ChromaDex highlights move into pet supplements during earnings call

Despite persistent losses, ChromaDex said new partnerships, research results and favorable court rulings are positive signs for the future.

Hank Schultz, Senior Editor

November 10, 2023

2 Min Read
ChromaDex's TruNiagen product is marketed first and foremost as a healthy aging supplement.

ChromaDex recorded a loss in its third quarter but points to positive trends in sales, research results and new partnerships, including a move into pet supplements.

ChromaDex is a finished product manufacturer and ingredient distributor whose business is based on Niagen, a branded form of nicotinamide riboside. The company’s finished product is branded as TruNiagen.

In the quarter, ChromaDex reported total net sales of $19.5 million, of which $17.4 million came from sales of the TruNiagen finished product. Those figures were 14% and 19% greater, respectively, than the same period a year previously.

The company also pointed to its narrowing loss as a positive trend. ChromaDex lost about $1 million in the quarter, which was about the same as it recorded in the same period a year previously. However, the company noted the loss figure in 2022 had been skewed by a federal pandemic stimulus tax credit of $2.1 million that went onto the company’s books in that quarter.

 Move into pet supplements

The company also highlighted a new partnership with the fast-growing pet supplement brand Zesty Paws. ChromaDex CEO Rob Fried noted the pet supplements market is already approaching $2 billion and is growing rapidly.

“While we are in the early stages of the first product launch, we look forward to future innovations in the pet supplement space, in partnership with Zesty Paws who placed the second order of Niagen last month,” Fried told analysts during a conference call. A transcript of the call has been posted on the site seekingalpha.com.

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Fried also mentioned Nestlé has launched a new product featuring Niagen under the Solgar brand name.

The company also highlighted its recent research results, which include published studies on inflammation and in a Parkinson's disease model.

Finally, in the line of positive news, ChromaDex pointed to favorable court decisions during the quarter in its long-standing legal feud with its one-time customer Elysium. ChromaDex said a Delaware court ruled that Elysium had infringed on the patent on Niagen held by W.R. Grace, which is ChromaDex’s supplier.

In addition, the company said another court had ruled in ChromaDex’s favor in a breach of contract lawsuit. ChromaDex maintains that ruling means it will be able to collect on $2.5 million it claims is owed by Elysium.

Stock price depressed

Even with all the positive news, ChromaDex’s stock price is still severely depressed. The company’s stock has lost more than 60% of its value over the past five years. Despite the positive spin on the latest earnings news, stock traders seemed to be unimpressed. The company’s stock was trading at about $1.50 a share before the earnings release and declined to $1.38 a share at publication time.

About the Author

Hank Schultz

Senior Editor, Informa

Hank Schultz has been the senior editor of SupplySide Supplement Journal (formerly Natural Products Insider) since early 2023. He can be reached at [email protected]

Prior to joining the Informa team, he was an editor at NutraIngredients-USA, a William Reed Business Media publication.

His approach to industry journalism was formed via a long career in the daily newspaper field. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin with degrees in journalism and German, Hank was an editor at the Tempe Daily News in Arizona. He followed that with a long stint working at the Rocky Mountain News, a now defunct daily newspaper in Denver, where he rose to be one of the city editors. The newspaper won two Pulitzer Prizes during his time there.

The changing landscape of the newspaper industry led him to explore other career paths. He began his career in the natural products industry more than a decade ago at New Hope Natural Media, which was then part of Penton and now is an Informa brand. Hank formed friendships and partnerships within the industry that still inform his work to this day, which helps him to bring an insider’s perspective, tempered with an objective journalist’s sensibility, to his in-depth reporting.

Harkening back to his newspaper days, Hank considers the readers to be the primary stakeholders whose needs must be met. Report the news quickly, comprehensively and above all, fairly, and readership and sponsorships will follow.

In 2015, Hank was recognized by the American Herbal Products Association with a Special Award for Journalistic Excellence.

When he’s not reporting on the supplement industry, Hank enjoys many outside pursuits. Those include long distance bicycle touring, mountain climbing, sailing, kayaking and fishing. Less strenuous pastimes include travel, reading (novels and nonfiction), studying German, noodling on a harmonica, sketching and a daily dose of word puzzles in The New York Times.

Last but far from least, Hank is a lifelong fan and part owner of the Green Bay Packers.

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