Tennis player Rafa Nadal is one of the names with the best commercial appeal that Spanish brands can rely on. The image of an elite athlete who bounces back from seemingly lost games with effort and determination is a powerful image held by many companies.Kia and Banco want to become partners like Santander. And thanks to his work as a brand ambassador for pharmaceutical company Cantabria Labs, Nadal has found a way to open a new line of business in 2023, coinciding with his return to the sporting arena after a series of injuries.
The athlete from Manacor never gives up and this is proof intention to return to the ski slopes after intensive rehabilitation work, including surgery, throughout this year. Nadal announced that he will compete in the tournament in Brisbane (Australia) in January 2024. He never gives up on football or misses an opportunity to expand his business, which already covers sectors such as tourism, housing and restaurants. He currently accumulates assets of close to €300 million.
in equal parts
His latest business venture is the NDL Pro-Health line of nutritional supplements for athletes, which he launched as a joint venture with businessman Juan Matji, president of Cantabria Labs. “The investment in this company was made equally by Juan Matji and Rafa Nadal,” says Pablo Pardo, managing director of NDL Pro-Health. Pardo worked in the pharmaceutical industry at major consumer and luxury multinationals such as Unilever and Diageo, as well as later at Reckitt Benckiser.
Matji and Nadal already had a friendship before the job started. “Nadal promotes brands such as Heliocare as the image ambassador of Cantabria Labs. Matji also spends his summers in Mallorca.”explains Pardo. The Matji family, originally from Madrid and originating from the Balearic Islands, has a fortune of approximately 320 million euros. “Matji and Nadal are two people who, in addition to sharing friendship, also have similar values in business,” says the managing director of NDL Pro-Health.
Pardo underlines that the biggest competitive advantage of this new business is its hybrid spirit. “We tried to combine designing a product for people who are sporty, that is, for people who do sports, with the idea that it is also a quality food supplement. There was nothing like it on the market, and we thought there would be a place there for a new bet,” he explains.
The NDL Pro-Health range of food supplements is designed to be consumed at three different times during the sports phase and is intended for men and women aged 35 and over who exercise occasionally or regularly. “There is a line of supplements for the athlete’s daily life, others aimed at competition preparation and post-competition recovery.”says Pardo. NDL Pro-Health is marketed through digital channels. “It is currently only available for purchase online, but our intention is to have a physical channel,” he elaborates. The brand was also born out of a desire to expand internationally. Thus, after commercializing in Spain, it will move on to conquer other markets abroad.
Another of the competitive advantages that Pardo thinks these accessories have is the organic advertising required by this project supported by Nadal.. “He consumes these products himself and occasionally appears on his social networks. Since Nadal himself consumes them, we did not have to spend big money on promoting the product. This is the best advertising we could have,” says Pardo.
a maintenance shop
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For your part, Of the four companies in Madrid, the Matji brothers control the Villaescusa laboratory (Cantabria). They launched a personal care store and launched their products.
In 1994, the Matji family acquired the small pharmaceutical company IFC, which focused on the production of traditional medicines. Now Cantabria Labs sells in nearly 80 countries, has subsidiaries in the United States, France, Italy, Portugal, China and Morocco, and employs almost 1,000 people. The company closed 2022 with a turnover of 293 million euros. Their plan is to bill 500 million in 2027.