When running a business, it can be easy to think you have all the answers you need and wonder whether there really are benefits to being part of a trade organisation, aren’t all the answers already out there? Is being a member worth the costs and effort involved?
These are questions that Martin Last, director general of the Health Food Manufacturers’ Association (HFMA) is frequently asked by companies considering when they should join the HFMA.
To answer these questions and more, the HFMA is hosting a free webinar open to companies within the natural products arena in the UK or looking to enter the UK market, providing insight into what benefits there are in membership and how being part of a trade association can support their brand.
Whether food supplements, natural skin care, pet supplements or health and organic foods, there will be regulatory issues affecting the business plus rules around exporting, importing and legal labels. These issues are experienced by many brands, but having access to experts and advisers within a trade body can keep a brand one step ahead.
Entitled United Voice: The Importance of a Trade Association. The benefits of industry bodies‘ membership, the webinar will take place at 11 am, Tuesday 7th October 2025 and registration is now open.
Theresa Cutts, HFMA PR and marketing consultant, will chair a panel made up of Martin Last, HFMA; Janet Groves, Lanes Health; Emma Ellis, BioCare; and Tom Moses Natural Trade Brokers; to discuss how being a part of the HFMA benefits their own businesses and how membership of an industry organisation with a united voice can support them especially when it comes to regulatory and legislative issues.
Panel members will be sharing their own unique view on what membership brings and the impact it has on their company and how being part of a trade association can be utilised as an extension of their own teams.
Martin Last, Director General HMFA, commented: “I am often asked what are the benefits of being a member of a trade association such as the HMFA, this webinar gives us a great opportunity to offer some insight into some of the most relevant benefits, not just from myself but also hear directly from our members.”
He added: “In the current trading and political climate and with the complexity of this industry, it is easy to see why a company should be part of a responsible trade association. Having a united voice can have a massive impact and provide assurance that a company is keeping abreast of regulatory and legislative changes, and also be part of an organisation that is involved in presenting their concerns to opinion makers and the authorities.”