Deltha Pharma has moved on: Operates throughout Italy and distributes products to 16 countries worldwide

“We are also associated with AICE for foreign trade and the internationalisation of companies.”

Maria Francesca Aceti, CEO of Deltha Pharma, graduated as a chemical engineer and was 27 years old when she took over Deltha Pharma. Before taking the helm at Deltha, Maria worked on a project involving the production of electric energy through coal gasification at ENEA, a major energy research centre in Italy. She is a superstar who rescued Deltha from bankruptcy and paved the way for the company to move forward.

Deltha Pharma is a pharmaceutical company that develops and markets high-quality food supplements. It specialises in the supplement and nutraceutical field. The company serves clients globally.

Deltha Pharma was founded in 2009 and is based in Rome.

The Silicon Review reached out to Maria Francesca Aceti, and here’s what she had to say.

Interview Highlights

Q. How would you describe your professional journey so far? Tell us about a few roadblocks and learning lessons that helped you grow through the years.

My professional journey has been both challenging and rewarding.

When I took the helm of Deltha Pharma, the company had huge debts; we got evicted from our offices. However, I never lost my heart: I had to take immediate measures to improve how to manage the cash flow. I had to cut unnecessary costs by working around the clock on financial statements and negotiating credits from suppliers as far as I could without it damaging our relationships. Every decision wore me out, but I never thought I wouldn’t make it. With time, the suppliers began to trust me, however, the turnover wasn’t high enough, maybe it was too much for a young girl with so much theory in her head and little practice on her shoulders. My clear vision and mission helped me to go through this journey and the results didn’t wait to come. During these 11 years that I have been leading the company, I made “quality, safety, and efficacy” my motto; I have a young and dynamic team, made up of various figures, engaged in the continuous search for new raw materials and in the development of natural products that guarantee the highest levels of quality, safety, and efficacy, in compliance with firm ethical and moral principles and therefore they are really useful for the well-being of the users.

In 2019, I began working with one of Italy's most prestigious universities, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. Together we formulated a very special probiotic, on which we made some clinical trials at the Policlinico A. Gemelli of Rome, and this product has been patented by the university itself and we have an exclusive marketing license for the whole world.

Moreover, one of the best fields decided to develop is digital marketing and the digitalization of the company. So I joined the world's most important e-commerce platforms, both b2b and b2c, and became one of the best dealers on Amazon and Alibaba.com. In fact, in 2022, Alibaba.com chose me and my company as a case history of success to tell and I was one of the speakers at the SMES Day 2022 of the International Trade Centre.

I am convinced that the world has shrunk, so I concentrated my efforts on non-manufacturing countries and launched numerous digital campaigns in search of international partners. And, since 2018, I have expanded the company's export capabilities. As a result, in 2020, our revenue increased by 30%. Eventually, in 2021, I could buy a new building, that after a long work of restructuration, became our new headquarter. It is a modern and green open space made of glass and resin where one can enjoy working.

Now the company has a strong vocation towards digitization and eco-sustainability; there are 15 products on the list, some market leaders in the reference sector. We are present throughout the national territory, serving more than a thousand pharmaceutical wholesalers, cooperatives, and pharmacies, and distribute products in 16 countries worldwide. We are also associated with AICE for foreign trade and the internationalisation of companies. The company also works to the highest standards of quality and hygiene: in 2022 we got ISO 9001 certifications for quality and ISO 14001 for environmental sustainability.

Furthermore, in September 2022, we were listed in the Italian ‘Campioni di crescita’ for revenue growth.

Q. As the CEO of the company, what are your major roles and responsibilities?

As CEO, you must not only manage and run the business, but you must also set personal goals. This will keep your ambitions high and your team motivated. I listen to the ideas of my employees, collaborate with them, and work together toward a common goal. A flourishing work culture, in my opinion, influences all aspects of a business and its employees. As I said, one of the most important factors I consider is the balance of work and personal life; what matters is the happiness of my employees, which I achieve by respecting their lives as a whole.

For this reason, our offices close at 4.40 pm so that all employees, including myself, can spend time with our families. Anyway, children are welcome in our headquarters; I know all of my employees' children because they occasionally come to work with their parents. We truly feel like a big family, and my daughter enjoys visiting my office with me. I care about my employees and we implement a system of welfare which includes medical insurance as well.

Q. What can you tell us about Deltha Pharma? What are its focus areas?

Deltha Pharma was founded in Rome in 2009, in response to the growing interest of doctors and pharmacists in the supplement and nutraceutical fields. My father, a doctor, had invested in Deltha, which had seven products on the market when it went bankrupt. Despite the fact that the old CEO had given up, I decided to try to save it in to minimise my father's losses. As a result, I was able to restructure my debts while also developing new products and a sophisticated sales network.

Q. Can you introduce us to your products? What are their key features?

The strength of our products lays in natural and cutting-edge raw material, such as nanoparticles technology, plant stem cells, and branded raw materials. By providing the best products on the market, we hope to improve and extend people's lives. Only one in ten adults consumes the amount of fruit and vegetables recommended by the guidelines, and it is scientifically proven that supplementing our diet could prevent many diseases. Thus I would like to spread the message that a quality supplement can help you improve your health and life. In fact, our products contain a high dosage of active ingredients, ensuring that the customer who purchases them receives adequate vitamin intake. In 2022, we got the certifications for ISO 9001:2015 for the quality and ISO 14001 for the environment and sustainability. Simply put, we guarantee high standards and hygiene to our customers.

Next year, we plan to expand our product portfolio by offering our customers a new type of food supplement, gummies, so that any type of customer, from children to adults, will be more interested in taking supplements. Our second goal is to raise consumer awareness about the importance of taking supplements to stay healthy and prevent disease.

Q. How do you see Deltha Pharma changing in five years, and how do you see yourself creating that change?

Many things have changed in the last few years, especially since the outbreak of Covid-19. There is a lot of interest in staying healthy, and the greatest challenge is not to extend life, but to expand it. As I already mentioned, only one in ten adults consumes the amount of fruit and vegetables recommended by the guidelines, and it is scientifically proven that supplementing our diet could prevent many diseases, so I would really like to spread the message that a quality supplement can help you improve your health and life.

Moreover, my macro areas of interest are digitization, eco-sustainability, and export. And I recently decided to apply for ESG certification; in fact, we are dedicated to achieving fully sustainable management. This path is based on complete commitment and transparency to implement an environmental sustainability strategy that covers all aspects of the company's operations. In fact, I have been actively working on the digitization of all company departments, from warehouse and logistics operations to administration; from sales network management to marketing campaigns — by interfacing different ERPs, CRM, and marketing automation software with each other and with government databases using blockchain technology.

In the coming months, I intend to launch a new product, ‘Epatoril Pro’, as well as a new line of gummies for women and children, dubbed ‘Penelope’ after my daughter.

“Our products contain a high dosage of active ingredients, ensuring that the customer who purchases them receives adequate vitamin intake.”

“The strength of our products lays in natural and cutting-edge raw material, such as nanoparticles technology, plant stem cells, and branded raw materials.”