Based in Anjou, France, Alexia Lepont started Botanical ID in January this year with the aim, she says, of widening market access for botanical extract players globally, of reducing the time to commercialization of their products.
As head of quality and regulatory affairs at French plant extracts producer, Nor-Feed, for 15 years, she was responsible for securing the first EU registration of a botanical additive as a sensory additive for use in animal nutrition – Nor Feed’s dry grape extract, which the EU Commission approved back in 2017.
Lepont also flagged her experience in the design and drafting of documentation for the substantiation of claims in animal nutrition.
“I understand all aspects of the botanical extract manufacture: the link between marketing, production, R&D, and the commercial world, but I have particular expertise in regulatory affairs.
“Plant extracts are not always well defined and I have a good understanding of how to present such products to get them approved, about what the requirements are of the regulatory agencies, and how to best interpret the guidelines.”
As well as advising European plant extract companies on EU feed additive market access strategy, Lepont can support them in exporting botanical products to new territories, to markets outside of the EU. “And likewise for US or South American and Asian companies looking to access the EU market, my customer base is global.”
The market is growing, she said. There is a lot of demand for botanical solutions as alternatives to antibiotics in animal production, for oxidative stress reduction, to boost gut health, and to help optimize meat and milk output.
