
Article - March 12, 2025
Medical Products & Devices: FORLIFE Exemplifies Consumables Opportunity
Medical products and devices are vital components of patient care. The market encompasses many different segments, from consumables and other low-risk items to highly sophisticated devices placed inside the body. Each segment benefits from underlying trends driving growth, such as the aging population, greater regulatory focus on patient outcomes, and the increasing importance of value-based care.
The consumable medical products and devices segment benefits from the above tailwinds while also generating highly predictable, recurring demand. In fact, many innovative small- and medium-sized businesses within the segment exhibit numerous characteristics well-aligned to investor interests.
Here, senior bankers from our Healthcare & Life Sciences Group discuss what’s attracting investors to consumable medical products and devices and how recent Harris Williams client FORLIFE embodies the segment’s growth potential.
Growing Product Demand and Loyalty
As the population ages and medical advances enable people with chronic diseases to live longer, demand for consumable products naturally increases. For consumable products with recurring need there is even more opportunity for highly predictable growth.
Managing Director Tyler Bradshaw points out that stoma products represent a great example of such stable and growing demand. “Nearly 90% of stoma product patients are permanent users, and the average colostomy product use is around 10 years,” he says. Stoma product demand is also being driven by improved detection of bowel diseases due to medical advancements.
Stoma products and other consumables also benefit from favorable customer dynamics and strong loyalty, says Julian Feneley, a managing director. “In the ostomy field, there is a challenge with skin irritations, and people react differently to different products,” notes Feneley. “Once patients and their caregivers have found a product that does not irritate the skin, they generally don’t switch. They’re also looking for products that fit in with active lifestyles and are more visually appealing.”
Underlying growth trends, predictable recurring revenue, and strong customer retention all bode well for consumable medical product manufacturers and their investors. These are just a few of the characteristics that recently made FORLIFE an appealing investment opportunity.
ForLife: Differentiation Spurs Growth
FORLIFE is a medical device developer, manufacturer, and distributor with a core focus on ostomy, incontinence, and wound care products. Stephan Doring, a director, notes that the company competes well in a market dominated by a few large players because of its combination of high-quality offerings and manufacturing excellence.
The company has made significant investments in state-of-the-art manufacturing, including a highly automated production facility that supports quality and scale. “FORLIFE’s production efficiency enables it to offer products with excellent performance and medical functionality at great prices,” says Doring. “This value proposition attracts home care providers seeking greater margins as well as end users looking for quality and affordability.”
The company’s manufacturing excellence has also propelled FORLIFE’s growth as a private label manufacturer, with products sold in more than 30 countries and the U.K. “Scaling across borders in Europe requires specialized knowledge and skills because each market is driven by local reimbursement,” says Andrey Dvorkin, a director. “FORLIFE’s white-label manufacturing brings wide geographic end market penetration and a more achievable international growth strategy.”
Finally, FORLIFE’s product range offers several choices so patients can find the option that works best for their needs and be confident in its reliability. This range includes products designed to support more active lifestyles while providing optimized visual aesthetics. Taylor Will, a director, highlights that FORLIFE’s focus on continuous product development improves the quality of life for patients on a daily basis. He notes that “even in mature markets, smaller companies can differentiate through innovation.”
The M&A Opportunity
The consumable medical products and devices market is fragmented, with many smaller, specialized manufacturers such as FORLIFE finding ways to differentiate and drive growth. As forward-leaning companies continue to innovate within their targeted areas of care, they create potential for M&A investors to accelerate growth, bolster differentiation, and generate substantial long-term value.
To discuss the M&A potential in consumable medical products and devices, please contact our senior professionals.
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Contacts
Tyler Bradshaw
Managing Director
Dr. Julian Feneley
Managing Director
Stephan Döring
Director
Andrey Dvorkin
Director
Taylor Will
Director