Renaissance of the classics. Listings reactivated.

A venture-capital-backed pharma group radically changed its strategy for a portfolio of well-known German heritage brands. After years in "harvesting mode", the company reversed course. The new directive: revive the existing brands, immediately.

The operational hurdle lay in the nature of the listings. The products were technically listed in the pharmacy cooperations, but in practice they behaved like dead files. With no sales pressure for years, these brands gathered dust in the systems instead of being actively presented over the counter.

To create the required momentum, we deliberately left the classic pharma environment for our search. We focused specifically on candidates from the FMCG and cosmetics sector. In consumer goods, after all, you sell not primarily through data, but through emotion and strong impulse.

The task was to translate the marketing strategy into the sales conversation at the point of sale, emotionally and with impact. The real challenge was to find a manager who brings this sales drive while at the same time commanding the strict regulatory guardrails of the pharma market.

We won an accomplished leader with a hybrid profile of corporate experience and an FMCG mindset for our client. The business impact was measurable. Dormant distribution was reactivated. The field force used the existing listings as leverage to make the heritage brands visible again.

Sales rose double digits as the products moved back into the visible shelf through targeted campaigns. Pharmacy teams' awareness of these classics was strengthened for the long term.