One Square Meal Confirmed as World Class Innovation

One Square Meal Confirmed as World Class Innovation –

New class of food and beverage with sole rights to sell within it

Cookie Time Limited’s One Square Meal product has been confirmed as a world-class invention with the granting of a New Zealand patent based on the creation of a new class of food and beverage.

The granting of the patent authenticates One Square MealTM bars as being the first product of a new class – nutritionally balanced food and beverage – with the sole rights to sell product within it.

CTL has already moved to develop and protect this space internationally, with a raft of patent applications in train in a number of other countries, from the UK to US and Australia. While granting of patents formalises protection, lodging these patent applications creates patent pending status which equally means the invention cannot be copied without risk.

In essence, patent protection secures the right to sell an original product without competition for a 20 year period. While numerous foods and beverages have been patented on the basis of manufacturing process, a patent on invention of a product that creates a brand new class of food or beverage products that can cross numerous categories found on supermarket shelves is very rare.

A turbo-charged food bar, One Square Meal is a meal replacement that provides exactly one third of an adult’s recommended daily intake (RDI) of energy, protein, carbohydrates, good fats and dietary fibre. Two bars = One Square Meal; portable, convenient and nutritionally balanced by design.

Lincoln Booth, Cookie Time Limited general manager, says the potential is extraordinary.

“While the words ‘nutritional balance’ have been somewhat hijacked as a marketing term, this is the real deal. It’s a revolutionary approach to start with recommended daily intakes and then design a specific food to deliver to these. We now have ownership of a novel, yet universal food and beverage proposition that no one else can touch. For a small, privately owned New Zealand company, this is a huge success story,” Booth says.

“One Square Meal fills a gap in the known food categories available to the consumer. After all, how many nutritionally balanced meals – where energy, protein, carbohydrates, good fats, dietary fibre and sugar are all matched to the same percentage of the RDI – has any one of us had in our lifetime,” he says.

And, while currently available in bar format, One Square Meal beverage and cereal are in development.

One Square Meal was launched in the New Zealand market in 2006, after many years of research and development. In January it was launched into the Australian market under license to Sanitarium. Latest available grocery industry statistics*, for the quarter to 12 August, show One Square Meal bars is the number one muesli bar brand in total New Zealand supermarkets.

“Clearly it is one thing to invent a new class of food, another to commercialise it and another to rise to number one. These results tell us there is a definite space in the market for functional foods with One Square Meal leading this,” Booth says.

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Food Standards Australia New Zealand sets nutrient reference values for macro-nutrients, vitamins and minerals, which are the reference manufacturers must use when providing %daily intake information on packaged foods. The recently granted patent reflects the novel approach of engineering food and beverage to the RDI and by making all macro-nutrients equal in their daily value to achieve nutritional balance

“It took years to “crack the code” and achieve a great tasting product which has precisely the same daily value of all macro and micro nutrients. But now that it’s been done with three flavours of bars made from wholesome ingredients we are confident that we can apply the insights across other food categories – beverages, breakfast cereal, even baby food,” Booth says.

Busy lifestyles mean the consumer need for Nutritionally Balanced products is becoming increasingly overt – and mainstream.

“Taste drivers – sugar, salt and fat – generally throw nutrition out of balance. People assume muesli bars are healthy, for example, but the best you could say about many of them is that it is a better choice than confectionary. In contrast, One Square Meal bar’s unique nutritional profile is healthy by definition and supports the body’s repair, growth and maintenance process, defying the conventional notion that a ‘meal on the go’ cannot be nutritious or able to sustain you,” Booth says.

“While One Square Meal bar currently stands alone as the first in this new Nutritionally Balanced class, we have the sole rights to extend this across other brands in numerous categories. We are already in discussions with potential partners and welcome approaches from others who see the revolutionary scope in this,” Booth says.

One Square Meal bar food technology grew out of CTL’s entrepreneurial culture and intent to create a breakthrough product that was unique, first in market and fit for busy, modern lifestyles. It took years of exploration and lots of prototype products which didn’t meet the goal of producing a product that was both good for you and tasted good.

“This sort of product development doesn’t come easy. But once we had the insight of delivering one third of an adult’s recommended daily intake of critical macronutrients, we knew we were on to something. And something with widespread benefits through a range of food groups from convenience to survival food.”

CTL continues to be in growth mode, counter-cyclical to market conditions, with significant investment in brand, new plant and business systems. A refresh of its flagship Cookie Time brand is due in market this month.

*Aztec FMCG Quarterly Report: Data to 12 August 2012

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ABOUT COOKIE TIME LIMITED
Founded in 1983, Cookie Time Limited is an entrepreneurial, innovation-led food company. Its business includes franchised distribution and retail, licensing and manufacturing operations. Headquartered in New Zealand, the company is actively focused on international licensing opportunities.

Committed to quality, operational excellence and ongoing growth, this successful iconic company has a substantial portfolio which includes some of New Zealand’s most loved food brands, and innovations such as gluten-free cookies, and Smart Cookies with the National Heart Foundation tick. It also makes Bumper Bars and the One Square Meal.

In 2010, CTL opened its first full-scale retail space, the Cookie Time Cookie Bar in Queenstown. The company employs more than 80 full time staff at its Christchurch head office, factory and food science laboratory. In addition, more than 40 independent franchisees distribute Cookie Time Limited products throughout New Zealand.

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