Nutraceuticals & Functional Ingredients Executive Search Expertise
At Kelham Partners, we deliver retained executive search for businesses at the forefront of nutraceuticals and functional nutrition, from ingredient manufacturers and branded actives to formulation partners and CDMOs.
We understand the critical balance between scientific evidence, regulatory compliance, and commercial innovation that defines this fast-evolving sector. Whether you’re scaling a clinically backed ingredient, launching a new delivery format, or expanding into APAC or North America — we help you hire leaders who can deliver measurable impact.
Who We Support
We recruit for businesses across the nutraceutical and functional health supply chain, including
- Ingredient manufacturers
Botanical extracts, probiotics, fibres, bioactives, adaptogens - Formulation specialists & application labs
Powders, capsules, gummies, soft gels, liquids - CDMOs & toll manufacturers
Clinical nutrition, OTC supplements, wellness blends - Branded ingredient developers
Clinically validated compounds with global IP strategy - Distributors & technical sales partners
Speciality ingredient suppliers with global reach - Functional food & beverage innovators
Sports nutrition, healthy ageing, immunity, digestion
Clients range from listed multinationals and specialist scale-ups to private equity-backed contract manufacturers and innovation-led IP developers.
Typical Roles We Recruit
We specialise in international recruitment across
- Commercial
Global Sales Directors, BU Heads, Strategic Account Managers and Business Developers, Marketing & Category Leaders - Technical & Scientific
Heads of Innovation, R&D Directors, Formulation Scientists, Clinical Affairs Managers - Regulatory & Quality
QA/RA Directors, EFSA/FDA compliance, Product Safety, Pharmacovigilance - Operations & Supply Chain
Manufacturing Directors, Demand Planning Leads, Procurement Heads - C-Suite
Country Managers, Divisional GMs, VP Commercial, COO, Chief Scientific Officers
Sector Intelligence. Global Delivery.
We understand how to assess leadership capability in this uniquely technical and competitive market, whether that’s someone who can bring a new clinically validated ingredient to market, build retail distribution channels in new regions, or transform contract manufacturing operations for speed and scale.
Our international executive search model combines deep sector focus with a global candidate network, built on years of experience in chemicals, ingredients, and health-related manufacturing.
Case Study
VP Sales – Functional Nutrients CDMO
Client
A mid-sized contract manufacturer of nutraceuticals based in the US, with rapid expansion goals across EMEA for its functional ingredients portfolio.
Brief
Hire a VP of Sales to lead European business development, reposition core offerings, and win new brand partnerships in functional food, supplements, and performance nutrition.
Challenges
- Needed a leader with both contract manufacturing and ingredients sales experience
- Required understanding of product development cycles and customer formulation needs
- Needed strong commercial acumen and hands-on sales capability — not just leadership
Our Approach
We ran a targeted search across the UK, Benelux, and Germany focused on senior commercial profiles from nutraceutical ingredients, dietary supplement CDMOs, and B2B health food suppliers.
Outcome
The successful hire joined from a global enzyme and botanical extracts business with strong cross-functional experience. Within 6 months, they had secured two new manufacturing partnerships and launched the company’s first branded ingredient into the DACH market.
Hiring in the nutraceuticals or functional ingredients space?
We’ll help you find talent who understand the science, and how to scale it commercially.
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