Swedish probiotics firm BioGaia has signed a three-year agreement with Japanese marketing company Erina for the sale of its Reuteri tablets in Japan. The tablet has been specially designed for the Japanese market.
BioGaia said the demand for health products is increasing dramatically in the Far East and approximately one third of the company's turnover already comes from this region.
The tablets will be launched at the beginning of this month. The Swedish company also has a license partner in Japan selling dairy products containing Reuteri. This is the second contract BioGaia has signed in recent weeks with a multi-level marketing company.
Erina is one of the largest companies marketing health foods in this sector.
Peter Rothschild, managing director of BioGaia, said: "We have received firm orders for large volumes from Erina for the first two quarters this year but we will know how large this market is after approximately 6 months of sales."