Key Concepts
- Opella: A global leader in consumer healthcare, spun off from Sanofi, focused on self-care.
- Self-Care: Personal decisions and actions to maintain health, often without direct healthcare professional (HCP) intervention, preceding prevention and treatment.
- OTC (Over-The-Counter) Drugs: Medications safe enough for self-selection or recommendation by pharmacists, distinct from prescription drugs.
- B Corp Certification: A designation for companies meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency on factors from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and input materials.
- SBTI (Science Based Targets initiative): A global initiative that helps companies set ambitious emissions reduction targets in line with the latest climate science.
- Net Zero 2050 Commitment: A pledge to achieve a balance between the amount of greenhouse gas produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere by 2050.
- Fast-Moving Consumer Health Company: Opella's mission to be agile and responsive in providing healthcare solutions globally.
- Science-Backed Brands: Products supported by solid proof, clinical research, and R&D, distinguishing them from "nonsense-backed" alternatives.
- Empowerment & Accountability: A leadership philosophy fostering growth by allowing mistakes within a supportive framework, coupled with responsibility.
Introduction to Vietnam Innovators Podcast & Opella
The summary begins with an episode of the Vietnam Innovators Podcast, hosted by Hal, marking its 367th episode over approximately six years. The guest is Valentina Belchiva, Country Head of Opella, Vietnam, notable as the first Bulgarian and the first official representative of Opella on the show. Opella is a proud partner of the podcast.
Opella: A New Era in Consumer Healthcare
Opella is introduced as a "self-care challenger" and the third-largest global portfolio in OTC vitamins, minerals, and supplements. It was officially born in May 2025 as an independent company, carrying forward decades of heritage from its former parent company, Sanofi. Opella's core mission is "to put health in people's hands by making self-care as simple as it should be," and to be "the fast-moving consumer health company in and for the world."
The company is the first global consumer healthcare company to achieve B Corp certification, underscoring its commitment to healthier people and a healthier planet. Opella's products have been trusted in Vietnam for over 70 years, supporting families in areas like gut health, bone health, and personal care. Vietnam is a strategic market for Opella, boasting nationwide commercial operations, a state-of-the-art manufacturing site, and the only Opella R&D center in Asia (one of four worldwide).
The distinction from Sanofi is crucial: while Sanofi was a diversified healthcare business (including vaccines and consumer healthcare), Opella is uniquely focused on consumer healthcare, aiming for a laser-focused, direct-to-consumer approach for day-to-day health opportunities. This spin-off reflects a market trend to separate bio-pharma from consumer healthcare, allowing for distinct operational rules.
Valentina Belchiva's Journey and Philosophy
Valentina Belchiva shares her personal journey, spanning two decades in the pharma and consumer health business across Europe and now Asia. Her passion for healthcare began at age 12, leading her to pursue a Master of Pharmacy, a PhD in Medical Science, and four specializations in various pharmacy fields, alongside an MBA. She views her career as a "marathon," deeply connected to the pharmaceutical industry.
She clarifies the often-misunderstood relationship between pharma and consumer healthcare, stating that a high percentage of Opella's portfolio consists of drugs. The key difference lies between prescription drugs and OTC drugs: while both are licensed pharmaceuticals, OTCs are "safe enough to be recommended or just self-selected from the shelf." As a pharmacist, Valentina emphasizes the critical role of pharmacists as key Healthcare Professionals (HCPs) in Opella's ecosystem, leveraging her own experience behind the counter.
Her move to Vietnam was unexpected, a "wow" moment that promised to "stretch me further" and "take me out of the comfort zone." She was drawn by Vietnam's "high-speed economic tiger of Asia" and the "emerging markets fame," feeling the country's dynamism from day one. She realized that perceived differences between Europe and Asia were "highly overexaggerated."
The Core Mission: Making Self-Care Simple
Opella's mission to make self-care "as simple as it should be" stems from the need for distinct operating rules, unlike the broad regulations under Sanofi that covered both rare disease drugs and common consumer health products. The simplicity is symbolized by the dot at the end of the Opella logo, signifying straightforwardness and ease of access to healthcare solutions. Opella aims to "literally serve everyone" who experiences common ailments like gut issues, coughs, or colds, emphasizing fast access and solutions.
The mission "in and for the world" has two dimensions:
- "In the world": Focuses on business metrics like growth, market share, and competitive performance.
- "For the world": Emphasizes purpose and societal contribution, including CSR activities (e.g., with children and schools) and promoting basic self-care awareness. Sustainability is a core focus, integrating Opella's purpose for society, the environment, and local needs.
Valentina distinguishes between self-care, prevention, and treatment, a concept Opella actively works to establish in Vietnam through partnerships with the Health Strategy and Policy Institute under the Ministry of Health.
- Self-care: A personal decision, non-HCP driven, focused on maintaining health to prevent deterioration. Pharmacists can advise. It's a step before prevention.
- Prevention: Involves direct contact with an HCP, often triggered by early signs of disease (e.g., high cholesterol, elevated blood sugar) before full illness.
- Treatment: Occurs when a disease is already present. Opella's role is to build strong self-care practices to postpone the need for treatment, extending beyond just healthy eating and exercise to include regulated consumer healthcare products like daily supplements (e.g., Pharmaton).
Driving Self-Care Through Education and Trust
Opella takes ownership of awareness and education regarding self-care, recognizing that HCPs are often too busy with treatment. Their strategy involves educating pharmacists and doctors, who then disseminate this knowledge to the broader Vietnamese population. Since 2022, Opella has educated over 20,000 doctors and pharmacists through dedicated platforms.
The discussion highlights the critical importance of quality and value in health supplements, especially given public skepticism due to past scandals. Valentina stresses that "every word we say in front of the consumer... is really connected with a solid proof," backed by clinical research. This "science connection" is deeply embedded in Opella's pharmaceutical DNA and regulatory compliance, distinguishing its "science-backed" products from "nonsense-backed" alternatives. The Opella factory in District 9 (High-Tech Park) is open for visits, showcasing its "highest standards and technologies."
Vietnam's Strategic Role in Opella's Global Vision
Vietnam holds a unique and strategic position on Opella's global roadmap. It is one of only four global locations that house a complete 360-degree operation, encompassing commercial activities, a manufacturing site, and an R&D center. Crucially, it is the single such hub in Asia, serving not only Vietnam but also the wider Asian region and even Australia.
This strategic focus on Vietnam is attributed to the country's high development trend, large population, and a pool of highly educated individuals capable of staffing the R&D center. The R&D center in Vietnam is noted as one of the most productive, contributing to global projects, including those for the US market. Valentina's ambition is to further develop Opella Vietnam into a comprehensive "hub," rather than just a manufacturing or R&D site.
Commitment to Sustainability and Social Impact
Opella is the first global consumer healthcare company to achieve B Corp certification, a testament to its commitment to people and the planet. Beyond B Corp, Opella was further certified by SBTI (Science Based Targets initiative), officially signing up for a Net Zero 2050 commitment.
In Vietnam, Opella's manufacturing site demonstrates significant sustainability achievements:
- Since 2023, it has used 100% renewable energy.
- Also since 2023, it has achieved landfill-zero waste.
- The site implements reusable wastewater projects, collecting rainwater for its processes.
B Corp certification extends beyond environmental impact to encompass sustainable relationships with employees and customers, requiring continuous compliance to maintain the status. Opella plans to make the B Corp logo visible on its product packaging to raise awareness among Vietnamese consumers about the significance of certified products.
A notable example of Opella's purpose in action is the School Hygiene Project in Guangji, a four-year initiative in partnership with "Hope for Nation." This project focuses on providing access to clean water and toilets for vulnerable minority schools. Over the past four years, approximately 30,000 children have benefited. This project is directly linked to promoting gut health (e.g., through the Enterogermina brand), as lack of proper hand hygiene is a major cause of diarrhea, which can be a significant cause of death. The project aims to allow children to focus on education, improve teacher effectiveness, and enhance the overall well-being of families in these regions.
Leadership and Nurturing Talent in a Dynamic Market
Valentina observes that Vietnamese talent possesses a "very distinguished advantage" due to their adaptability and high pace, making Vietnam an "extremely nice soil for nurturing talents." She believes that what these talents need most is the security and empowerment to develop their ideas.
Her leadership philosophy is encapsulated in a powerful statement: "If we fail, it's not we, it's me. I take the responsibility of this. You're absolutely free to do your mistakes because I'm here to protect you from these mistakes and doing some mistakes is part of the growth opportunity." She emphasizes that while empowerment is crucial, it must be coupled with accountability for leaders to grow. This approach has allowed her to feel deeply connected and immersed in the Vietnamese team's culture, fostering a beneficial exchange of her international experience with their local knowledge.
Conclusion & Future Curiosity
The discussion concludes with Valentina's personal curiosity, which she poses as a question for a future podcast guest: "How Vietnam managed to continue this very high-paced growth?" She is particularly interested in identifying the "secret formula" or "sustainable factor behind this solid GDP growth in the past years," noting that many parts of the world could benefit from understanding Vietnam's consistent economic dynamism.
Opella's journey in Vietnam is just beginning, with the podcast airing approximately 6-7 months into the company's independent history, marking an exciting new chapter for consumer healthcare in the region.
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