Europe is leading the charge toward biological product usage in agriculture with the Common Agricultural Policy, the EU Green Deal, and the Farm to Fork Strategy. To capitalize on the opportunities, companies have to overcome complex and variable regulations in each country. However, with new regulation released July 16 by the European Union (EU) Fertilizing Products Regulation (FPR), the path forward has a few less barriers, especially for biostimulants. Previously considered plant protection products, biostimulants now are separate from the plant protection category, and all EU member states have a consistent, official definition of biostimulants. Combined with the new harmonized regulations for registration, the new biostimulant regulation increases already ripe opportunity for agricultural innovations in Europe.
A more unified effort can simplify the go-to-market strategies for companies looking to expand into new markets or launch new products. However, the countries still have differing regulations and governing bodies that need specialized approaches.
“The complexity of regulatory submissions can be difficult to manage for non-EU companies, especially start-ups,” says Franz Brandl, Ph.D., AgriThority Senior Research & Development Manager, EMEA. “Our client coaching can help maximize the value of technology in crops and countries.”
How can your company take advantage of the opportunities in Europe?
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- Create an overarching strategy that takes advantage of similar European markets
- Develop a plan including regulatory pathways and market potential early in the process
- Use native guides with an intimate understanding of each local market who can analyze opportunities and offer counsel on the best countries and approaches for each product
- Follow a scientific, disciplined stage gate development process as products move through early and late stages or as new markets are explored
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At AgriThority® we stress the importance of a disciplined stage gate development process. It allows innovators to discover and leverage their internal expertise with the consistent, disciplined data generated by independent well-trained and experienced product development experts.
“AgriThority is well established across Europe and can assist in testing products to meet both regulatory and efficacy requirements of multiple countries at the same professional level while providing data and analysis across all trials,” says Martin Gruss, former Global Head SeedGrowth, Crop Science Division, Bayer, and AgriThority Board of Advisors member. “This is especially interesting for new entrants to the European market. AgriThority expertise in the EU and neighboring Middle Eastern and African countries allows consideration for the future regulatory requirements in the trial protocols.”
Over the past 10 years, AgriThority has evaluated and analyzed more than 539 technologies and products on more than 60,000 plots in 62 crops. Of those, 188 have been biologicals with biostimulants leading the way.
“The broad experience of AgriThority in conventional and biological product development helps to assess the probability of success for a new product concept,” Gruss says. “They know how to compare to the appropriate standards. This also helps to develop the positioning of the product and its economic value. In addition, the breadth of the organization can accommodate all functions in developing, registering, positioning and preparing for launch. This can be important to reduce fixed cost over the development phases, especially for small companies.”
The AgriThority “Boots on the Ground” in Europe adds depth to any organization to understand the local language, agricultural practices, retail and distribution channels. Our native guides understand the competitive landscape and offer extensive experience from early to late product development services as well as the regulatory process to adoption at the farmgate.
To take advantage of the opportunities in Europe and beyond, reach out to AgriThority to help move your innovative technologies to market.