Tag: selfcare

Selfcare innovation: in-licensing or custom-made? How to choose the best strategy for your brand?

Written by Alexandra Lecomte on January 27, 2026. Posted in Uncategorized.

In a constantly evolving selfcare market, brands must be quick to react and keep up with regulatory changes while staying in tune with consumer trends and expectations. Nurturing and guiding a strong innovation pipeline proves is key to reconciling these challenges and ensuring long term brand performance. There are two main ways to achieve this: in-licensing, and customised development. How do in-licensing and “from scratch” development complement each other to strengthen a brand’s innovation strategy?

The vitality of the selfcare market is reflected in the sheer number of launches: 1,600 new food supplements hit French pharmacy shelves in 2023, accounting for more than two thirds of first-aid innovations, a category that includes products accessible without prescription (source: Nérès)¹.

Selfcare: the race for innovation

Since 2014, innovation in food supplements has increased by +176%, while medical devices still accounted for 68% of new products launched in 2023. This acceleration reflects both the need for brands to remain competitive and the need to meet consumer expectations, while evolving within a demanding regulatory framework. A complex equation which, when it becomes strained, forces players to rethink their approach – as the Boiron case showed after homeopathy was delisted from reimbursements in January 2021.

Adapting and innovating in selfcare in the face of regulatory disruptions

Boiron: a strategic rebound through innovation

The Boiron case illustrates how a historic brand can turn a major constraint into a lever for innovation. The discontinuation of reimbursement of homeopathy in France led to a drastic decline in sales of Homeopathy with Common Name (HNC). In this new regulatory context, the company launched, under the impetus of its new CEO Pascal Houdayer, a strategy giving a central place to innovation. This approach opens new development prospects for Boiron, notably based on the exploration of high-growth categories such as food supplements.

It is within this context Oscillo’ has been launched, a range that aims to be“Simple, practical and designed to support both children and adults throughout the seasons.”² With Oscillo’, Boiron expanding into the most dynamic food supplement categories, targeting two particularly promising segments: immunity and vitality.

Boiron Oscillo product range – 2025

The laboratory has also initiated a reflection on dosage forms: bilayer tablets, orodispersible sticks, effervescent tablets… practical formats, easy to use and designed to promote adherence (to go further on this topic: Galenic innovation: the value of reconciling efficacy and pleasure in dietary supplements). These products combine naturally sourced active ingredients, vitamins, minerals, and plant extracts, in line with Boiron’s shift toward a broader natural health offering.

Weleda: a deep transformation in the world of selfcare

Another iconic selfcare case is Weleda. A major player in natural and organic health and cosmetics, the group had to contend with the rising number of competitors in natural cosmetics and the delisting of certain homeopathic medicines. However, in 2023, Weleda France marked a recovery in growth, a rebound largely driven by the launch of 27 innovations, notably in facial care and anti-wrinkle products, as well as a notable breakthrough in natural and organic deodorants, where Weleda reached 35% value market share³. The brand thus confirms its ability to spot trends, innovate quickly and adapt its product portfolios.

Weleda is also undergoing a deep transformation. In her interview with Premium Beauty News (2025)⁴, its CEO Tina Müller explains: “We have transformed our organisation as much as possible to become an agilty driven and digitalised organisation.” She also highlights changing consumer behaviour: “We are seeing a boom in the food supplement market; this trend toward inner and outer beauty is present almost everywhere in the world. […] The premium market is experiencing tremendous growth, driven by the underlying trend of longevity.”

These statements resonate particularly with the new dynamics of selfcare: the emergence of in & out solutions, the growth of the longevity sector and the growing need for hybrid products combining beauty, health and naturalness. Weleda is fully aligned with these movements with the launch of premium ranges such as Blue Gentian & Edelweiss or Cell Longevity, natural cosmetics formulated around a plant-based NAD⁺ booster to act on cellular longevity and the visible signs of skin ageing.

Cell Longevity natural cosmetics product range

Arkopharma: ongoing innovation and product dynamism

A specialist in herbal medicine and natural health, Arkopharma illustrates another model of product dynamism. In an interview given to Actif Mag (No. 91, 2025)⁵, Aurélie Guyoux, Research and Development Director, indicates that the company launches more than 20 new products per year in pharmacies, continuously strengthening its plant-based health product range.

Arkorelax® Sleep & Anxiety (launched in September 2025). Formulated with a patented lemon verbena extract.

In-licensing & customised development: two strategies to innovate

Innovation is not occasional but structural: it constitutes the very foundation of competitiveness in natural health. It enables brands to move forward and adapt in an increasingly demanding regulatory environment, while responding to rapidly changing consumer expectations: more proven efficacy, scientific soundness and safety guarantees. More than just a growth lever, innovation reflects the brands’ DNA and agility, their ability to remain credible, distinctive and sustainable over time.

In this context, one question springs to mind: how can we innovate effectively while combining speed and differentiation? Between ready-to-market solutions via in-licensing and custom developments, these approaches are now proving to be complementary in building high-performing, value-creating portfolios over the long term.

In-licensing: gaining speed and agility

In-licensing is emerging as a key lever for accelerating innovation and strengthening brand agility. It enables brands to reduce time-to-market, effectively complement in-house R&D capabilities and quickly enrich their portfolio with products already developed and already proven in other territories. Based on a rigorous due diligence process – scientific, technical, regulatory and business – in-licensing makes it possible to integrate high value-added solutions while managing financial and operational risks.

The main advantages of in-licensing:

Faster access to market, based on already developed solutions complementarity with in-house R&D strengths, without undermining from-scratch innovation capacities
Complementarity with internal R&D strengths, without cannibalising in-house, from-scratch innovation capabilities
Rapid portfolio expansion, through products that have demonstrated performance in other geographical areas
Opening to new territories, through the acquisition of marketing rights
Reduced financial and technical risks, compared to complete in-house developments

The specific case of medical devices and in-licensing

This relevance of in-licensing is even more pronounced for medical devices, in a regulatory context deeply transformed by the entry into force of Regulation (EU) 2017/745 on medical devices (MDR – Medical Device Regulation), which replaced the former MDD directive.

Under the MDD, launching a medical device was largely based on existing scientific literature and notified bodies validated CE marking through pathways that were less strict than today. It was within this framework that certain industrial players have been able to build extensive portfolios of medical devices, now offered to brands on a licensing or distribution basis.

With the MDR, requirements have changed significantly: more rigourous clinical data, enhanced performance demonstration, increased requirements for risk management and post-market monitoring. In practice, developing a medical device “from scratch” now involves lead times often exceeding two years and significant investments, depending on the device class.

In this context, in-licensing appears as a major strategic lever, enabling brands to access medical devices that are already MDR-compliant, with strong clinical data and secure CE marking, while limiting regulatory, financial and operational risks.

From scratch: customised innovation

Customised development in selfcare is a preferred path for brands wishing to go further in differentiating themselves and in expressing their identity. Unlike in-licensing, where the product and its supporting documentation are by nature already structured, this approach offers total freedom of design, making it possible to shape a solution perfectly aligned with the brand’s DNA. The product is not set in stone: it evolves throughout the development process, through scientific, marketing and sensory considerations, to produce a truly custom-made creation.

The main advantages of from-scratch development:

Full expression of brand DNA: the ability to bring a distinctive touch, both in terms of substance and in the form of the product.
Expert and differentiating formulation: a refined physiopathological approach, selection of active ingredients and adjustment of dosages.
Integration of market insights and consumer experience: joint work on sensoriality, user satisfaction and perceived effectiveness, promoting long-term compliance and adherence.
Galenic and organoleptic freedom: choice of formats, textures, tastes and smells, enabling the creation of true signature products – such as the iconic scent of immediately recognisable Mustela baby products.
Control over the level of proof and reassurance: free choice of ingredient suppliers, active ingredients and supply chains, possibility to integrate dedicated clinical or consumer studies, as well as additional analyses guaranteeing quality, traceability and safety of ingredients and raw materials for more information on this topic: Plant-based food supplements: how can a brand secure and enhance its offering?)

Even if development timelines are longer, this approach, particularly suited to food supplements, makes it possible to build unique products, rooted in the brand’s identity and providing long-lasting differentiation.

BOTANIBRANDS, partner of selfcare brands fueling innovation

In an environment where innovation must be both fast, credible and differentiating, BOTANIBRANDS supports brands at every stage of their development, enhancing their portfolios with high value-added innovations.

Whether through in-licensing solutions or through “from scratch” developments, BOTANIBRANDS acts as a true strategic partner, capable of adapting its approach to the challenges, ambitions and DNA of each brand.

BOTANIBRANDS’ proposals from in-licensing and from scratch:

ready-to-market in-licensing solutions (medical devices, food supplements), selected for their level of innovation, performance and market suitability;
customised support from A to Z for from-scratch development projects, drawing on regulatory, scientific, industrial and marketing expertise;
carrying out in-depth due diligences on in-licensing opportunities, to ensure their scientific, technical, regulatory and business content before any decision is made;
access to a European network of industrial and business partners, offering technical, regulatory and international opportunities.

Already chosen by many selfcare brands in France and in Europe, BOTANIBRANDS positions itself as an innovation catalyst, delivering high-performing, differentiating and sustainable portfolios.

Want to accelerate or structure your selfcare innovation strategy?

Contact us!

Sources :

Baromètre NèreS des produits de santé et de prévention de 1er recours 2023
https://www.boiron.fr/nos-produits/oscillo
Gers, part de marché valeur, déodorants naturels et bio, année 2023, pharma + parapharmacies
Premium Beauty News « Nous visons un milliard d’euros de chiffre d’affaires », Tina Müller, Weleda – de Kacey Culliney
Arkopharma, au coeur du végétal pour une effcacité ciblée – Actif’s mag numéro 91

Selfcare: medical devices and food supplements – a win-win combination

Written by Alexandra Lecomte on November 4, 2025. Posted in Uncategorized.

Selfcare, also called self-medication, has transformed healthcare habits: the patient-consumers now seek information, compare products and make choices. In pharmacies, medical devices and food supplements are displayed side by side, sometimes for common indications (sore throat, digestion, skin, weight management), yet they aren’t based on the same mechanisms of action or the same intended purpose. However, this product combination can become a winning strategy: complementary responses for consumers, and an effective high-performing product range for selfcare brands.

Since the COVID pandemic in 2019, taking care of one’s health and well-being proactively (and preventively) has become an integral part of everyday life, a form of responsible self-medication now firmly embedded in health behaviour.

The success of the selfcare market in a few figures

According to NèreS (formerly AFIPA), the selfcare market includes first-line products, that is, non-prescription medicines, food supplements, and medical devices available in pharmacies. Between 2019 and 2024, the sector recorded overall growth of +22%, driven by an increase in the number of visits to the pharmacy (in France): 340 million in 2024, compared with 297 million in 2020.¹The COVID-19 pandemic acted as a catalyst, leading many French people to turn to their pharmacist as their primary healthcare provider for supervised self-medication.

More specifically, food supplements recorded the most significant growth +56.4%, followed by consumer medical devices, up +27.3%, while non-prescription medicines posted more moderate growth of +4.6%.

**Chart 1 – NèreS Barometer 2024:**
**Evolution of first-line health products between 2019 and 2024**

It should be noted that medical devices now represent the majority of launches over the past five years, confirming the dynamism of this product segment within the selfcare product range offering.

Chart 2 – NèreS Barometer 2024:
New first-line product launches between 2015 and 2024

The main health concerns are focused on sleep and stress (+8.7%), vitality (+4.9%) and the digestive system (+4.5%), needs that reflect everyday priorities.¹

Food supplements and medical devices: two regulatory frameworks, a complementary role in selfcare

These leading categories in selfcare are nonetheless competitors in different disciplines, subject to distinct rules and regulations.

Under European law, a food supplement is a foodstuff presented in doses that has a nutritional or physiological effect and is intended to supplement a normal diet.² Its claims are strictly regulated: it may make nutritional or health claims, such as “contributes to…”, but may not make medical claims such as preventing or treating a disease.³

In France, its first marketing authorisation is obtained through a teledeclaration procedure (Compl’Alim), with no systematic third-party assessment prior to marketing. The manufacturer remains fully responsible for compliance.⁴

A medical device, on the other hand, belongs to the field of health products. It is intended formedical purposes, such as preventing, diagnosing, treating or alleviating a disease or injury, but its principal mode of action is not pharmacological: it is mechanical or physical (forming a protective film, lubricating, adsorbing, creating an anti-reflux barrier, etc.).⁵ Its claims are medical claims and must be fully consistent with the intended use. In terms of evidence, the rule is clear: a clinical evaluation is required, proportionate to the device’s risk category (see box below).^{6 7}

Marketing is achieved by obtaining CE marking, following a conformity assessment by a Notified Body (for the majority of medical devices, except most Class I devices, where self-certification is sufficient). This marking, which is valid throughout Europe, is a guarantee of the product’s safety and clinical performance, allowing the use of medical claims strictly related to the intended purpose.

These regulatory frameworks position the two categories differently but in a way which is complementary: medical devices provide enhanced clinical reassurance and claims more directly focused on symptom relief, while the food supplements are focused on physiology and prevention.

This complementarity is also reflected in the possibility of grouping medical devices and food supplements under a single umbrella brand, offering consumers a common reference point, provided that the claims and presentations are clearly distinguished to avoid any regulatory confusion or misleading communication.

Scientific reassurance and proven efficacy: the strengths of medical devices

In the world of over-the-counter health products, consumers are primarily driven by the effectiveness promised by the brand and express a clear need for guidance when making their choices. According to Synadiet, 81% of consumers state that the product’s claims are their first selection criterion.⁸ A European-wide survey conducted by Ipsos 2022 even reveals that 81% of Europeans consider it essential to receive a recommendation from a trusted source — doctor, pharmacist, family, friends or even the internet — and that nearly half of non-consumers would consider purchasing a product if it were recommended by a healthcare professional.⁹

In this context, the transparency of claims and the reassurance they provide play a decisive role.

Example with Humer Pharyngite, a medical device marketed by the Urgo Group¹⁰: the product’s clinical support is highlighted by strong claims such as reducing pain and inflammation. There is also a clear desire to offer a solution combining the scientific robustness of a medical device with naturalness: “A formula that draws its strength from the synergy between science and nature.”

A medical device can make genuine medical claims, supported by a clinical data required when they are marketed. This scientific and regulatory validation reassures consumers who are increasingly seeking proof of efficacy and safety.

Prevention and traditional use in selfcare: the benefits of food supplements

Food supplements, on the other hand, meet strong expectations in terms of prevention and staying in good health: seasonal immunity, digestive comfort, stress management, or skin beauty, among other things. Their value lies in the diversity of ingredients they offer: vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, but also plants whose traditional use benefits from long-standing experience. Whereas the medical device acts directly on symptoms, food supplements generally act at an earlier stage, helping to limit the onset of disorders. They can fulfil its primary function of creating an environment conducive to long-term well-being, but also take over afterwards, facilitating recovery following a symptomatic episode.

Supplements and devices: useful differences and strong synergies supporting selfcare

The example of GaviDigest perfectly illustrates the specific positioning of medical devices within the digestion sector. Developed by Reckitt Benckiser, this selfcare product designed to combat flatulence and bloating claims rapid efficacy within two hours, based on TransiProtect® technology.¹¹ This technology forms a protective layer on the intestinal walls, providing a mechanical action that soothes, strengthens and restores to limit the recurrence of symptoms. The formula, composed of tamarind seeds and pea proteins, is supported by clinical validation.

Based on the same indication, the 5-Day Reset food supplement from the digital brand Dijo makes claims such as “helps reduce bloating”.¹² Its claimed efficacy is based not on a mechanical action, but on the use of ingredients traditionally recognised for promoting good intestinal transit, notably caraway and fennel, combined with carbo activated charcoal.

In the weight management sector, a medical device based on adsorbent fibres targets the reduction of lipid and carbohydrate intake through a physical effect, while a food supplement addresses nutritional and metabolic balance. An example can be seen with the two complementary solutions by Pomeol¹³: the Acti Ball® Fat Binder (a medical device composed of plant fibres) and the Super Metabolism food supplement (containing vitamins B2 and B6, dandelion, and chromium).

Same indication, different promises, complementary benefits.

Let’s build together the selfcare range that will make a difference

In a booming selfcare market, the success of a brand depends on the consistency and relevance of its product range strategy. Food supplements and medical devices are not in opposition: they complement one another and each in their own way, offer solutions in line with consumer expectations.

The key challenge lies in defining the most relevant combination according to the product range’s target and positioning. It is precisely in this strategic reflection that BOTANIBRANDS intervenes, bringing its dual expertise in food supplements and medical devices.

We support brands at every stage to:

Define the optimal product range strategy based on market positioning and target expectations.
Provide medical devices for in-licensing, turnkey solutions for rapid market access.
Conduct technical and regulatory due diligence of medical devices to secure their integration into a brand portfolio and their market release.

Would you like to transform your ideas into high-performing selfcare solutions?

Contact us today!

Focus on oral medical device classes (EU)

General principle: classification (I to III) depends on the level of risk. The higher the risk, the greater the clinical and regulatory requirements prior to CE marking.
Class I: low risk, such as non-invasive devices with local mechanical action.
Examples: dental accessories (mouthguards, protectors), classic dressings.
Class IIa: moderate potential risk, such as invasive devices for temporary (<60 min) or short-term use (<30 days).
Examples: film-forming throat sprays or lozenges for irritated throats, oral gels for mouth ulcers or dryness, cough syrups, or intestinal wall protective films (e.g. GaviDigest) intended for the treatment of intestinal disorders.
Class IIb: significant potential risk, such as invasive devices for long-term use (>30 days) or those that locally interact with the digestive function.
Examples: fat- or fibre-binding devices for the treatment of obesity, preparations containing kaolin or diosmectite for the treatment of diarrhoea.
Class III: high risk, such as implantable devices or long-term invasive devices depending on the part of the body concerned (heart, central nervous system, etc.), or those with a biological effect and devices incorporating a substance similar to a medicinal product — rarer, as they are often reclassified as medicines. These are subject to the strictest controls. Examples: cardiac implants, antibiotic-loaded bone cements, or intrauterine devices (IUDs) containing medicinal substances such as copper or silver.

Sources :

Baromètre NèreS 2024, Les pharmacies au cœur des évolutions de la santé de proximité.
Directive 2002/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 June 2002 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to food supplements
Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods
TeleIcare : déclaration en ligne de mise sur le marché d’un complément alimentaire https://entreprendre.service-public.fr/vosdroits/R44574
Regulation (EU) 2017/745 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2017 on medical devices, amending Directive 2001/83/EC, Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 and Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 and repealing Council Directives 90/385/EEC and 93/42/EEC (Text with EEA relevance. )
MDR – Article 61 – Clinical evaluation
MDR – Article 7 – Claims
Baromètre 2024 de la consommation des compléments alimentaires en France, Toluna, Harris et Synadiet
Consumer survey on food supplement in Europe – 2022 Ipsos
https://humer-lagamme.fr/solutions/traitement-et-soin/gorge/humer-pharyngite/
https://www.gavidigest.fr/nos-produits/flatulences-ballonnements/
https://www.dijo.fr/products/5-day-reset
https://pomeol.fr