Bifodan expands global presence with new office in Milan

03 Nov 2017 --- Danish probiotics company Bifodan has established a regional sales office in Milan, Italy. The move increases its global presence to four offices on the European continent and three offices in the US, from which it intends to serve the global market.

With the addition of the new office in Milan, Bifodan says it is following its corporate strategy of being a preferred provider of probiotic nutritional supplements for B2B customers globally. The company notes that it now operates a sales force with extensive reach and ability to serve global customers locally.

“The Italian market for probiotic supplements is about 25 percent of the US market in absolute numbers of retail value and has a higher per capita spending in this category,” Susanne Baekgaard, Bifodan Vice President of Strategic Marketing, tells NutritionInsight. “Even considering the EU restrictions on probiotic supplements, Italy has shown nice growth historically and is predicted to be the fastest growing market in Europe over the next five years.”

“Expansion in Italy is therefore important strategic decision for a company like Bifodan, with ambitions to become a significant supplier in the global market for probiotic nutritional supplements,” Baekgaard adds.

“Bifodan is dedicated to probiotics and dedicated to serving our customers in the best possible way,” notes Baekgaard. “Establishing a staffed office in Italy is just the next step in pursuing our strategic goal.”

Successful international expansion
The daily operations of Bifodan Italy will, until end of 2017, be handled by Bifodan’s regional sales office in The Netherlands, the company has stated. From January 1, 2018, the responsibility will be transferred to Mr. Paolo Boschetti. Bifodan reports that Boschetti has several years of experience from the probiotic market space in Italy and his technical and scientific insight will add important value for its customers.

“Bifodan has successfully been able to expand its activities internationally over the past couple of years,” says Steen Andersen, President and CEO of Bifodan. “The latest expansion of our commercial reach in Italy is a testament to our continued commitment to serve our existing customers and grow our customer base.”

Bifodan’s last similar move came when it opened an office in Prague in 2016 in order to establish its position in the Eastern European segment, where consumption of probiotics as part of a healthy diet is very well recognized, Baekgaard tells NutritionInsight.

“With the addition of the Italian office to our offices in Denmark and The Netherlands, Bifodan is well equipped for the moment. Further global expansion is in the outlook with appropriate timing,” Baekgaard adds.

Looking to new products in the newly expanded company, Baekgaard notes that Bifodan introduced FastMelt Immuno in 2015 as the first direct dose probiotic formulation and recently, two new formulations targeting digestive health were introduced at Supply Side West and CPhI.

“At Bifodan we are focused on the quality of the product to the consumer and we stability test our formulations prior to bringing new products to the market,” Baekgaard notes. “In the near future we will introduce a new version of our YOURBRAND portfolio for private label, which will feature state-of-the-art packaging and stability.”

By Paul Creasy