The Life Top Straw contains BioGaia's healthy lactic acid bacterium Lactobacillus reuteri and is designed to deliver a daily dose of the bacteria into the product to which it is attached. It was first used by UK firm Farm Produce Marketing on drinkable yoghurts launched last year. It has also been used by Swedish functional foods company Semper.
BioGaia is currently developing a new variation of the straw for a Chinese dairy but the product has not yet been used in the OTC sector.
A European subsidiary of CB Fleet has gained exclusive rights to sell the straw in an EU market for three years. The agreement could be extended to other European markets in the future. New gastroenterology products with the straw will be launched in April next year.
"Fleet is the ideal customer for BioGaia as it seeks to differentiate its mainstream products by adding a unique health feature, in this case our LifeTop Straw with Reuteri," said Peter Rothschild, president of BioGaia.
He added that CB Fleet, which ranks among the top 20 non-prescription drug companies in the USA, has 'several other interesting products in their portfolio'.
Branded probiotic products are key to growth of the market, set to reach $137.9 million (€118.5m) in Europe by 2010, according to a recent Frost & Sullivan report.