27/01/2022 – Tokeportal’s own content

In the previous episode of our mini-interview series, Laszló Csiki introduced himself, and this time Erzsébet Nemedi answered our questions. Erzsebet is the founder and director of Expedit Nodum Ltd, a company that is engaged in research and product development in the field of healthy food products and dietary supplements. She has extensive research experience as a biotechnologist and nutritionist and is an expert in in-vitro digestion models and human clinical trials. She has also gained several years of experience as a clinical research monitor, project manager for pharmaceutical companies and CROs, and as an expert in food-based clinical trials.

Studying biotechnology as a food engineer, I went through the world of being a research civil servant and the world of pharmaceutical clinical trial multinationals and realised that there was really no research development and no complex nutrition science-based innovation product development of the type that the industry needed in this country. That is why I founded Expedit Nodum Ltd, based on international examples and standards.

I believed that the food and dietary supplement industry needs to undergo a paradigm shift in order to create sustainable and effective, valuable products. The diseases of our present are largely the result of our lifestyle and diet, which place a burden on our healthcare that is unsustainable in the long term.

Consumers’ expectations for health preservation, prevention, quality of food, vegan products, sustainability of production, environmental friendliness are increasing. These demands can only be met by involving experts at the level of the manufacturing companies.

A problem I often encounter is that when founding a startup, the founders have the right idea, but they have no corporate governance experience, no team-building routine, and no real plan on how to get to the point of creating their innovation on a large scale. This problem can be observed in finance or even sales. Often they quote prices and make offers without any economic calculation, and after the deal is done it turns out that the company has ‘overpaid’ for the deal. I therefore think that education is very important in this area too.

Most companies developing a product or service with higher R&D needs cannot find funding, and if they do, it is very likely that this funding is not a good fit for the company, and that this will be out of the question in a few years.

It is therefore very important that everyone looks for and finds funding that fits their profile.

I think that this is where the Tokeportal could also play an important role, although it is obviously evident here, and understandable, that people are much more willing to invest in promising businesses that are already generating revenue, because the uncertainty factor is somewhat lower and the payback period is shorter.

The solution might be to make the tendering system in this country more favourable to start-ups that want to develop high value-added, R&D-intensive innovations. And other forms of financing could also be mobilised following successful product development.

Innovation is the use of knowledge to offer customers new products, processes, procedures, services and experiences that add value to them, while being technologically feasible and financially viable, enabling the company to grow its business.

True innovation means that the manufacturer is not satisfied with a “new” (or at worst a copy) product, but strives to build product development on innovation, to make the product a serious value proposition for customers. For example, in my area, food should also play a key role in customer health.

Functional foods, special dietary supplements, quality sports nutrients, products enriched with ingredients with positive health effects are perfect examples of such innovations.

I can help by assessing ideas with an expert’s eye – and if there is a need, I can support the manufacturer in the process, from the invention of the product (smart food, dietary supplement) to its launch. As a 360-degree agency, we offer our clients a complex service, from expert advice, through complete product development, to efficiency studies.

If you would like to know more about Erzsébet,check her mentor profile.