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  1. 689 firms were active in the field of functional foods and natural health products (FFNHP). Of these, 174 firms produced functional foods products, 290 firms produced natural health product products, 177 firms produced products in both fields and 48 firms provided only services to either field.
  2. Total revenue from all firms in 2007 was $21.5 billion of which $3.7 billion (17%) came from FFNHP activities.
  3. Of the total FFNHP revenue, $621 million came from firms producing functional foods, $1.7 billion from firms producing natural health products, $1.2 billion from firms producing both and $20 million from service only firms.
  4. Export revenue from all firms amounted to $1.2 billion of which $732 million (61%) was generated from exports of FFNHP products.
  5. The majority of exports originated from natural health products ($435 million). The most common destination for exporters was the United States.
  6. A total of 13,975 employees out of 100,353 individuals employed by all firms (14%) had FFNHP related duties.
  7. 156 FFNHP firms indicated that they have unfilled positions for FFNHP employees.
  8. Total research and development (R&D) expenditures from all firms in 2007 amounted to $209 million of which $148 million (71%) related to FFNHP R&D.
  9. 134 firms attempted to raise capital for FFNHP purposes in 2007. Of these, 69 were successful, raising a total of $229 million.
  10. Direct retailers, used as a distribution channel generated the highest proportion of FFNHP sales (46%) followed by wholesalers (34%).
  11. 265 firms registered trademarks, 217 firms developed trade secrets and 93 firms held patents in 2007.
  12. Firms indicated that there were 22,062 FFNHP product lines on the market, with 17,656 product lines from natural health product firms.
  13. The number of FFNHP firms, FFNHP revenues and FFNHP exports all saw notable increases over 2004 figures.
Overview of the functional food and natural health product sector, 2007