Amid the chaos of the war in Ukraine, most companies are retreating from the Russian market, scaling back operations, or maintaining a minimal presence. Yet, Solgar is bucking the trend, choosing to continue developing and investing in Russia.
This bold move not only capitalizes on reduced competition but also sparks debate over corporate responsibility in countries under international sanctions.
In the following interview originally published on pharmvestnik.ru, Hakan Erturk, General Director of Solgar in Russia and the CIS, discusses the company’s strategic priorities, how they’re navigating current challenges, and their plans for the future in the biologically active supplements sector.
[Original Article from pharmvestnik.ru]
Hakan Ertürk: “Regular consumption of dietary supplements is becoming a global trend of modern people”
In 2024, Solgar continued its active development in the Russian pharmaceutical market. Hakan Ertürk, CEO of Solgar in Russia and CIS countries, spoke about strategic priorities, adaptation to modern realities, trends and development prospects of the dietary supplements segment.
Main points of reference
– Let’s summarize some preliminary results of the outgoing year. What was it like for your company and to what extent did it meet your initial expectations?
– The year is ending within our expectations and plans. For example, Solgar pays a lot of attention to training events for specialists from the medical community and the development of nutritional science in Russia, and we managed to do a lot in these areas.
The company has launched several new products and will continue to bring new products to the Russian market with equal intensity next year.
We have maintained the full depth of our activities and continue to work in the same vein.
– The Russian dietary supplement market is a highly competitive environment. What helps Solgar to remain a competitive brand?
– Solgar is 77 years old this year, and from its founding to the present day, the company has focused on several critical aspects – first and foremost, product quality and innovation. The company is constantly increasing its commitment to meeting quality standards by producing unique, innovative nutrients. And no matter where in the world our consumers are, they can always get high-tech, high-quality products.
It is equally important for our end consumers to have the opportunity to receive competent professional advice from specialists with specialized pharmaceutical education. We are doing a lot in this direction, raising the level of knowledge among representatives of the professional medical community and developing a culture of nutrient intake.
Adaptability
– How do the current political and economic realities affect the company’s strategy?
– Probably, like many other companies, there were some difficulties at the beginning, which we were able to successfully adapt to, they did not prevent us from continuing our operations in Russia.
The main task of the company is to ensure that our products are available to consumers, so we continue to support our partners from pharmacy chains, raise their awareness in this area, and try to introduce new products on a regular basis.
– In recent years, manufacturers of dietary supplements have been actively integrating into the project to label their products. How have you adapted to its implementation and how do you assess this innovation?
– Solgar complies with all mandatory labeling requirements. We became a participant in the project back at the pilot stage, at which time it did require reorganization of certain processes and adaptation to their application. We fully support this initiative, as we believe that it will help make the market more transparent. Labeling can ensure a high level of consumer protection and contribute to solving the problems we face today. In particular, we are talking about products that come through cross-border trade and are sold unauthorized on Internet sites.
In general, summarizing the interim results of the labeling system, we notice that more and more unscrupulous manufacturers are moving from the category of “dietary supplements” to the categories of “food concentrates”, “phyto tea”, and “complex food supplements”. And we, together with other industry representatives, hope that this tool will be fine-tuned and will make it possible to protect mass consumers from unsafe products.
Demanded segment
– To what extent do the trends on the Russian market of dietary supplements correspond to global trends? What are the peculiarities of its development?
– We observe that in recent years, the culture of a healthy lifestyle is rapidly developing, especially among the younger generation. Regular intake of nutrients is an integral part of this culture. The number of people taking dietary supplements is growing annually, while their age category is decreasing.
In our opinion, one of the key differences in the Russian market is the wide representation of the dietary supplement category in the pharmacy segment. And this is a particularly important aspect for companies like us operating in this segment.
We see that the regulator is open to dialog and is taking active steps to protect consumers from dubious, low-quality products. In our opinion, this should give a great impetus to further development of the market.
– What legislative and legal obstacles do you observe and how do you interact with regulatory structures?
– We believe that the word “obstacles” does not quite correctly reflect the current trends in the Russian market. A working dialog has been established between the dietary supplement industry and government authorities to discuss initiatives proposed by both regulators and businesses. We hope that the level of mutual understanding between the two sides will only increase.
Trust tool
– In what formats do you work with pharmacies?
– Our only tool in communication and promotion is the training of specialists. We work exclusively with our partners from pharmacies and pharmacy chains to improve the knowledge and development of their employees. We try to constantly strengthen and improve this tool.
– What is Solgar’s development strategy in Russia in the near and longer term?
– The Russian market is strategically important to us, and we have long-term plans for it. But we prioritize the continuation and improvement of the structure of the training events we hold. We believe that it is knowledge that plays the main role in competent communication with consumers and in the selection of individual nutrient support.
It is equally important to build consumer confidence in the dietary supplement industry, as we see their regular consumption becoming a global trend among modern people.
Solgar, as an international company, aims to share experience with other countries where the culture of dietary supplement consumption has historical roots. But at the same time, given the intensity of our market development, I can note that Russia already has a large number of highly qualified specialists who could share Russian experience with foreign colleagues.
We are not changing our focus and will continue to present new innovative products so that Russian consumers have access to them at the same time as consumers from other countries.
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