Interviews

Manufacturing best-selling items like Kool 'n' Soothe cooling sheet, Cura-Heat heat pack and Hothands hand warmer brands in its own facilities means Kobayashi Healthcare Europe can offer “great quality products without breaking the bank,” explains marketing and regulatory manager Richard Noal.

Brett discusses the BBB National Programs division’s plans for beauty and wellness activities in the new year, the ongoing challenge of getting influencers and brands to disclose material relationships, the FTC’s Health Products Compliance Guidance, and more in a 28 November interview with HBW Insight.

In this episode, HBW Insight speaks to Simon-Kucher & Partners about the latest trends in preventative consumer health. Partner Christian Rebholz and senior director Lorenzo Eandi explain the findings from the company’s recently published Better Health Report, which reached out to almost 3,000 consumers across the world. We take a deeper dive into Brazil, where consumers are spending more on than average on preventative health, and Germany, where consumers are spending less but are turning to digital tools thanks to government support. We also find out what consumer health companies can do to respond to a growing awareness of mental health, especially among women and the younger generation.

Drug-free erectile dysfunction “stimgel” creator Futura wants to see if the technology underpinning Eroxon can be applied to female sexual dysfunction. Breaking into China is also high up on the agenda for the UK-based R&D company's CEO James Barder, he reveals in this exclusive interview.

Twin Health’s Whole Body Digital Twin uses AI and patient data from sensors to help people with metabolic disease overcome their disease. The tech showed promise in a clinical trial of type 2 diabetes patients.

Since Dropi launch in 2015, “the founders’ original idea has been refined, improved and made available for thousands of customers, in and outside of Iceland,” marketing chief Lára Margrét Möller tells HBW Insight.

Truvian is looking for partners to continue advancing its benchtop blood testing platform, which could be headed for retail pharmacies as well as corporate clinics and physician networks in 2025, pending US FDA clearance next year.

In this episode of Over The Counter, HBW Insight speaks to Iva Teixeira, CEO of Good Face Project Inc., an innovation software and consultancy company that helps cosmetic companies launch compliant and competitive products in a shorter timeframe while also serving as a partner in the MoCRA registration process. Teixeira discusses some of the biggest (and unexpected) hurdles in registration, both for companies that choose to partner with firms like Good Face, and those who tackle the process alone.

FDA Deputy Commissioner for Policy, Legislation and International Affairs Kimberlee Trzeciak has non-medical product work at top of her agenda, highlighting shift in attention that has been a mainstay of FDA commissioner Robert Califf's tenure.

European OTC manufacturers don't need to worry too much about the questions raised about oral phenylephrine's efficacy as a nasal decongestant in the US, advises industry physician James Walmsley. However, he said it may be an opportunity for companies to “ask themselves how they would respond to any future challenges on their core active ingredients.”

Startup aims to improve health span and extend longevity at the cellular level with TallyAge epigenetic age tests, personalized lifestyle recommendations and longevity supplements.

Lingo, based on Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre diabetes management technology but targeted to the consumer market, works with a companion app to identify user habits that negatively impact their health and guide them in modifying behaviors accordingly. Olivier Ropars, division VP of Lingo Biowearables, discusses the company's recent UK launch and future plans.

Irish firm Solvotrin Therapeutics markets its Active Iron supplement brand across 14 international markets including the UK, US and China. 

In this episode, HBW Insight speaks to its own OTC expert, managing editor Malcom Spicer, about recent controversy in the US surrounding oral nasal decongestant phenylephrine.

Kantar data shows a slow but steady expansion of the UK vitamins, minerals and supplements market driven largely by digestive health products, especially probiotics, and women's health products, in particular those supporting women experiencing the menopause. 

Ongoing regulatory issues and restrictive marketing rules are prompting CBD brands to pivot to functional mushrooms, the market for which in the UK is predicted to reach a value of £62m by 2025. With both reportedly offering cognitive health benefits, marketing mushrooms and CBD makes good strategic sense, explains Nootro Group CEO Cary Holmes in this HBW Insight deep dive.