Chromadex, a natural products company that provides proprietary ingredients to the cosmetic and personal care, pharmaceutical, dietary supplement, food and beverage industries, announced this week their sales for the year ending January 3, 2015. Chromadex reported net sales of $15.3 million for fiscal year 2014, a 51% increase over sales of $10.2 million for fiscal year 2013.
Much of the increase in sales was driven by the increase in the ingredients business segment of the company, which grew by 182% compared to the previous year, versus the core standards and services area of Chromadex, which posted a 13% growth. The firm's scientific and regulatory consulting area decreased by 16%.
“2014 was an important inflection point for Chromadex,” said Frank Jaksch Jr., CEO and co-founder of the company. He added that he expected to see the trends of 2014 continuing into the next year and for the foreseeable future.
One of those trends included the use of pterostilbene, a compound found in blueberries, grapes and other fruits. In April 2014, a collaboration between Chromadex, the USDA Agricultural Research Service's Natural Products Utilization Research Unit and the University of Mississippi's Division of Technology Management won a national award for excellence in technology transfer for its work to develop, study and bring to market pterostilbene.
Pterostilbene can be used in personal care ingredients to combat the effects of environmental damage to the skin from exposure to the sun. In September of 2014, ChromaDex announced the completion of an animal skincare study of the use of pterostilbene by researchers at the University of California Irvine. The study tested the topical application of pterostilbene onto mouse skin and found that if it was applied before UV exposure it could help to prevent reddening of the skin, hyperplasia and loss of barrier function.
This past year also saw Chromadex complete a $5.0 million growth capital debt financing with Hercules Technology Growth Capital, which will enable it to expand their growing ingredients business as well as put more money into R & D. As Chromadex continues to expand business, the company has also announced changes in corporate structure. In March, Steve Allen was appointed Chairman of the Board. Mr. Allen retired from Nestle in December 2009 after a 30 year career at the company.