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PharmaCare US makes key leadership changes to usher in next chapter

Javier Aste, president of the Americas, the Americas, PharmaCare PharmaCare PharmaCare US, a specialty generic and brand pharmaceutical wholesaler and maker of Sambucol Black Elderberry Advanced Immune products, is focused on supporting the health and well-being of consumers. Established in 2009, the company is looking forward to the next chapter of leadership and has announced two executives with diverse backgrounds in the consumer packaged goods industry.

Recently, the company appointed Javier Aste as new president of the Americas and Jeff Dotzler as new vice president of sales for North America. Art Rowe-Cerveny, founding member of the company’s U.S. division, will now serve as the executive vice president of marketing for the Americas.

Recently, Aste spoke with Drug Store News about the leadership changes and the company’s growth strategy.

Drug Store News: PharmaCare announced leadership changes recently, can you tell us what that means for the company?

Javier Aste: PharmaCare’s success story has been and will continue to be enriching people’s lives through health and wellness. As the company continues to expand its footprint globally to reach more and more consumers worldwide, talent and development is a pillar of the company’s future. These changes will bring broader views, operational discipline and experiences that will add further value to the operation immediately.

DSN: What are the company’s short-term and long-term plans?

JA: We strive to be different, innovative and surprising, and to always make a positive difference. Specifically for the U.S. in the short term, we aim to double the number of Sambucol shoppers to empower more people to take control over their own health through natural immune support. In the medium to long-term, our goal is to expand our brand and portfolio in the U.S. market.

DSN: What will be the focus of the company going forward?

JA: We will continue to drive consumer awareness, drive our distribution to new heights with our partners at The Emerson Group, and drive consumer innovation for now and years to come to remain the leaders of the black elderberry category and be the preferred supplier of our retailers.

DSN: What will the new strategy mean for product development and for consumers?

JA: Innovation is the lifeblood of PharmaCare globally, and the U.S. market represents a huge opportunity for extending our brands and product portfolio. Today, the U.S. has a relatively small footprint when compared to global, which launched more than 100 new SKUs in our last fiscal year alone. The new strategy leverages on the global capabilities while the U.S. team designs our future innovations focused on the market needs.

DSN: What trends do you see in the supplement market in the next five years?

JA: There are clear signs that supplements are becoming an even bigger part of our lifestyles worldwide, and delivery formats have a huge role to play as we have seen already — but there is still much more to come. Easy access and availability (from the shelf to metaverse and beyond) will be a key driver for consumer usage and a KPI to gain share amongst manufacturers and retailers. Also important to mention is how the shopper continues to evolve and become more informed — they will seek more value for their money. This is great news for Sambucol, as we want to become the No. 1 natural immunity supplement brand in the U.S. and worldwide. dsn

A Strategic Partner

Eagle Labs is on a mission to make consumer products the public can trust

Michael Law, chief commercial officer, Eagle Labs Eagle Labs

"Our mission is to be an agile, strategic partner with a breadth of collaborative resources."

Eagle Labs is a fully NSF Certified contract manufacturer of dietary supplements and cosmetics. The company can handle a wide array of product forms and offers collaboration throughout the formulation and product development process. Recently, Michael Law, chief commercial officer, sat down with Drug Store News to talk about the company’s mission and what we can expect from the supplements and cosmetics market in the near future.

Drug Store News: What is your company’s history, and what do you see as its mission?

Michael Law: Eagle Labs is NSF Certified and FDA registered for dietary supplements, cosmetics and OTCs. We are also Certified Organic and registered with Health Canada. Eagle Labs meets the highest industry standards for manufacturing, testing and process control.

Eagle Labs has been a contract manufacturer for over 20 years. Our mission is to be an agile, strategic partner with a breadth of collaborative resources. We bring a strong and experienced management team to help in all areas from R&D and formulation, through packaging design, manufacturing and fulfillment.

DSN: Describe your company’s product offerings. What makes the products unique?

ML: We manufacture nutritional/dietary supplements (capsules, tablets, powders, gummies and liquids), as well as a wide array of cosmetic skin care products. Eagle Labs has low MOQs for the right strategic partners, so we can grow with them. We spend time to deeply understand the strategies and goals the customer is trying to achieve. Eagle brings leaders from all key functional areas to the earliest stages of a customer engagement to ensure the best solutions are being created. Often this means consulting on ingredient choices, formulations, packaging and claims.

Another thing that makes Eagle Labs unique is that we have large e-commerce DTC customers as well as clients with large traditional brick-and-mortar brands. Additionally, we have a strong own brand/private brand business for retail clients.

DSN: What are your thoughts on “what’s next” in supplements and in cosmetic products?

ML: There are three key themes: innovation, “natural or free from” and value. Innovation will always have a place for consumers seeking new solutions. This may be in ingredients, product forms, packaging or claims. Within supplements, we are seeing strong growth in powder stick packs and gummies. Traditional capsules and tablets remain strong, but a segment of consumers is looking for new ways to dose themselves to support their healthy lifestyle. Immunity products remain strong, and we expect consumers will continue to seek products that help them reduce the impact of aging and increase wellness. For cosmetics, there have been a lot of disruptive brands entering the category as barriers to entry have fallen. We expect that consumer spending on facial care and hand and body lotions will experience growth postCOVID. Additionally, consumers will continue to seek solutions to help them feel better and look better. Antiaging creams continue to be strong sellers as America ages.

DSN: Anything else you’d like our retail readers to know about your company?

ML: Eagle Labs can help identify key trends in e-commerce to help support traditional retail clients. Additionally, for e-commerce clients, we can provide support through our high-volume fulfillment center. With a broad array of product forms available and decades of experience on the management team, Eagle can be a strong strategic partner for both large and smaller brands, and also with private label/ own brands. dsn