Special 1 year of stock exchange: interview with Carlo Volpi

One year after the listing on the stock exchange, let’s have a look where it all started and how PharmaNutra has changed in terms of external visibility, internal organization and commercial development. We talk about it with Carlo Volpi, Chief Operating Officer and Group Managing Director.

Has the listing on the stock market had a direct impact on the growth of the PharmaNutra Group in the last year?

I believe that until now the listing on the stock market has not had yet a direct impact on the development of the business, also because it started only 12 months ago. Up to now, in fact, the company’s growth has been purely organic, I mean linked to products directly developed by the company. Surely in the future the listing will bring a direct and tangible contribution to business growth thanks to the entry of new capital, greater international visibility and the introduction of foreign investors, this will give us the opportunity to expand into new markets. In this sense I would define the listing as a booster for the natural evolution of the company.

Talking about the company organization, how this changing has been lived?

The listing on the stock exchange required an evolution of the organizational structure. Having to comply with numerous formal requirements, it has stimulated the expansion and the evolution of the “operating machine”. Surely the Administrative Direction and the communication activities are the areas most affected by the listing. On the other hand, when a company grows so quickly it is natural that the organizational structure must run to keep up with the company’s development. The listing on the stock market has simply accelerated the internal development of the company, which was however already planned.

Did the perception of the company change after this operation in the foreign markets?

Absolutely, the fact of being listed on the stock exchange has changed the perception of both existing and potential partners. We can compare the quotation to a sort of quality certification. Customers consider you more reliable because they have solid data that confirm that the company is healthy and strong. That said, it should be noted that PharmaNutra’s foreign development is based primarily on the undisputed and recognized quality of its products, based upon effectiveness and innovation, and also on the Group’s strong intellectual property, aspects that underlie the success achieved in recent years on the Italian market with Sucrosomial® Iron and Cetilar®.

What was the first contract concluded abroad?

For me personally, it was the one with Winmedica in Greece. I remember the first visit in 2014, I went to negotiate the contract with them for two days and in the end we managed to launch the products on the market in 2015. After only three months we had already achieved good sales results, it’s just a pity that the EU decided a financial block. We managed to start again the following year with a little effort. It was a really sweaty contract, in every sense because every time I go to Greece there are almost 40 degrees …

With Cetilar® and UltraMag® what are the prospects for the development of foreign markets?

We have excellent prospects for both products. Although it is still early to say it with sureness, I think it will be easier to sell UltraMag® than Cetilar®, because magnesium is a rapidly growing market in the pharmaceutical sector. UltraMag® is a product that has a lot of appeal for a very specific reason: because it is Sucrosomial® Magnesium. We are offering a new product, which can count on the success story of the Sucrosomial Technology applied to iron. Furthermore, the main target in the magnesium-based supplements market is the same as iron, ie women.

Although Cetilar® is a very effective product, in somewhat even more innovative than SiderAL® and with a huge market potential, the difference with UltraMag® is linked to the recognition and reliability that the Sucrosomial® patent confers to magnesium.

Last question: what is the main goal for the next eighteen months?

I have several goals really. And since someone claims that I like figures… Here are a few numbers
200 Million;
250,000;
1 million;
2.
Now, you just have to guess what they match for…