With demand for dietary supplements at an all-time high, the ‘gummiceutical’ manufacturer said now is the time to make moves.
To help with this expansion, Topgum announced they secured an investment from Tel Aviv, Israel-based AP Partners Fund, in November. The company said the funding will accelerate growth, expand production capacity, R&D and marketing activities to North America and Europe in 2021.
Now that they’re here, TopGum will have a new set of hurdles to overcome.
“Our biggest challenge is how to standout and assure the local customers that we have a unique offer, better service, high quality, and a quick response. And of course the distance (logistic) from the US market,” said Amichai Bar-Nir, TopGum CEO. “To overcome these challenges we nominated Chris Lamb and Jennifer Toomey who specialize in the US supplement market and can build trust with our customers.”
All-star team
Indeed, the company recruited the high-profile dietary supplement industry leaders to head business development for the venture and bring TopGum into the growing US supplement market.
Christopher Lamb joins the new subsidiary as VP of sales and will lead its go-to-market activities. Lamb has extensive experience in business development and sales leadership in the nutritional food, pharma, and supplement space.
"TopGum has a unique IP that is poised to meet the needs of the functional gummies landscape," said Lamb. "The TopGum team is embarking on an important new journey to deliver innovative solutions to a rapidly growing market segment."
Jennifer Toomey was named the Director of New Product Development and will head the R&D force in the US. Toomey will play a key role in driving new product development and supporting future launches to bring new innovations to market. She brings 20 years of experience working in dietary supplement product development leveraging her training in nutrition to formulate some of the industry's leading products.
"It's exciting to be a part of a professional team that's bringing something truly unique to the supplement marketplace," said Toomey. "TopGum's gummies can make a large impact on the way functional ingredients are made available to the consumer."
"We are happy to expand the TopGum family with top industry leaders who bring an in-depth knowledge of this sector and a genuine appreciation for the added value TopGum brings to the market,” said Bar-Nir.
Market
According to Innova Market Insights, gummy supplement launches increased by 33% average annual growth in the US from 2015 through 2019. The top health positionings in the US include immune, skin, bone and mood health. The top 5 subcategories of gummy supplements in the US are vitamins/minerals, probiotics, botanical supplements, hair, skin & nails and women specialty. Over a half of the gummy supplements in the US are vitamins/minerals. Most sources place annual global gummy supplement sales at $5-6 billion, with North America accounting for nearly half.
"The US is a strategic market for us, as it has a well-established gummy supplement market that is open to innovation and expansion," explained Bar-Nir.
TopGum began operations in 2004, and within a few years became a leading gummy confectionery producer. In 2018, TopGum leveraged its extensive experience and expertise in formulation to launch its functional gummy supplements portfolio, offering an attractive medium for integrating a comprehensive variety of healthful ingredients.
Bar-Nir credits TopGum’s confectionary background as key in overcoming the many challenges that come along with developing and manufacturing gummies.