Neptune Technologies up for NBT Award

LAVAL, QuebecNeptune Technologies & Bioressources Inc. announced it is one of the finalists in the Outstanding Application in Health Management category of the 2011 Nutraceutical Business & Technology (NBT) Awards. The NBT Awards are designed to recognize excellence in R&D, marketing, business and technology in the nutraceutical industry, and will be presented on May 11, during the Vitafoods trade show in Geneva, Switzerland. Sabrina Di Blasio, director, marketing, commented: ''We are very proud to be finalist for an NBT award, especially in the Outstanding Application in Health Management category. Being in the top finalists for this category, along with industry pioneers, shows a worldwide recognition of the benefits of NKO®."

 Neptune also announced Bayer Healthcares Consumer Care Division launched its Arctic Wonder proprietary Neptune Krill Oil (NKO®) product nationally in the United States, following a market test conducted over the last year in the direct response e-commerce channel. The agreement with Bayer, the market test results and the marketing approach for Arctic Wonder NKO not only create broad consumer awareness, confidence and appreciation but also distinguish NKO as the superior and prime choice amongst competitor krill oil products", said Henri Harland, president and CEO of Neptune. Arctic Wonder is entering the rapidly growing omega-3 market which has shown a sustained annual growth of 12 percent, according to the Frost and Sullivan Report 2010. The omega-3 category is valued at $1.7 billion and expected to reach $3.5 billion in 2015. We believe the full launch by Bayer of Arctic Wonder will achieve immediate success which will in turn positively influence our growth and increase Neptunes krill oil market share, reinforcing Neptunes position as the industry leader and Neptune Krill Oil as the gold standard of quality and efficacy for krill oil products in the market."

Finally, Neptune noted it prolonged its IR agreement with CEOcast to continue the development of an exhaustive IR strategy in the United States. As per the extension of the IR agreement, CEOcast has been granted options to purchase 25,000 common shares of Neptune at a price of $2.50 per share. The options will vest in equal amounts at a rate of 15 percent per quarter with a three-year term expiring on March 15, 2014.