of Crispin Porter + Bogusky, and recent founder of consumer advocacy group, FearLess Cottage; in addition to interviews with Council for Responsible Nutrition's Steve Mister and Inventages' Wolfgang Reichenberger.
NBJ publisher Patrick Rea, along with Brush will publicly honor all award recipients at the NBJ Summit in Dana Point, Calif. During the prestigious awards dinner, the recipient of the 2010 Lifetime Achievement award will be announced. Last year, there were two recipients: Robert Orr, president and chief executive officer of Ocean Nutrition Canada, and Steve Allen, former vice president of new ventures for Nestlé. For more information about the NBJ Summit visit www.nbjsummit.com. To subscribe to NBJ visit: www.nutritionbusinessjournal.com.
Through a portfolio of media products, including a monthly executive journal and in-depth research reports, NBJ supplies authoritative data and analysis to leaders and decision makers in the nutrition business. NBJ also provides strategic consulting services to many of the top companies in the industry. To request a free issue of NBJ visit: www.nutritionbusinessjournal.com.
Contact Information:
Media Contact:
Amy Summers
813-335-1959
Pitch Inc.