Roquette merges divisions to meet consumer health demands
This year, Roquette has unified its health and pharmaceutical solutions divisions to address rising consumer demands for quality in OTC products.
Blurring lines between pharma and consumer health
Consumers now demand the same safety standards for everyday products that they expect from prescription medications, according to the company. Louis Ruocco, global head of Commercial Marketing at Roquette, explained that the line between pharmaceuticals and consumer health is starting to blur. He noted that when prescription drugs transition to over-the-counter availability, customers expect pharmaceutical-grade quality to continue. Roquette has brought these businesses together under one roof and added marketing expertise to position itself as a partner of choice in consumer healthcare. The company expects this shift to raise the bar for excipients and food ingredients. They maintain that no compromise on quality will occur as regulatory compliance and documentation requirements increase.
Shifting formats and metabolic health trends
Key trends driving the industry include the first launch of an oral GLP-1 tablet. Roquette, a leader in oral solid dosage tablets, is watching this closely. The launch has created knock-on effects in the consumer health segment as suppliers look for dietary and high-fiber solutions. Consumer experiences are becoming a critical factor in product design. Taste, texture, and swallowability help brands differentiate their products on the shelf.
Interest is growing in chewables, meltables, orally dispersible films, and gummies. Ruocco explained that GLP-1s and other metabolic therapies are changing what consumers need from their diet and supplements. Roquette’s functional ingredients are increasingly used to meet this demand, though formulation work is technically difficult. The company’s new technology innovations are enabling new format development. These advances help brands meet consumer expectations while overcoming nutritional challenges when developing products for GLP-1 users.
Meeting sustainability demands
Clean label and sustainability demands persist for customers. They require natural origin ingredients that are traceable, a history Roquette has supplied for decades. Clients also want credible environmental data, including carbon dioxide and energy impact figures from manufacturing. Preventative health and regenerative health are becoming more popular, especially among younger and older populations. Ruocco believes the psychological impact of COVID-19 has led many people to focus more on preventative health. While innovations in delivery formats are common in the nutrition industry, Ruocco believes pharmaceutical development should first be guided by safety and efficacy.
Expertise and supply security
Roquette’s experts across its global application labs and research centers focus on de-risking customer formulations during discovery and scale-up. The company provides robust documentation and global regulatory know-how to help customers launch into new countries for the first time. Business continuity planning emerged as a key philosophy during the pandemic, and Roquette continues to address supply chain security. The company operates more than 20 production facilities worldwide. These facilities provide a high level of business continuity with experience and expertise in formulation.
This setup gives customers the confidence, speed, and time to market to help move their business forward. Ruocco emphasized that customers need a partner who will help them win in the marketplace, not just an ingredient supplier. He adds that customers want credible environmental data, including Roquette’s CO2 and energy impact during excipient and ingredient manufacturing.“Today’s an exciting time to collaborate and innovate to meet our customers’ needs.
