Commercial update

RNS Number : 3760H

Venture Life Group PLC

15 November 2018

 

VENTURE LIFE GROUP PLC

("Venture Life" or the "Group")

Commercial Update

First long term international distribution agreements signed for recently acquired Dentyl^Ò brand, and continued international expansion of UltraDEX and other brands

Venture Life Group plc (AIM: VLG), the international consumer healthcare group focused on developing, manufacturing and commercialising products for the self-care market, announces its first long-term international distribution agreements signed for the recently acquired Dentyl^Ò brand, together with other commercial progress.

Dentyl^Ò
Venture Life announces its first 10 year distribution deal in Ireland with Eurosales International Ltd ("Eurosales") for the recently acquired Dentyl brand. Eurosales is a leading retail distribution company operating in Ireland which distributes brands such as Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula and P20.  Eurosales will launch the Dentyl brand in Q1 2019 into new grocery and pharmacy channels both in Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.  Currently Dentyl is only available in Ireland through Tesco stores.

Dentyl has also been partnered with Collis William in Malta. Founded in 1860, the company distributes its products to both pharmacies and the mass market retailers.

The Group also announces that the first UK outdoor digital display advertising campaign for Dentyl since the acquisition will take place in November 2018 and will be shown for three weeks in five key UK cities - London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Leeds, with an estimated reach of 1.5millon people. This will be the brand's first advertising campaign since 2015.

In addition, Amazon and Ocado will launch both Dentyl mouthwashes and BB Mints in the UK in November and December 2018, respectively. These online retailers have been important partners for UltraDEX in the UK and we expect this to be same for the Dentyl range moving forward.

UltraDEX™ - success continues

The success of UltraDEX internationally also continues with the recent partnering in three new markets - China, Ireland and Malta.  Venture Life's partner in Ireland will be Eurosales and its partner in Malta will be Metropolis Pharma Ltd. In China, the existing partner for Dentyl will launch UltraDEX in Q4 2018 across mainland China, via the online channel. In addition to this, UltraDEX has received registration approval in Dubai, and the launch will take place in Q1 2019 with its distribution partner Delta Medical. UltraDEX is now partnered in 18 markets in total.

In the UK, Tesco has increased the distribution of UltraDEX Low-Abrasion Toothpaste from 234 to 403 stores, an increase of 72%, which has resulted in the highest level of sales of UltraDEX toothpaste in Tesco since the start of 2015.

International market expansion

Following successful registration, Venture Life also announces the launch of Immobilice[1], vonalei[2] and Procto-eze Plus[3] in Israel, and it has a new partner for NeuroAge[4] in Greece. This product was originally partnered in Greece in 2012 with Elpen Pharmaceuticals. In recent years, Elpen has failed to perform in accordance with its obligations under our agreement, so the Group has exercised its contractual right to terminate the agreement and appoint a replacement partner, Bennett Pharmaceutical Industry ("Bennett"). Bennett, the 2^nd largest local Greek pharmaceutical company, will adopt a different route-to-market strategy and will launch NeuroAge in Q1 2019.

Jerry Randall, CEO of Venture Life, commented: "I am delighted with the commercial progress of the company over the last few months, in particular, with the recent international deals on the Dentyl brand.  In addition to this, the UltraDEX brand continues to develop in our hands, both in the UK and internationally, demonstrating the strength of our commercial platform to grow the brand.  A similar strategy will be applied to Dentyl and we expect more success over the coming months and years. This recent success is testament not only to the interesting products that we have acquired into our portfolio, but to the extremely high level of customer service and quality we deliver to our customers.

"The progress made so far in the second half of 2018 demonstrates the continued success of our 'buy and build' growth strategy to acquire interesting, consumer self-care brands with potential, that allows us to revitalise, innovate, manufacture and internationalise these brands, to help grow revenues."

For further information, please contact:

Venture Life Group PLC				[phone]
Jerry Randall, Chief Executive Officer
Adrian Crockett, Chief Financial Officer
Northland Capital Partners Limited (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)				[phone]
Matthew Johnson / Edward Hutton (Corporate Finance)
Vadim Alexandre (Corporate Broking)
Cenkos Securities Ltd (Joint Broker)				[phone]
Mark Connelly (Corporate Finance)
Russell Kerr / Michael Johnson (Sales)
Walbrook PR	[e-mail] or + 44 (0) 20 7933 8780
Anna Dunphy / Paul McManus			[phone] / [phone]

About Venture Life (www.venture-life.com)

Venture Life is an international consumer self-care company focused on developing, manufacturing and commercialising products for the global self-care market. With operations in both the UK and Italy, the Group's product portfolio includes some key products such as the UltraDEX and Dentyl oral care product ranges, food supplements for lowering cholesterol and maintaining brain function, medical devices for women's intimate healthcare and proctology and dermo-cosmetics for addressing the signs of ageing.

The products, which are typically recommended by pharmacists or healthcare practitioners, are available primarily through pharmacies and grocery multiples. In the UK these are supplied direct by the company, outside of the UK they are supplied by the Group's international distribution partners. 

Through its Development & Manufacturing business in Italy, Biokosmes, the Group also provides development and manufacturing services to companies in the medical devices and cosmetic sectors.

 

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[1] A pesticide-free head lice treatment

[2] A women's intimate healthcare range

[3] Indicated for anal irritation and haemorrhoids

[4] Indicated for mental performance in a healthy brain

 

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