Episode 68: Sharan Sidhu on Regulatory Strategy and Building Salix Sciences

What if regulatory expertise was not just a compliance checkbox, but a core part of how you build a brand, make a business case, and grow in the Canadian natural health products industry?In this episode, we sit down with Sharan Sidhu, CEO and Director of Regulatory Affairs at Salix Sciences, for a candid conversation about her journey through natural health products industry, regulatory affairs, and entrepreneurship. Sharan walks us through her early career, the pivot that brought her into the NHP space, and what it looked like to build expertise as a regulatory consultant before ultimately building Salix Sciences. What sets her perspective apart is how she approaches regulation not as a hurdle, but as a strategic lens. For Sharan, understanding the regulatory landscape from the beginning allows brands to build smarter, move faster, and avoid the costly mistakes that come from treating compliance as an afterthought.That mindset shapes how Salix works with its clients. Rather than arriving after the fact to fix problems, Salix partners with brands early, getting inside the business to understand the real pain points, the gaps between ambition and execution, and where regulatory strategy can actually strengthen the business model rather than slow it down. It is a different way of thinking about what a regulatory partner can and should be.We get into:Sharan's early career and the accidental pathway that led her to natural health product consultation.How Salix Sciences partners with clients to understand pain points.Importance of integrating regulatory strategy into the brand-building process from day one.The gap in scale-up resources in the West for emerging CPG brands and Nutraceutical brands.Resources:Salix Sciences: https://salixsciences.com/Connect on LinkedIn:Sharan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharan-sidhu-559a7b11/Salix Sciences: https://www.linkedin.com/company/salix-sciences