NineSigma Expands Affiliate Network of Food Industry Experts

CLEVELAND, OH--(Marketwire - September 10, 2008) - NineSigma, the leading provider of open innovation solutions for Global 1000 companies, today announced the addition of three food innovation and technology organizations to the company's Innovation Alliance Program. The affiliates help to expand the international resources available to NineSigma's innovation seekers looking for novel ideas and breakthrough solutions to address their technology challenges.

The three organizations include The Center for Food Innovation at Penn State University, a cooperative research venture between the food industry and academia; the Food Technology Center - Ministry of Trade & Industry in Egypt; and the Functional Foods Center at D&A Inc., a research and development center in Richardson, Texas providing research expertise for further development of functional food innovations.

"We are experiencing a tremendous amount of interest among companies in the food and consumer goods industries that are interested in participating in the global open innovation marketplace," said Charles Brez, vice president, Innovation Alliances for NineSigma, Inc. "Whether it is looking for ways to make chocolate less fattening, or identifying salt replacement technologies in food without impacting flavor, companies are looking for innovative ideas that will help them bring healthy products to market faster."

With more than 1 million members, NineSigma's Innovation Alliance Program is the largest global network of scientists and technologists representing a variety of countries, disciplines and industries. The network is part of NineSigma's worldwide network of solution providers that respond to NineSigma's Requests for Proposals and Solutions on behalf of Global 1000 companies.

"NineSigma provides a great opportunity for the Functional Foods Center and our members to leverage open innovation and current functional food research and development to solve real world problems," said Dr. Danik Martirosyan, Ph.D., founder of the Functional Foods Center. "Our members consist of scientists and functional food experts whose primary focus is on working with other experts and organizations to use functional foods to help diminish disease, promote health, and reduce health care costs. NineSigma's Request for Proposals and Solutions are great opportunities for us to put our collaborative efforts to best practices, and demonstrate that we can ultimately be an excellent external partner and resource for NineSigma's clients."

NineSigma will participate in the program at the Functional Foods Center's upcoming conference, Functional Foods for Chronic Diseases, October 16-18, 2008 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The conference will bring together experts in medicine, biology, and the food industry to discuss the contribution of functional foods in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. As a key connector between companies' product development programs and functional food solutions, NineSigma will provide its unique perspective on how cutting-edge technologies are being applied to critical food and health issues.

About NineSigma

NineSigma partners with Global 1000 companies to help them overcome business and technology challenges by connecting them with innovative solutions not readily available in the public domain. NineSigma's open network of innovators is the largest of its kind and spans industries, geographies and technical disciplines. Companies such as DuPont, GlaxoSmithKline, Kraft, P&G, Philips, Unilever and Xerox engage NineSigma to build new innovation capabilities that leverage global research and innovation to deliver greater value to their customers. In 2008, NineSigma ranked among the top 20 percent of companies on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing private companies in the United States. The company also has operations in Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.ninesigma.com.

Contact Information: Media Contact: Dan Dyer 513-478-7818