Pharmavite builds out women’s health portfolio with Bonafide acquisition

Supplements and pharmaceuticals giant acquires second women's health brand since 2021.

Hank Schultz, Senior Editor

November 30, 2023

3 Min Read
Mergers and acquisitions

At a Glance

  • Pharmavite is filling out its women's health portfolio.
  • Acquisition is second in women's health space in recent years.
  • Move comes as company is ramping up its in house production capacity.

 

Pharmavite announced today it is bolstering its women’s health portfolio with the acquisition of Bonafide Health for $425 million. 

This marks the second major acquisition Pharmavite has made in women’s health this decade. In 2021, the company acquired privately held brand Uquora, which concentrates on women’s urinary health. At the time of the acquisition, Uquora’s run rate was reportedly $25 million

Pharmavite had already offered its own women-focused supplement formula branded as Equelle for menopause symptom relief. The company now adds Bonafide’s products, which include formulas aimed at sexual health, vaginal dryness relief and hair, skin and nails support. 

“We’re thrilled to welcome Bonafide Health to Pharmavite. This acquisition positions us as the nation’s leading women’s health nutraceutical company, signaling a new era of innovation and science-based solutions in this underserved space,” said Jeff Boutelle, CEO of Pharmavite. “Bonafide’s unwavering commitment to research, development and robust scientific evidence mirrors Pharmavite’s rigorous standards, while its deep relationship with healthcare professionals aligns with our goal of ensuring nutrition education is at the forefront of the industry.” 

Co-founder:  Pharmavite appreciates buy-in from healthcare professionals 

Related:Greg Horn’s business of nutrition: Ingredient science and SupplySide West

Michael Satow, CEO of Bonafide Health who helped found the brand in 2017, said Pharmavite was the right partner because of its appreciation of the model the company had built, which rests upon outreach to health care providers. 

“Pharmavite deeply understands the importance of the model we’ve built, from the rigorous scientific data that underpins our products, to the power of the work we do with the doctors and other health care providers who are having conversations with women across the country looking for better solutions,” he said.  

“We’ve been looking for the right partner to grow the business and reach more women that need support. Pharmavite is that partner,” he added. 

Bonafide claims its products are supported by recommendations from more than 14,000 health care professionals. Those are voluntary endorsements, the company maintains. 

Pharmavite is a subsidiary of Japanese firm Otsuka Pharmaceutical. According to the company’s 2022 financial statement, the nutraceuticals sector was the company’s single largest line of business, running slightly ahead of revenue from some of the company’s individual drug products and bringing in more cash than the company’s functional food sector. In 2022, the company recorded more than ¥1.7 trillion (Japanese yen) in revenue. 

Expanded manufacturing capability 

In addition to its expanding women’s health portfolio, Pharmavite is probably best known as the manufacturer of Nature Made vitamins and the MegaFood brand of whole food vitamins and supplements.   

In 2023, Pharmavite broke ground on its fourth production facility. The $200 million, 225,000-square-foot facility in New Albany, Ohio, will concentrate on gummy production. 

 

 

About the Author

Hank Schultz

Senior Editor, Informa

Hank Schultz has been the senior editor of SupplySide Supplement Journal (formerly Natural Products Insider) since early 2023. He can be reached at [email protected]

Prior to joining the Informa team, he was an editor at NutraIngredients-USA, a William Reed Business Media publication.

His approach to industry journalism was formed via a long career in the daily newspaper field. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin with degrees in journalism and German, Hank was an editor at the Tempe Daily News in Arizona. He followed that with a long stint working at the Rocky Mountain News, a now defunct daily newspaper in Denver, where he rose to be one of the city editors. The newspaper won two Pulitzer Prizes during his time there.

The changing landscape of the newspaper industry led him to explore other career paths. He began his career in the natural products industry more than a decade ago at New Hope Natural Media, which was then part of Penton and now is an Informa brand. Hank formed friendships and partnerships within the industry that still inform his work to this day, which helps him to bring an insider’s perspective, tempered with an objective journalist’s sensibility, to his in-depth reporting.

Harkening back to his newspaper days, Hank considers the readers to be the primary stakeholders whose needs must be met. Report the news quickly, comprehensively and above all, fairly, and readership and sponsorships will follow.

In 2015, Hank was recognized by the American Herbal Products Association with a Special Award for Journalistic Excellence.

When he’s not reporting on the supplement industry, Hank enjoys many outside pursuits. Those include long distance bicycle touring, mountain climbing, sailing, kayaking and fishing. Less strenuous pastimes include travel, reading (novels and nonfiction), studying German, noodling on a harmonica, sketching and a daily dose of word puzzles in The New York Times.

Last but far from least, Hank is a lifelong fan and part owner of the Green Bay Packers.

Subscribe for the latest consumer trends, trade news, nutrition science and regulatory updates in the supplement industry!
Join 37,000+ members. Yes, it's completely free.

You May Also Like