NEW YORK, Dec. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Rabobank North America Wholesale today made a healthy choice in naming NuTek Food Science as its Emerging Leader in Innovation Award winner for its two reduced-sodium products: NuTek Salt and Salt for Life. Both products (referred to as "Nature's Alternative Salt") use the necessary and under-consumed nutrient potassium to help reduce sodium in salty dishes.
"We received multiple nominations for this award, but ultimately NuTek Food Science's innovative approach to improving health and wellness while maintaining taste is what set it apart," said Rajiv Singh, CEO, Rabobank North America Wholesale. "Being innovative is critical for us as a bank in the way we support our clients, and it is at the heart of what keeps the Food and Agribusiness industry so dynamic. With this award, we hope to shine a spotlight on the next bright ideas in the F&A space. We are thrilled that NuTek Food Science is the recipient."
All salt products from NuTek Food Science use naturally-sourced potassium salt to deliver significant sodium reduction, making them a healthier alternative to traditional sodium salt. NuTek Salt is for use by food manufacturers and restaurant chains, providing 30 to 50 percent reductions in sodium versus regular sodium salt. For consumer use at home the Salt for Life brand is a blend of NuTek Salt and sea salt, to provide 75 percent less sodium than regular table salt.
"There is a macro-societal health imperative to reduce sodium in our everyday diets which our revolutionary alternative salts are addressing," said Tom Manuel, Co-Founder and CEO at NuTek Food Science. "NuTek's products are helping people around the world lower their sodium intake and increase their potassium intake, while still providing the salty flavor they love. We're honored to be named the Emerging Leader in Innovation by Rabobank."
Each year at its annual Client Appreciation Events in New York City, Rabobank honors an organization that addresses issues in the food and agribusiness space in a new and innovative way. In 2014, Clearwater Seafoods Incorporated was the winner of the Rabobank Leader in Innovation Award for its cutting-edge technologies and methods that improved clam harvesting and processing.
This year, focus of the Innovation Award changed to "emerging" companies, which have been operating in the industry for ten years or less, addressing a pervasive industry issue in a unique way, making significant achievements as a leader and expanding a business in the F&A sector, and demonstrating an excellent track record in social commitments and good corporate citizenship. This year also marked the first time Rabobank accepted external nominations from third parties and companies in the Food and Agribusiness industry. After nominees were vetted by an independent, third-party consultant, a winner was selected by a panel of judges.
The Emerging Leader in Innovation Award is one of three awards presented annually at the Rabobank Client Appreciation Events. The Leader in Sustainability Award was presented to AgroFresh, and the marquis award of the events, the Leadership & Excellence Award, was presented to Jackson Family Wines. The awards are an important part of the invitation-only Rabobank Client Appreciation Events that bring leaders in the food, agribusiness and renewable energy space together to discuss topical themes and ideas, and examine market and sector outlooks.
The 2015 events theme, innovation, was the focal point of keynote speakers Hal Gregersen, Executive Director of MIT Leadership Center, and Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of Stanford University's Virtual Human Interaction Lab. The program also included panel discussions and demonstrations from innovative start-up food companies involved in Rabobank's FoodBytes! program.
For updates from the Rabobank Client Appreciation Events on Twitter, follow @RaboWholesale and #RaboClientWeek.
About Rabobank
Rabobank Group is a global financial services leader providing wholesale and retail banking, leasing, and real estate services in more than 40 countries worldwide. Founded over a century ago, Rabobank today is one of the largest banks in the world, with nearly $1 trillion in assets, and ranks among the 10 safest banks globally. In the Americas, Rabobank is a premier bank to the food, agribusiness and beverage industry, providing sector expertise, strategic counsel and tailored financial solutions to clients across the entire food value chain.
About NuTek Food Science
The mission of NuTek Food Science is to help create great-tasting and affordable food that enhances global health and wellness. The company strives to grow its business by being great partners to the global food system, with innovative products for food manufacturers, food retailers, and restaurant chains. With two revolutionary new salt products, NuTek Salt and Salt for Life®, the company delivers improved nutrition through unprecedented levels of sodium reduction in food, replacing it with potassium, a necessary and widely underconsumed nutrient – all while maintaining great taste, affordability, and ease of use. The company's salts are naturally sourced and through a proprietary process have achieved successful sodium reduction in the range of 30-50 percent, and oftentimes in excess of 50 percent in many foods (eighteen patents issued or pending). For consumer use in-home, NuTek Food Science offers Salt for Life® - Nature's Alternative Salt, a packaged blend of potassium salt and sea salt for use in recipes and topical uses, that provides 75 percent less sodium than regular table salt with no compromise in taste.
NuTek Food Science, funded in part by an investment from Khosla Ventures, has offices in Omaha, NE; Minneapolis, MN; and Washington, DC. Fast Company highlighted the company as one of just a few companies that Bill Gates recognized as "Shaping the Future of Food." You can find further information at www.nuteksalt.com or www.saltforlife.com.
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SOURCE Rabobank
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