OptiBiotix reports solid progress across product lines

OptiBiotix Health announced a number of commercial advancements in an update on Tuesday, disclosing its highest-ever brand-specific online sales levels in July.

The AIM-traded firm said the surge in sales could be attributed to a number of factors, including an improved website, streamlined checkout and logistics, as well as the expansion into new online sales channels.

It reported a 450% increase in online conversion rates, which it defined as the number of sales divided by the number of site visitors.

The company's products, SlimBiome Medical and Gofigure, were now listed on Amazon UK and Amazon Prime, with plans for additional listings on Amazon's international platforms in India, the UAE, and the US.

One of OptiBiotix Health's partners had meanwhile secured an international listing for products containing SlimBiome with Costco - the world’s fifth-largest retailer.

While discussions for launch plans in various international territories were still ongoing, the board said the partnership was still a major step in expanding the company's global footprint.

The company also announced an initial order of £0.12m for SlimBiome from a contract manufacturer of a leading weight management and sports nutrition brand in the US.

It said the planned product launches would start in Europe this year, and expand to the US in 2024.

While specifics about the launch remained commercially sensitive, the board said further details would be released when approved by the partner.

Since April, OptiBiotix said it had also signed agreements with four new partners in Asia for the distribution of SlimBiome.

Those partners included Nasol Pharma International in Vietnam, Bonanaza Neutra in Thailand, Colorinda Chemtra in Indonesia, and NexusWise in Malaysia and Singapore.

The board said the new partners were all established specialist distributors in their respective fields, and were reporting robust interest in SlimBiome.

Finally, OptiBiotix introduced its WellBiome functional fibre and mineral blend in May, with the product receiving positive reviews on Amazon, with a 125% sales increase from July to August, and 63% repeat orders in August alone.

The company said it was planning to ramp up marketing efforts for WellBiome in the coming months, and extend its availability to other Amazon international channels.

“We are making good progress on our aims of getting existing partners returning to forecast, bringing in new partners, particularly in the US and Asia, and expanding e-commerce channels to grow online sales and reduce partner dependency,” said chief executive officer Stephen O'Hara.

“This is all part of plans for each business unit - US, India, e-commerce, B2B - to reach operational profitability, at least on a monthly basis by the end of the calendar year.

“The aim for the second half of the year is to continue our focus on managing costs, growing sales and closing out ongoing discussion with a number of larger partners across first and second generation products to ensure a return on investment from our expansion in our commercial and business development team.”

At 1306 BST, shares in OptiBiotix Health were up 10.49% at 30.66p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.