Interviews

A new season of HBW Insight's Over The Counter podcast kicks off with a chat about creativity in consumer health with All Creative founder and managing director Beverley Law.

HBW Insight asks consumer health experts for their views on the trends that will shape the market in 2025.

HBW Insight speaks to food supplement market experts about what manufacturers should be looking out for over the coming year.

HBW Insight speaks to consumer healthcare industry associations around the globe, which offer their predictions for the year ahead. 

HBW Insight speaks to leaders at US consumer health product trade groups and food and drug regulation consultants and attorneys who offer their predictions for the year ahead.

HBW Insight speaks to leaders at major consumer health manufacturers who offer their predictions for the year ahead.

Beauty industry insiders from trade associations and attorneys specializing in marketing law and/or cosmetics manufacturing look forward to a more business-friendly FTC in the US in 2025, while they expect industry to face an increasing number of challenges at the state level. Meanwhile, the EU beauty market is hopeful it will see reduced regulations this year.

Perrigo's retail customers are expecting real "net zero" progress from consumer health manufacturers, which is in turn driving the firm's sustainability ambitions and expectations from their own suppliers, Perrigo’s UK ethical compliance lead Isobel Gay tells HBW Insight in this exclusive interview.

Kenvue's EMEA and LATAM head Carlton Lawson reflects on the firm's 18 months of independence, pointing to significant investments and operational improvements as key milestones on its spin out journey so far.

Xytogen Biotech’s Factorfive stem cell-based skin care delivers benefits that are greater than the company claims, says founder and CEO John Aylworth. Available mostly through clinicians’ offices, the formulas are based on a proprietary process that triggers stem cells to send out growth factor signals, which are captured in a ‘conditioned media’ and used as the basis for products.

Tariffs are expected again under a second Trump Administration and the future of the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity is uncertain, says the Personal Care Products Council, which will continue to push for regulatory alignment and lower trade barriers.

Bayer Consumer Health is replacing mixed material PVC blister packs with monomaterial PET blisters beginning with Aleve in the Netherlands. HBW Insight speaks to vice president and global head of design, packaging, product experience and sustainability, Chris Padain, about the "evolutionary" strategy behind the move, the complexities of choosing the right material for the right product, and the importance of industry cross-collaboration via associations like GSCF.

EFSA has published new guidance to assist companies navigating the EU’s novel food authorisation process. HBW Insight speaks to experts Dr Mari Eskola of Medfiles and Dr Jérôme Le Bloch of FoodChain ID who offer differing views on the benefits and drawbacks of the guidance for industry.

Cosmetics Europe’s John Chave highlights the important role that industry must have in educating the public about chemicals used in cosmetic products. The association’s COSMILE Europe database launched last year is one such measure to combat misinformation while industry braces for potential impacts resulting from new hazard categories under the Classification, Labeling and Packaging (CLP) regulation.

In addition to its recently established Precision Health division, Bayer Consumer Health is using artificial intelligence to save time on routine tasks and to manage supply and demand, the firm’s head of digital transformation and IT, Cristina Nitulescu, tells HBW Insight.

Cosmetics Europe hopes a more “competitive” spirit will define the 2024-2029 regime. Director-general John Chave discusses the association’s outlook on planned revisions to REACH and the Cosmetic Products Regulation in the new EU institutional mandate.

Genetic Analysis CEO Ronny Hermansen and Christina Casén, senior VP of clinical and medical affairs, discuss the company’s polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based approach to gut microbiota profiling versus DNA sequencing, competitive landscape including DTC, and opportunities for supporting pharma R&D and assessing drug treatment success.

October will see the bricks-and-mortar launch of the first FDA-approved OTC treatment for erectile dysfunction in the US by Haleon. HBW Insight catches up with the company's North America president Lisa Paley to find out what Haleon has planned for Eroxon's arrival in stores. 

This Thursday (26 October) the United Nations will discuss whether OTC antimicrobial products should be restricted to prescription-only status by UN member states. In advance of this, we catch up with UK association CEO Michelle Riddalls, to learn about the PAGB’s role in crafting the global consumer healthcare industry’s response.

Companies launching food supplements in France must now navigate a new product notification platform. EcoMundo’s Corinne Rayapin discusses why the change is happening and the expected benefits for both industry and consumers.