As the largest economy in the world, and with a population of nearly 500 million, the European Union represents an attractive export market for producers of botanical products, whether in the medicinal, cosmetic or food categories.
However, commercializing botanical products and ingredients in the European Union requires compliance with several quality assurance standards, such as GACP and GMP, as well as credible voluntary sustainability standards, such as international standards for ethical trade, Fairtrade, and responsible supply chains.
This, in turn, requires having a solid grasp of your product or ingredient, not just in terms of its trade name, but also in terms of its quality grade, regulatory category, and whether it is traditional or novel. It also involves establishing a high degree of visibility along your supply chain, with a view to determining the economic, environmental and social sustainability issues that impact it.
In this course, we will go through all these issues in turn and equip you with the knowledge necessary to successfully go through the steps necessary to commercialize your own botanical product or ingredient in the European Union.
After completing this course, participants will be able to:
- Position your botanical product in terms of its regulatory category, establish whether it is traditional or novel, and whether it is a product (semi-finished or finished) or an ingredient (raw material, essential oil or extract, derivative or isolate);
- Determine the economic, environmental and social sustainability issues that impact your supply chain, including in terms of the key information and steps involved for GACP and GMP;
- Evaluate the basic regulatory requirements to market food, food supplements, medicines and cosmetics in the European Union; and
- Check your readiness to go to market with your product and prepare for different types of buyer-seller meetings and trade shows.
