The Technical Day “From Plant to Dietary Supplements,” held on October 9 in Nice, France, at Parc Phœnix and organized by the Innov’Alliance innovation cluster, brought together more than 120 key players in the Natural Products sector around a central theme:
💊 “Naturalness and Health at the Heart of Attractiveness: A Duo for Sustainable Economic Development.”
Opened by Nicolas Cappelaere (President of SYNADIET, the French National Union of Food Supplements), Jean-François Gonidec (President of Innov’Alliance), and Bertrand Sourisseau (Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis), the event highlighted the strategic role of dietary supplements in both the regional and national economy — at the crossroads of health, science, and plant-based innovation.
🔬 A Future-Facing Industry: Where Science Meets Naturalness
Set to become France’s first mission-driven sector by 2025, the nutraceutical industry is emerging as a pillar of sustainable health, with 16,000 jobs and €2.7 billion in turnover.
Its ambition: to combine sustainable agriculture, plant-based resources, and scientific innovation to address new challenges in prevention and well-being.
Scientific evidence is becoming the cornerstone of trust: the stronger the research, the more legitimacy products gain among healthcare professionals and consumers alike.
The industry calls for stronger collaboration between researchers, manufacturers, and practitioners to accelerate knowledge sharing and ensure the measurable efficacy of products.
⚖️ Regulation and Communication: Finding the Right Balance
Speakers highlighted the constraints of the French regulatory framework, particularly regarding health claims, which are often seen as a barrier to scientific recognition.
Political support is considered essential to enable transparent, science-based communication — without venturing into the pharmaceutical domain.
The challenge: to maintain a balance between rigor, safety, and international competitiveness, thereby preserving Europe’s leadership in natural health.
👥 Educate, Train, and Engage Citizens
For industry stakeholders, preventive health must become a civic reflex. Training doctors, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals in the specifics of nutraceuticals is vital to ensure informed guidance.
Dialogue with consumer associations strengthens transparency, while media and influencers play a key role in spreading reliable, science-based information to the public.
♻️ Measuring Impact: The Example of the Green Impact Index
Presented during the event, the Green Impact Index, developed by Pierre Fabre Laboratories and standardized under AFNOR SPEC 2215, embodies this commitment to transparency.
This clear scoring system, from A to E, assesses:
- 80% environmental impact (formula, manufacturing, packaging, transport, end of life)
- 20% social impact (production conditions, ethics, local engagement).
Supported by a collective of committed brands — Arkopharma, NHCO Nutrition, Léa Nature, Havea, Aroma-Zone, Biocodex, Decathlon, and others — the index aims to prepare the industry for future European regulations and provide consumers with clear, reliable information.
The event also showcased the first results of the Biotech4Food project at the Innov’Alliance booth. Through rich and informal discussions, participants explored the key role of biotechnology in the industry’s evolution.
Advances in fermentation, advanced extraction, and microbiome research are paving the way for the discovery of new active compounds and the design of more sustainable, safe, and personalized supplements. These technologies act as true research accelerators and drivers of competitiveness, representing a strategic asset for the entire sector.
However, European regulations on “Novel Foods” remain a major obstacle to their deployment — underscoring the need for a more agile and innovation-friendly framework.
Conclusion
This Technical Day underscored a shared conviction:
The French nutraceutical sector is a force for innovation and sustainability, built on the synergy of science, naturalness, and responsibility. Its future depends on our collective ability to evolve regulations, measure impact, and build scientific trust — for a more sustainable, life-centered approach to health.
Need to know more about the Technical day and its participants?
Contact Sara Botti, European projects manager at Innov’Alliancesara.botti@pole-innovalliance.com
