SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Solazyme, Inc. (NASDAQ: SZYM), a renewable oil and bioproducts company, and Unilever, one of the world’s leading consumer goods companies, announced today that they have executed a commercial supply agreement for the first partnered Solazyme Tailored™ Algal Oil. The companies have been collaborating for five years on multiple projects with increasing levels of success culminating in this initial supply agreement. The agreement covers the first of Solazyme and Unilever’s jointly developed tailored oils with an initial supply of at least 10,000 metric tons (MT). The oil will be produced at the Solazyme Bunge Renewable Oils facility, a joint venture of Solazyme and Bunge located at Bunge’s Moema sugar mill in Brazil. Supply delivery is planned to begin in early 2014 and Unilever expects to purchase the full volume within twelve to eighteen months. Customary product validation trials are scheduled to take place in Q4 2013.

“This first supply agreement is the result of many years of successful collaboration, during which Solazyme demonstrated strength as a partner and continually achieved key development milestones outlined by our world-class scientific and technology teams”

“Unilever is a global leader in both performance based consumer packaged goods and sustainability, and this agreement further solidifies their commitment to supply consumers with the best performing and most sustainable products available,” said Jonathan Wolfson, CEO, Solazyme. “Unilever is a highly valued strategic partner that has greatly influenced our ability to scale our tailored oil technology over the past several years. We look forward to the opportunity to continue to build and expand our relationship with Unilever as we take this next step in commercializing the world’s first tailored renewable oil production platform. We expect this to be the first of many supply agreements with Unilever.”

“This first supply agreement is the result of many years of successful collaboration, during which Solazyme demonstrated strength as a partner and continually achieved key development milestones outlined by our world-class scientific and technology teams,” said David Blanchard, Chief Category R&D Officer, Unilever. “We believe that Solazyme’s tailored oils technology can provide sustainable competitive advantage across many categories and brands, and we view this agreement as just the beginning of the commercial phase of our relationship.”

About Solazyme, Inc.

Solazyme, Inc. (SZYM) is a renewable oil and bioproducts company that transforms a range of low-cost plant-based sugars into high-value oils and food ingredients. Headquartered in South San Francisco, Solazyme's renewable products can replace or enhance oils derived from the world's three existing sources — petroleum, plants and animal fats. Initially, Solazyme is focused on commercializing its products into three target markets: (1) chemicals and fuels, (2) nutrition and (3) skin and personal care.

Solazyme®, the Solazyme logo and other trademarks or service names are trademarks of Solazyme, Inc.

About Unilever

Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries. Our products are present in 7 out of 10 homes globally and are used by over 2 billion people on a daily basis. We work with 173,000 colleagues around the world and generated annual sales of over €50 billion in 2012. Over half of our company’s footprint is in the faster growing developing and emerging markets (57% in Q1 2013). Working to create a better future every day, we help people feel good, look good and get more out of life. Our portfolio includes some of the world’s best known brands such as Knorr, Persil / Omo, Dove, Sunsilk, Hellmann’s, Lipton, Rexona / Sure, Wall’s, Lux, Rama, Ponds and Axe, 14 of which now generate a turnover of €1 billion or more.

Our ambition is to double the size of our business, whilst reducing our overall environmental footprint (including sourcing, consumer use and disposal) and increasing our positive social impact. We are committed to helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being, sourcing all our agricultural raw materials sustainably by 2020, and decoupling our growth from our environmental impact. Supporting our three big goals, we have defined seven pillars, underpinned by targets encompassing social, environmental and economic areas. See more on the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan at www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/.

Unilever has been recognised in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Indexes for 14 consecutive years. We are included in the FTSE4Good Index Series and attained a top environmental score of 5, leading to inclusion in the FTSE4Good Environmental Leaders Europe 40 Index. In 2012 Unilever led the Climate Counts Company Scorecard and the list of Global Corporate Sustainability Leaders in the GlobeScan /Sustainability latest annual survey - both for the third year running. The company is an employer of choice in many of the countries in which it operates and is seen as a symbol for innovation and leadership development. For more information about Unilever and its brands, please visit www.unilever.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements about Solazyme, including statements that involve risks and uncertainties concerning: the timing of supply and delivery; the volume of supply; potential uses of the oils; the ability to launch successful products using Solazyme’s oils; market demand for such products; the timetable for bringing facilities online and manufacturing products; the ability to bring manufacturing facilities online with partners; development of additional products; meeting commercialization and technology targets and other objectives; and Solazyme’s ability to maintain its relationships with its partners. When used in this press release, the words “will”, “expects”, “intends” and other similar expressions and any other statements that are not historical facts are intended to identify those assertions as forward-looking statements. Any such statement may be influenced by a variety of factors, many of which are beyond the control of Solazyme, that could cause actual outcomes and results to be materially different from those projected, described, expressed or implied in this press release due to a number of risks and uncertainties. Potential risks and uncertainties include, among others: Solazyme’s limited operating history; its limited history in commercializing products; successful completion of validation trials; implementation risk in deploying new technologies; its limited experience in constructing and operating commercial manufacturing facilities; market acceptance of its products; entry into additional supply agreements; delays related to construction, start-up or funding of production facilities; its access to adequate supply of feedstock on favorable terms; its ability to manage operational costs at production facilities; its ability to enter into and maintain strategic collaborations, including the funding thereof; its ability to obtain requisite regulatory and other approvals; its ability to manage costs and expenses; and its access, on favorable terms, to any required financing. Accordingly, no assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what impact they will have on the results of operations or financial condition of Solazyme.

In addition, please refer to the documents that Solazyme, Inc. files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for a discussion of these and other risks. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Solazyme is not under any duty to update any of the information in this press release.