Practitioner-only brand Designs for Health preparing for Australia launch with aggressive NPD and new tech focus

15-Oct-2018 - Last updated on 15-Oct-2018 at 01:30 GMT

Designs for Health Australia MD Peter Barraket.

US-headquartered practitioner-only brand Designs for Health is gearing up for its official launch in Australia, with former Blackmores, Vitaco and Mr Vitamins exec Peter Barraket at the helm.

The firm has recently held some ‘soft launch’ breakfast events with the major unveiling set for early December.

Speaking to NutraIngredients-Asia, Barraket said the firm would launch with a portfolio of 22 products, largely focusing on digestive, musculoskeletal and cardiovascular health.

“After this we are planning on having a very aggressive NPD pipeline as the US business has a large pool of products to choose from,” he said.

“But we do have to temper this with the fact that all products are being made in Australia, so many of the US formulations will need adjusting,” he added.

Designs for Health was formed in the US by Jonathan and Linda Lizotte in 1989.

Earlier this year it appointed Nathan Cheong, the former boss of FIT-Bioceuticals – the practitioner-only and retail firm owned by Blackmores – as managing director, based in Florida.

New appointments

Over the past several months, Barraket added he had been building up his Australia-based team.

He has appointed Linda Dal Molin, a former BioCeuticals naturopath and nutritionist as head of sales and education, and ex-manager of Discount Vitamins Lea McIntyre to oversee customer service and technical support.

Meanwhile former Blackmores operations director Stephen Vile has taken up the same role with Designs for Health Australia.

Kelly Xuereb and Lynette Thorvardson have been appointed as health educators for New South Wales and Victoria respectively, with Rachel Phillips taking up the same role for Queensland. The trio have extensive experience across well-known supplement brands.

In terms of the channel strategy, Barraket said the focus would be on helping practitioners attract, and crucially retain, customers.

“We will be practitioner only - without leakage to the mass market. However, we will work with a pragmatic selection of integrative pharmacies and retailers which have practitioner clinics attached, mainly for prescription refilling.

“We also see the opportunity to become market leaders with new technology and will roll-out a patient ordering system online. This will allow practitioners to participate in the profit pool, and will reduce leakage to retail.”

The website www.designsforhealth.com.au is now online for practitioners to register their interest, with a social media campaign set to start this week.

Barraket added: “I think this is a fantastic opportunity for us. We believe there is strong demand for a practitioner-only brand, with high-quality Australian-made products, that can work alongside health professionals to help grow their businesses by delivering excellent customer service and advice.”