Read the Conversation
EF: What mission did you set for yourself when you were appointed as President of Afepadi? What do you want to achieve, and what are your priorities?
MGS: Afepadi represents the Spanish food supplements industry. I was appointed at a time when the industry was at an interesting inflection point due to rapid growth. Years ago, the Spanish food supplement industry was not very large and not very organized. Our sector was behind other EU countries in terms of consumption per capita of food supplements. However, as of late, Spain is one of the fastest-growing countries in this market, and it is projected to reach a record high in the next few years, according to Euromonitor's predictions.
The industry is now quite large, and it is responding to a clear consumer shift in terms of the way that people manage their health. This is the moment to step in and try to create more cooperation among all the companies so that this sector can continue to grow at the same rate and success for the next few years.
Afepadi has undertaken the mission of uniting companies within the entire value chain of food supplements. We need the joint forces of all the companies to advocate for better regulations for our sector and a better context for growth. These conditions will lead to a virtuous growth cycle and make Spain an attractive destination for external investment.
Finally, our mission is to provide our associates with excellent service regarding regulations, information, and any other needs they may have. I stepped into this role at the right moment because the industry was mature, and now is just the right time for food supplements to become important within the Spanish ecosystem of health.
EF: Could you elaborate on how you facilitate cooperation between your different members and how you leverage common spaces and events to bring people together to advance as one voice?
MGS: Our goal is to collaborate with all stakeholders that might help advance the food supplement sector. We also want to work with everyone who is looking for ways to improve their well-being.
We work with each of the different stakeholders and manage a different message or use a different tool for each of them. To bring our associates together, we have two big events that we organize every year. The first is Afepadi’s Innovation Day where all the different companies get together, and some of them can present their latest innovations. This also serves as a networking opportunity so that all of the different associates get to know each other.
Secondly, we are setting up a set of conferences to help foster collaboration. Normally, there are around 15 every year. The conferences cover lots of different topics. Some of them are about technical training, while others are about ways to increase export capabilities, such as how to access R&D grants or attend specific trade fairs that might help them in their export efforts. Other topics include the status of the markets and the profiles of consumers. These events are targeted at our associates.
We have other stakeholders, such as governmental actors, which include regulatory and scientific agencies. We work closely with them to give them as much information as possible about our sector so that they have the best or clearest interpretation of the regulations.
We also have the political actors, and our key objective is to ensure that they understand what a food supplement is. We still have a huge work to give the politicians the necessary information on food supplements so that they can understand the sector we are in. You would be surprised at how little they know. The first thing I ask whenever I meet them is, "Do you know what a food supplement is?" They usually do not know. I then describe certain instances where they may have interacted with a food supplement in their personal lives so that they have an idea, and they suddenly realize that they actually have used the products, but they don’t have a name for them. Our market has grown a lot, but despite using our products, people are not familiar with the term food supplements.
Politicians and their groups have an influence, and they need to understand that there is a group of products called food supplements that play an active role in healthcare. This knowledge is beneficial to them as it may save a lot of money for the social security system because we work alongside the social security system to maintain people's health.
Another stakeholder group is the media. We have not yet done a lot of work with them, but we keep up with what is going on in the media. We keep track of the reputation of food supplements. We are going to start taking proactive actions in 2024 to ensure that the media understands what a food supplement is and that it is a safe, effective product in some specific cases.
We always have to defend a responsible use of food supplements, and we have to be very clear. The food supplement has a role within society, and we are trying to ensure that all the different stakeholders understand what that role is, and the different ways that a food supplement might help them.
EF: How do you highlight the importance of food supplements for disease prevention? What can food supplements do to make people live happier and healthier lives?
MGS: Food supplements are one of the tools that people can use to lead happier and healthier lives. It is not only important to live for a long time; it is also important to have a high quality of life for as long as you live. Food supplements can play a very interesting role in achieving that goal.
In the past, people expected that the usual course of things would be that eventually, with age, people would get ill, in which case you might get prescribed medicine or go to the hospital. This is a somehow reactive way to see your own health. However, there has been a change in the way that consumers perceive their own health. Consumers have experienced a shift and no longer view their health as sickness, illness, or hospital, but they also view it in terms of how they can empower themselves in terms of their health, also at times when they feel well and are healthy. They can take a proactive role by doing things that may make them feel better today, such as eating healthy food, exercising, taking care of their mental health, and, if the occasion requires it, taking some food supplements. These are all tools for general well-being, and food supplements are one of the pieces of this paradigm shift. However, let me make clear that medicines are not bad; rather, on the contrary, they are absolutely necessary for the treatment of illness, and food supplements cannot substitute medicines or medical care, which is irreplaceable when one is ill. It’s simply that there are more tools available, and each tool has a role at each particular moment.
I recently read that “consumers are moving from sick care to well care.” Consumers are moving from "I am sick, I take care" to "I am well, I want to be well, and I take care today." This is where food supplements come in. This is where we are trying to play a role.
EF: What role does Spain play in the wider European ecosystem for food supplement production and innovation?
MGS: We have an interesting consumer. The Spanish consumer is not as advanced as maybe the Italian or German consumer, who started using food supplements or plant-based medicines earlier than we did. However, we are closing the gap very fast. That creates an opportunity for companies to come over and participate in that growth. That's one of the reasons why Spain is interesting for companies seeking investment opportunities.
There is also an interesting ecosystem of small companies. This is similar to Italy, which has an ecosystem of innovative companies that are very agile. This helps in the food supplement sector because this sector depends on innovation and moves very quickly. The entrepreneurial mindset is another reason why Spain is important to the EU ecosystem.
The most important trade fair for food supplements, VitaFoods, has been in Geneva for 26 years, but they are moving to Barcelona in 2025. In 2025, we will have the biggest event in the industry. This is a clear indicator of how Spain is positioning itself as a hub for the food supplement industry.
EF: What advice would you give about the Spanish food supplement sector to a food supplement company coming to Spain for the very first time?
MGS: Firstly, I would like to invite you to the different companies to become a member of Afepadi. Our association would help them navigate the whole Spanish ecosystem. Spain is full of opportunities, and you can start from anywhere. I think that the future of food supplements is bright. The industry is becoming bigger, and as it grows, it will be less of a jungle and more of an ordered woodland.
Companies will need to be very strong in terms of quality products that are effective, use the right claims, and not go beyond the claims that are allowed. They need to play within the rules and provide unique products. This is going to be more difficult because the larger the sector, the more difficult it is to differentiate yourself from the competition. There is room for big companies that have large budgets and can work on effective products. There is also room for small companies that are more agile and can make very interesting offers as well. Companies need to play within the rules and deliver what they promise.
EF: Do you have any final messages for our readers?
MGS: Although this report is focused on Spain, it is important to mention that the food supplement industry encompasses all of Europe. Our regulations are European-wide. This is important because when you want to improve that regulation, you have to work both at the local country level and the European level.
The food supplement sector is very advanced in the sense that we use a lot of mutual recognition within the European Union. In general, anything that you sell in one European country can be sold in another European country. This is widely used in the food supplement sector, especially in Spain.
It is interesting to see that it is becoming more of a European business and not a country business. It is still a local business at the consumer level and the brand level. But at the regulatory level, it's a European business, which means that it will eventually converge into more of a European business than a local business. This is going to be an interesting time. What brands are going to be the winners in this European race? It will certainly make the sector stronger.
