Ourvita recruits new CEO to drive international expansion
Philouze has over two decades experience in the life science sector and 15 years in the health ingredients space, working for Gnosis by Lesaffre, QualiTech, DianaPlant Sciences and Pfizer, to name a few.
He takes over the CEO role from Sagi Cohen, who has served in the position since 2023 and will now become group Executive Chairman.
The industry veteran joins at crucial time for the firm after it rebranded from Procemsa Group just two months ago to better reflect its newly expanded portfolio of products and services.
"I am honored to take on the role of Group CEO at such a pivotal time for Ourvita," said Philouze. "We started acquiring other players to offer the full range of options to customers and needed a new name to reflect the unity of the collaboration of companies.
"I’m excited to take the lead in scaling up the business continuing to buy companies in Europe, Asia and the U.S. to establish it as a global player."
The contract development and manufacturing organization, founded in 1939, is well-established in the fields of nutrition, cosmetics, probiotics and medical devices and is currently poised to launch several new offerings in supplement forms, medical devices and cosmetic and pet cosmetic lines, several of which it will showcase during Vitafoods in Geneva from May 14 to 16.
"There are two elements of business we really push: innovation, with manufacturing facilities and technologies which help us stand out in the market; and sustainability, as Procemsa was recognized with an Ecovadis Gold award in 2022 and 2023, and the company is in the final steps to becoming a B-Corp," Philouze added. "All the companies we buy we ensure to raise to that same level."
Companies recently acquired include: OFI, an Italian pharmaceuticals firm founded in 1946; Aakamp, a 15-year-old German D2C supplements producer, giving the firm greater access to the agile D2C sales channel; and Master Pharm, a Polish CDMO founded in 2002 providing access to innovative new formats such as micropellets in transparent capsules.
With eight manufacturing facilities, 17 patents and more than 5,000 different product SKUs manufactured annually, Ourvita now services all of Europe, the U.S. and parts of Asia, with a mission to “delight consumers with novel and healthy products."
Speaking about how this new role will differ from his prior experiences, Philouze said he was looking forward to delving into the world of format innovation.
"It’s interesting coming from the ingredients space, now being able to innovate in formats, making these ingredients more appealing to the consumer," he said. "The momentum is around consumer experience so it’s about flavors and ease of consumption—that’s what’s behind the success of gummies in recent years, with the younger consumer and in the U.S. especially."
Philouze also note that format preferences vary greatly across demographics and geographies.
"For example, in Asia you are dealing with higher temperatures, making certain formats more complex," he said. "We have probiotics in chocolate which is a great format, but it won’t work in an area of high temperatures and humidity.
"There seems to be a greater emphasis on the consumption experience in the U.S. Whereas in some countries such as Italy, where there is a strong history of pharma and dietary supplement consumption, if the consumer buys a supplement, they are not buying it for the experience, they are buying it because it works."
