Barentz International details strategy for generic and premium nutraceutical ingredients

Distributor Barentz International is expanding its private label business with an addition to its premium ingredient portfolio for human nutrition, pharmaceuticals, personal care, performance materials and animal nutrition. We met with Alexandre Blanc, the company’s EMEA market and principal director for nutraceuticals, to discuss Barentz International’s strategic goals with its private label and premium ingredient lines and dedicated nutraceutical team. 

Blanc tells Nutrition Insight that the nutraceutical sector’s significant growth is driving pharma companies to explore the market.

“They are very close industries. Small companies started in nutraceuticals because they were more agile and perhaps more capable of meeting market demands. Now, the larger companies also want to play a role by either acquiring nutraceutical-specialized companies or stepping into the market themselves.”

He notes that these markets differ regarding legislation and intervention timing, with nutraceuticals focusing more on prevention. At the same time, he adds that products in both markets can work well together, and “the science behind it is quite similar.”

“The delivery format used to be similar, but they are splitting now because not all consumers want to take pills or tablets. That’s still related to pharma, drugs and illness. You increasingly see innovative formats, such as gummies and liquids.”

Private-label and branded ingredients

Blanc details that the company is expanding its private label offering, Natural by Barentz, to offer its customers different options and aim to become a preferred supplier of nutraceutical actives.

“Unlike our premium range, where we sell branded products with clinical studies and evidence, which we build with our partners. The private label aims to fill a gap in offering more generic products. It is a mix of quality, traceability, safety, price and efficacy.”

He explains that not all customers always need or can afford a premium ingredient for their formulations, “sometimes they need to produce good supplements at an affordable price.”

“As a distributor, we also need to be there to provide these types of ingredients for them. For this reason, we have these two ranges.”

Alexandre Blanc, EMEA market and principal director for nutraceuticals at Barentz International.The company’s private label has been part of Barentz for two years and was established through acquisitions. Although the company has not yet communicated about the new business, Blanc details that Barentz has a significant private label business.

“The idea is not to cannibalize the premium brand, but we want to be a one-stop-shop partner for our customers and meet all their needs,” explains Blanc.

“We’re not there to compete on price,” he stresses. “Even with our private label, we aim for high quality, but you don’t pay for the marketing because there is no marketing. You get the value for the ingredients.”

Product development process

The company’s private label portfolio allows Barentz International to offer differentiated products to its customers. After determining the retail price to aim for, the type of consumer and the retail channel, clients can analyze whether they can afford premium ingredients.

“Sometimes you target premium consumers so that you will need branded products. If you can sell products for a higher price, you can afford branded ingredients,” he adds. “But sometimes, you just want something efficient, and there is no need to show a brand.”

For example, regarding botanical extracts, Barentz recently partnered with a European company that offers seven premium ingredients, each with four or five gold-standard clinical studies.

“In the Natural by Barentz private label, you will also find botanicals, but you will get no brand or clinical study. You will have clear, transparent specification sheets, standardized extract or not, food possibility, food safety and the insurance you pay for exactly what you get.”

Blanc says the company aims to become the preferred solution provider for nutraceutical specialty ingredients globally in the next few years. “We want to fuel our customers’ innovation so they can develop any formulation they want.”

At the recent CPHI 2024 trade show, Barentz International presented its private label and premium ingredient portfolio.Focus on nutra specialists

Blanc emphasizes that Barentz International addresses the nutraceutical market with nutra specialists instead of a pharma sales manager.

“We have our pharmaceutical experts in active pharmaceutical ingredients, excipients, intermediates and pure pharma. We try to extend this model in all European countries with a dedicated sales force for nutra. That means a nutraceutical specialist who can sell efficacy, explain clinical evidence and connect with marketing.”

He highlights that in the nutraceuticals market, especially in premium ingredients, marketing is crucial to determine unmet consumer needs and develop solutions to address them.

“We need to create a need before we can sell anything. That requires education, networking and different people from different backgrounds with an appetite for it — we want people to be passionate about what they do. We start from one country and then expand to more countries where we have dedicated sales teams for nutraceuticals.”

“The path we are trying to follow is to work around efficacy — to bring science and clinical evidence,” Blanc continues. “We want people to feel the benefit of what they consume because ultimately you want the consumer to buy again, and they will buy again if the promises (about the product) are kept.”

At the same time, he notes the emergence of new delivery formats, such as functional food and beverages, as consumers move away from tablets and capsules in disease prevention. Barentz partners with key industry players to “deliver best-in-class ingredients to our customers, for whatever trend they need to respond to.”