RNI Conseil, at the heart of nutraceutical strategies Set up in 2006 by Violaine Chaumont, RNI Conseil is specialized in Nutrition and Health Products Regulatory & Scientific Affairs. A strategic positioning looking to address the major concerns of nutraceutical players, which has led its founder to broadening the field of expertise of her firm year after year. Overview of a journey of becoming inspired by ‘aspiring creativity’. Actif’s Mag: How would you describe the development of their strategy towards health and nutrition. of RNI Conseil over the last 15 years? In fact, we have built up skills and developed a network that Violaine Chaumont: I am firmly convinced that what has allows us to understand the different ‘markets’ that we cover greatly contributed to our “success’ to mine but also to that and the way they develop and operate today and will develop of my colleagues in France, is that we are deeply immersed in and operate tomorrow. a French regulatory culture. This culture, foreign firms find it Actif’s Mag: Thisinvolves knowing how to decode, or difficult to understand and acquire. even how to anticipate, the regulations … This is due to several ‘cultural’ elements. The basis of the Violaine Chaumont: RNI Conseil’s skills in the food sup- French regulations is impregnated with the Consumer Code, plements regulatory sector are a sort of ‘Trojan horse’ which following the example of the Napoleonic Code. A code that helps us understand the reactions of the supervisory authori- has laid the basis for a regulatory framework that I would de- ties. We can adapt our regulatory approach strategies, antici- scribe as ‘layered’ A regulatory expert must juggle, in France, pate the regulatory changes and finetune our clients’ strategy. between several laws. In addition, our regulations tend to- In addition to regulations and their challenges, whether wards a dual approach, with regulations specific to nutrition European or international, we decode and understand the and others specific to pharmaceuticals. various healthcare markets, their players and their That being said, even if the products and food competitive universe, the economic impacts of supplements regulation is complex in France, it any given health policy or regulation. Hence, involves simple marketing procedures. That’s we are able to provide a mapping of both why we have been able to explore other mar- products and regulations. kets. In this sense, RNI Conseil has made proof of perspicacity and flexibility. Actif’s Mag: Practically, what are the We are able to seize all the opportunities added values that you bring to your available to us in Europe. By being up to customers through your specific skills? date with the changes in the legislation across Violaine Chaumont: We have been support- the European Union, we can answer one of the ing investment funds, companies that want to first questions we are asked: ‘What regulatory status achieve external growth or to divest their activities for should my product adopt? . about ten years. Within these transaction procedures, it is es- Unlike the North American experts who tend to think in box- sential to support each other from a regulatory point of view, es: food supplements, nutrition, pharmaceuticals. Or Italy, but also as regards the quality, processes, suppliers, etc. This whose regulatory activities have been ‘taken over’ by law ‘due diligence’ expertise (Editor’s note: to be read as ‘prior firms, which focus more on legal than regulatory aspects. checks’) that we apply allows us to rectify, correct or objectify Our ability to decode “borderline’ products - a concept that the valuation of a company, brand or range. does not make sense for foreign experts - has supported our Regarding our activity of supporting deal closing, we bring strong and steady growth. Because of our customers’ request, our two added values: regulatory expertise and an interna- we had to understand the regulatory status of food supple- tional network. ments, of course - our consulting activity started with them - but also that of medical devices, cosmetics, herbal medicines, Actif’s Mag: The international network, precisely. How is etc. This allows us to provide answers to all the market players RNI Conseil structured? who aim to develop a healthcare portfolio - in the broad sense Violaine Chaumont: Having an international coverage is of the term - that is as insightful as possible from a regulatory very important, if not essential for a firm like ours. Our in- point of view. We are real partners-actors in the deployment ternational deployment was initiated about ten years ago. noitalugeR — noitatnemelgéR- 25 -