Family-Owned Italian Pharmaceutical Firm Bruno MD Brings Supplements Fostering A Mediterranean Lifestyle To The US

Many American workers doing business with European companies share a similar, sobering experience.

One summer day, they’ll send an email to their across-the-pond colleagues only to receive an out-of-office message in response saying the European office is closed for a month, and they shouldn’t expect a reply until it opens back up. The indignant huff heard Stateside at such prolonged dedication to leisure hides more than a little bit of jealousy and concern for the American lack of it. In the United States, the always-on professional culture that makes vacationing for a month seem preposterous isn’t doing Americans’ minds, bodies or souls any favors.

But can overachieving Americans ever get on board with Europeans’ slower, more sensual lifestyle? Bruno Pharma Innovations thinks so. The family-owned and -operated multinational Italian pharmaceutical company has launched in the U.S. with Bruno MD, a range of four ingestible wellness products priced primarily between $40 and $60, including a patented collagen peptide powder and inflammation-fighting and immunity-boosting Riboflam supplements. CEO Eddie Catalfamo is adamant that Bruno MD is selling a lifestyle, not just pills. The brand dubs its approach “MDiterranean Life.”

“We elevated this brand to a lifestyle brand, promoting more of a state of mind versus products,” says Catalfamo. “We cannot resolve anything with a pill unless you switch your mindset and try to be inspired by the Mediterranean life, which includes living in a very simple way, socializing with people, spending time with family. It’s a mindset which brings a lot of benefits.”

Those benefits are backed by data. Parts of the Mediterranean like the Italian island Sardinia and Greek island Icaria have been deemed “blue zones” or regions of the world believed to have a higher concentration of people living much longer than average. Residents regularly live past 100 years old, thanks to their healthy, active lifestyle.

“There are a lot of reasons scientifically, neurotransmitters, oxytocin, dopamine, endorphins, serotonin. Everything is a chain reaction,” says Catalfamo. “There are many ramifications of how we approach life that will trigger certain hormones in your body that are beneficial to your overall health and that of the people around you.”

Bruno Pharma Innovations, known as Bruno Farmaceutici in Europe, is a second generation family-owned business made up of scientists, doctors and researchers. Chemist Antonio Bruno founded the company in 1996. At the time, he worked for Milan-based pharmaceutical company Lepetit S.p.A. When Lepetit was acquired, Bruno approached the company about taking over a branch of its business that encompassed 12 prescription drugs. Lepetit accepted his proposal and Bruno Farmaceutici was born. Acquisitions followed in the years since, including a portfolio of anti-diabetic products from Merck. In 2017, Bruno Pharma started commercial operations in the U.S., laying the ground work for Bruno MD. 

The company brings the full force of its pharmaceutical prowess to its wellness offerings. “If pharmaceutical companies don’t know how to create clinically proven products, then who does?” says Catalfamo. “That’s sort of a given in our world, providing top notch products that are backed by only clinically proven ingredients.”

A splashy media push is part of the launch roadmap in the U.S. The company is partnering with luxury fashion brands, including Ferragamo, as well as various experts and tastemakers such as medical authorities and chefs. The rollout also includes a big advertorial push, including a collagen story in Allure and spreads in other fashion and lifestyle publications. Catalfamo says Bruno MD has invested “hundreds of thousands of dollars” so far in the promotional endeavors, focusing on content that “promotes an entire world that is necessary for people to actually be impacted by our brand.”

An entry into the luxury skincare category is planned for later this year or in 2023 with the goal of becoming a global beauty and wellness brand within the next three years. Catalfamo says, “We prefer to launch ingestibles first and then complement the line with an overall beauty approach to promote an inside and out beauty regimen.”