nir-vana innovation network

The French SME has more than 20 years experience in the conception and distribution of nutritional supplements. The company was founded by 2 doctors and is headquartered in Carros (Southern France) where the R&D, manufacturing and the marketing & commercial functions are located as well. The production processes are quality controlled and in line with following regulations : FDA regulation CFR 21 (USA), EU directive 2002/46 and with ISO 9001/200.

The product range which represents more than 100 references is mainly sold in France but also worldwide through distributors or directly (to pharmacies and medical/natural doctors).

The mission of the company is to produce nutritional supplements with the major possible efficiency. This means that the supplements provide bio-compatibility and bio-availability to the human body.

The first step for the company is to target a better efficiency of the active by selecting tritrated dried extracts. The aim is to choose parts of the plants which are high in trace constituents in order to target 20 times more efficiency than the full plant.
The SME owns also all its recipes with specific assemblages and dosages blending 4 or 5 plant extracts.

The company offers 2 ranges of product:
- one based on the prevention of body functions deregulations in order to improve the global well-being i.e. circulation, digestion etc.
- the second one is based on ultra fast action and accelerates biological processes with a high level dosage

Both type of supplements are currently sold directly in France on the French market with a high growth.The company reached a global turnover of 10 millions EUR thanks to this development.

The company already started exporting in specific countries such as the USA. Nevertheless, internationalisation is a core objective for the company especially within the EU and more specifically in Germany, in Italy and Spain. The SME is looking for partners on the mentioned markets to represent the brand, to deploy a marketing plan and to structure the salesforce.

The partner sought should be preferably a distributor working with the company under a distribution services agreement. It should be well connected nationally or regionally with pharmacies and doctors and activate the right sales channels to reach them.

Advantages & innovations

The company based its nutritional supplements on a patented microgranule technology which improves the gastro protection but also favours a controlled release of the actives with immediate, delayed and extended effects over time. The advantage of microgranule based capsules compared to powder relies mainly in the quantity of actives within one capsule. A capsule of microgranules would be equivalent to 5 powder capsules. To sum up : - Innovation : Microgranule enabling higher efficiency and controlled release of the actives following the biological processes ; unlimited product development possibilities blending 3,4,5 plant extracts in finished capsules - Advantages and Efficacy: Gastro-protection enabling high concentration of active dry extracts; a controlled release enabling continuous action up to 8 hours; one ultra concentrated range with more actives hence more impact. - Safety : pharmacy grade quality manufacturing; reduced intakes (1- 2 capsules per day instead of 6 – 8 for classical powder capsules).

Stage of development

Already on the market

Partner sought

The partner sought would be a distributor selling to pharmacies and potentially to adapted retail stores. The company should have ideally 1000 points of sale. It should have a perfect understanding of the nutritional supplements market in its country/region (preferably in Germany, Spain and Italy). The ideal partner should have a minimum investment capacity to co develop and execute the marketing plan and deploy the salesforce. The contract binding the partner sought and the company should be a distribution services agreement.