Whitehouse Communications delivered the political and regulatory campaign for Holland & Barrett (H&B) to challenge a series of European directives and regulations threatening the specialist natural health products sector.
Through sustained work across Westminster, Whitehall and Brussels, the firm helped H&B enhance its influence within UK and European trade associations, secured a series of meetings with the most senior officials of the European Commission, and built relationships with MEPs. As a direct result of the campaign, H&B gained regular access to high-level government meetings, consumer choice was protected, and many specialist niche manufacturers remained in the market.
The challenge
The Holland and Barrett (H&B) Group is the UK’s leading manufacturer and retailer of vitamins, minerals and herbal supplements. H&B’s commercial interests, and those of the whole specialist natural health products sector, were threatened by a series of European directives and regulations that greatly increased regulatory burdens and threatened the continued availability of many of the specialist products core to the H&B offer.
H&B asked for Whitehouse Communications’ support in positioning the company as the most active champion of consumer rights in the UK, and as a defender of the interests of the whole industry, including the independent retailers who are H&B’s competitors.
Our approach
Whitehouse Communications delivered a coordinated campaign across UK and European political and regulatory tracks, combining trade association influence with direct high-level access at the European Commission and sustained engagement with MEPs.
The work focused on:
- Enhancing H&B’s influence within trade associations both in the UK and across Europe, positioning the company as an active voice for the specialist natural health products sector as a whole.
- Securing a series of meetings with the most senior officials of the European Commission to make the case directly on the specific directives and regulations affecting the sector.
- Building relationships with MEPs to give H&B and its sector a durable voice in the European Parliament.
- Supporting H&B’s own lobbying efforts across Westminster, Whitehall and Brussels, demystifying the political process and enabling the company to engage effectively with senior policymakers at both UK and EU level.
The outcome
Through the campaign, H&B gained regular access to high-level government meetings, consumer choice was protected, and many specialist niche manufacturers remained in the market. Whitehouse Communications helped H&B secure an acceptable regulatory regime for natural health products across UK and European decision-making.
For Holland & Barrett, the campaign translated a specialist retailer’s concerns into a hearing at the highest levels of UK and EU decision-making, and gave the wider industry the space to continue offering the specialist products core to the sector.
