Relief in the general management of Laboratorios Ordesa, a reference company in the infant feeding business thanks to the Blemil and Blevit brands, sold in the pharmaceutical channel. Anna Ferret Piñol has been appointed director of the Catalan family group with the mission of developing a new strategic growth plan for the period 2021-2024 based on internationalization and diversification into new business areas. This plan will bet on both organic growth in the nutrition, health and wellness market, and inorganic growth, that is, it will evaluate the opportunity to grow through the acquisition of companies, mainly in the field of food supplements.
Although she has a degree in Information Sciences and has completed a PDD at IESE, Ferret has not worked in any publishing group, but has forged her professional career in companies in the mass consumption sector, such as Danone, Henkel and Bimbo. In 2009, she came into contact with the infant nutrition business when she was hired as general manager for Spain and Portugal of Mead Johnson, the multinational owner of the Enfamil baby milk brand. Mead Johnson is part of the health division of the giant Reckitt Benckiser, an area that includes other brands sold in pharmacies such as Strepsils, Nurofen, Gaviscon, Durex, Clearasil, Veet and Scholl. In the last two years, Ferret has been the general manager of this division, Reckitt Benckisser Health, in Portugal.
Now she joins Laboratorios Ordesa, a group owned by the Ventura family, with a plant in Sant Boi de Llobregat and with more than 75 years of history. In 2020, the company had a turnover of around 130 million euros, but the group's new strategic plan foresees reaching 215 million in 2025, a figure that would imply growth of more than 60%. Currently, half of the income already comes from the foreign market, where the emphasis is now to be placed.
The low birth rate and the consequent decline in the consumption of baby food and infant milk have forced Ordesa to seek growth through diversification. Thus, in recent years, the company has entered the business of food supplements for adults, with the brands Donna Plus (to improve women's well-being), FontActiv (nutritional supplements), and Colnatur (products rich in natural collagen for bones and joints). The group has also entered the market for specialized nutrition for the elderly with Laboratorios Grand Fontaine and has a division dedicated to selling ingredients to other companies in the food sector.
Anna Ferret will replace Dr. Joan Permanyer in the day-to-day operations of the company, a veteran executive who took office in 2014 after a long career at the former Nutrexpa. Permanyer was appointed president and CEO of Laboratorios Ordesa exactly one year ago, replacing the owner, Josep Maria Ventura Ferrero, who became honorary president. Now, with Ferret's incorporation, he will focus on his duties leading the board of directors, which has also just been strengthened with two new additions.
Thus, two people linked to the pharmaceutical sector, Javier Altemir and Montse Martí, have been appointed directors of the group. In addition to Permanyer, as external professionals to the members of the third generation of the family ---the Ventura Arasanz siblings--- Fernando Casado (former director of the Family Business Institute), Carlos Rovira, and María Teresa Bassons are also part of the board.
In the past, Ordesa was part of Nutrexpa, a group that no longer exists and whose businesses are now encompassed in three differentiated companies owned by different branches of the founding family. These are Laboratorios Ordesa, in the hands of Josep Maria Ventura Ferrero; Adam Foods (Aneto, Cuétara, Artiach, La Piara, and Panrico), owned by his brother, Javier Ventura Ferrero; and Idilia Foods (Cola Cao and Nocilla), whose capital is distributed among the Ferrero Jordi siblings.