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Executive Conversations with Kunal Gupta, CEO of Nutra-Med Packaging

Kunal Gupta is a dynamic leader with experience spanning Tech startup founder, Engineering, Consulting and now running a pharmaceutical packaging company. It is clear that he leads with vision first and while holding a high standard of excellence for his team, also prioritizes quality time with his growing family. Kunal’s energy and passion for his work is palpable, inspiring those around him and building a new legacy for Nutra-Med. He sat down with our Editor to discuss his diverse career and plans for the future of Nutra-Med. 

We understand Nutra-Med started as a family business, and now you have been in the market for over two decades. How did Nutra-Med start?

My father started the business in 1999. He came here from India in the ’70s, as a trained pharmacist. While he did some retail pharmacy work, he was involved in the industry from the onset. One of his first jobs was working in a pharmaceutical packaging business. That’s where he spent 25 years of his career, eventually being Director of Quality for a Pharma packaging business in New Jersey. When that business was being relocated, he decided it was the right opportunity to start his own. He had always been entrepreneurial, having come from an entrepreneurial family. In 1999, he took that step and started his own company, Nutra Med Packaging, which focused on blister packaging for the generic drug industry. I was in high school at the time, and fortunately, my high school was across the street from the business. He started the business, the day after I came back from an exchange experience abroad, I had been abroad for a month and a half and when I came back he said “We’re starting a business, we open tomorrow.” So day one was spent painting, cleaning up, and getting the facility set up. Then throughout the year, while I was a senior in high school, he was getting the business launched. I’d spend afternoons, mornings, whatever time I could working with my father and supporting him and helping him get the business off the ground. 

Tell us about Nutra-Med.

Nutra-Med is a pharmaceutical contract packager. Our customers are drug manufacturers, the branded companies you’ve heard of, like Pfizer and Novartis of the world, and the generic companies as well. This includes vitamin and supplement companies like Nestlé, Procter & Gamble, etc. They send their tablets, capsules, and soft gels, essentially what we consume as patients, we then take those and put them into the finished packaging that you would buy in the store. We do this for solid-dose medications, so tablets, and soft gels. Where it’s not the primary fill, meaning, for example, if a liquid is already in a container, we might get involved with labeling it, kitting it, assembling it, etc. 

When you Co-founded Fone2Fone in 2004, you were ahead of the curve in mobile app development. What was the inspiration behind starting the company and how did your experience in mobile applications influence your later ventures in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors?                                                                                                        

My inspiration was as simple as losing and changing phones.  The Influence on later ventures was the importance of offering a product or service people are willing to pay for. My logic consists of the thought that free is easier, and cheap is easier.  However, offering premium service is complex.  

In a family business, tradition often plays a key role. How do you strike a balance between honoring the company’s legacy and pursuing innovation in the health and wellness industry? 

The legacy of our business is the best quality and best service, and they will remain our mission. “Rapid service pharma solutions”.  The innovation aspect must always support that mission, which is why I believe our business has been able to succeed within this industry. 

You can’t lead an organization if you don’t understand it. And the best way to show respect to your team is to work alongside them.

What drew you to Nutra-Med Packaging, and how did your background in project management, entrepreneurship, and consulting prepare you for the company’s role of CEO? 

I first realized the instant impact when I began working full time, in addition, the experience of working with and learning from my father was a key contributor to my decision to join the company. On the path to becoming prepared to become the CEO of Nutra-Med, my father and this organization taught me patience and problem-solving. Each role became encompassing with decision-making capabilities, people management responsibilities, and leading key initiatives that meant being responsible for growth. All of which prepared me for this role.                                                                               

Can you share a pivotal moment in your career that significantly shaped your leadership style?   

 It was something I observed while I was still in high school, watching my dad work on the packaging line with the team.  He always taught me to work with the team, to lead by example, and to understand and value the work every person in the organization does.  You can’t lead an organization if you don’t understand it.  And the best way to show respect to your team is to work alongside them.

Looking ahead, what is your vision for Nutra-Med’s future, and how do you see the business evolving over the next decade?                                                                                                   

Fortunately, we have been very successful as a pharmaceutical contract packager. The growth for Nutra-Med will be to be a successful pharmaceutical services provider. So beyond just contract packaging, we applying our model and what has made us successful to other areas of the pharma services industry, including manufacturing, distribution, and lab services. There are several different areas that we can move into – some will be organic growth, some will be inorganic growth. But that is what the future holds, to continue to grow and build our team, our facilities, and our offerings around what our customers are demanding. To take our best practices around service and quality and apply them to other areas of the pharma services industry. That’s how we’ll continue to grow. Ideally, scaling our business to become a bit more vertically integrated. Finding more unique ways to effectively grow and expand in our niche community.

Can you share Nutra-Med’s approach to sustainability and how it influences product development?  

Nutra-Med incorporates and promotes sustainability wherever and whenever we can. Internally in our control, it’s small steps like energy-efficient lighting, energy-efficient equipment, and renewable energy (solar array).  Externally it’s promoting sustainable packaging where we can influence package design – aluminum bottles, recyclable materials, truly compostable packaging, etc.

Given the rise of innovative packaging solutions, how has Nutra-Med adapted to the evolving needs of the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries? 

We try to be leaders and “skate to where the puck is going”.  We take cues from our customers and vendors and gather information to further become more intelligent on the topic while trying to find creative solutions to match innovation with opportunity.

Since becoming CEO of Nutra-Med Packaging, what have been the most significant challenges and successes in overseeing quality contract packaging for Rx and OTC products?  

I’d like to say the most challenging time was being tasked with protecting our team and company through the COVID-19 pandemic while managing rapid growth and maintaining our family-like culture.  

With such a diverse career spanning finance, mobile tech, consulting, and healthcare, what are some of the most valuable lessons you’ve learned along the way? How do these lessons inform your leadership style at Nutra-Med? 

Learning how to remain calm and approach challenges with a clear mind and cool head.  However, you must have grit.  Things are going to go wrong, but you can’t give up and must be resilient.  You must think, you must adapt, you have to rely on your experiences and the experiences of those around you, and you have to find your way through.  That’s one of the attributes that I find differentiates the most successful leaders – they never give up, particularly in the most difficult times.  Like the old saying, when the going gets tough, the tough get going.  And the corollary to that is if it were easy, everyone would do it.

Things are going to go wrong, but you can’t give up and must be resilient.  You must think, you must adapt, you have to rely on your experiences and the experiences of those around you, and you have to find your way through.

What was the biggest risk you took in your career, and how did it pay off? 

I’d have to say the biggest risk was partnering with a private equity fund,  GenNx360 Capital Partners, to transform our business from family-owned to professionally managed.  We were hugely successful in that goal, and the growth of the business shows that. It was not done without our hiccups, hurdles, and challenges, but on the whole, our business and our team are better for it.

You were named Ernst & Young’s 2024 Entrepreneur of the Year in New Jersey. What was the impact of receiving this honor?

It was absolutely incredible and very hard to describe. But the best part of it, truly, was having my six-year-old son with me in the audience. I decided that day at the awards ceremony much like my father modeled behavior for me and was my role model, regardless of whether I won or lost that I would be that role model to my son. There were several winners for New Jersey and of course, I was the last one to be called. But my son had all the confidence and belief that I was going to be called. When I was called, the look on his face, the excitement from him, the reaction was “My dad won, I want to be an entrepreneur. This is the greatest thing in the world. I want to work at Nutra-Med.” I think that was the best part of it, that I’m able to model that behavior, that excitement, and what it means to be an entrepreneur to my son and pay it forward the way my dad did for me. So very, very flattering, especially when you’re on that stage amongst such incredible, amazing people, and you look and you feel, ‘I don’t even know if I deserve to be here.’

Who have been your biggest mentors or role models throughout your career, and how have they influenced you? 

My parents.  My Dad for his passion and drive to always find ways to improve himself and our business, and to bring out the best in everyone around him.  To lead by example. My mom for her ability to take emotion out of the equation when it comes to tough decisions.   

Looking back, what would you say were the most valuable lessons learned in your journey? 

Surround yourself with people smarter than you, people who can help you see your blind spots, people who make you a better person. People want to genuinely help you, and everybody has something to offer you. It started with my father – when I first started working with my father, we certainly butted heads a few times. I would say, “Dad, I ran a venture-back business. I raised all this money. I went to Wharton. I’m a smart guy.” His response would be, “Kunal, I’ve been in this industry for 25-plus years. Experience has taught me something.” I learned that he does have more experience and there’s something to be learned from him. He was smarter than me in aspects of contract packaging.

But I also looked at my network of customers and vendors and asked questions, allowing them to share best practices, and telling them my challenges. People enjoy sharing their knowledge and wisdom with you. As long as you’re respectful about it, they don’t even expect anything in return. And, the other nice thing about that is they then have a vested interest in your success. 

In addition, fail fast, learn from your mistakes but don’t dwell on them, and move forward.  Trust your instincts!

Surround yourself with people smarter than you, people who can help you see your blind spots, people who make you a better person.

How do you juggle a demanding role with a young family? 

I wish I had a good answer to that. I would say I don’t do as good of a job as I should but I do try to set aside time where I can. The weekends are dedicated to my family. I often get asked by my family, “Don’t you have something to do? It’s okay, we can play with the kids.” I respond, “No, I do have things to do. There’s always something to do. But this is my time. I want to spend time with the kids.” Let’s go out, let’s go get ice cream, let’s go to the pool, whatever it is. I try to make it home, at least for bedtime. I try to read stories to my kids. I try to be there and present with them. I do try my best that when I’m with my children and when I’m with my wife, devices are to the side as much as I can. I’m not perfect, but I try to put the device away and give my undivided attention, especially to my children, to play with them, to get on the floor with them, to show them that Daddy cares and Daddy loves them.

It’s not easy though. I wouldn’t trade that time with my for the world. I get away on vacations. I’m reachable, I’m accessible, but I make that time. If it’s spring break for my son, that is protected time, I’m going away. …Even 15 minutes, I have protected time with my kids where I get to go and see them and ask them questions and they get to ask me questions. So I’m by no means perfect. But to your question, I do have designated windows of time that I don’t let others interfere with.  

What book can always be found on your bookshelf? 

No physical copies, I’m more into audiobooks!  Typical topics that interest me are books on negotiations, self-reflection, as well as self-help books. These books assist me in becoming the best person I can be. I don’t believe that I can change anyone else but myself.  So how do I make myself the best me? 

What song can be found on your playlist at any given time? 

Ed Sheeran’s Perfect.  It’s a very special song for my family that evokes so many beautiful memories and never fails to make us happy.

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