Global demand seen surging for health-related businesses
An international network marketing firm sees a surging demand for all health-related products and services, particularly natural and functional food supplements, spawning an enormous industry beyond everyone’s expectation.
Acting on its own projections, Forever Rich Philippines Inc. (FRPI), now with branches in East Asia, Africa and Southeast Asia, is also looking elsewhere and preparing to diversify its portfolio of natural health products to complement the ones already on the market.
FRPI president and chief executive officer Susan Barlin said she had been exploring the world for several years now for the right products that would fit perfectly into the peg of such an emerging global consumer demand.
“This phenomenon is brought about by factors that are surfacing at only this part of history,” Barlin said, referring to the upward trend in lifestyle-related diseases, faster growth rates of old and aging populations than the young, mounting consumer aversion to artificial and chemical-laden foods and food sources, and increasing public support for the environment and sustainable development,” Barlin pointed out.
Citing a report from ABC News, Barlin said natural foods stores in the US made $15.9 billion for a 7.3 percent year- on-year jump, with $8.7 billion of the total spent on foods and the rest on dietary supplements.
Similarly, Euromonitor International has described the consumer demand for “natural” products as showing no sign of abating, citing its own data that 39% of global health and wellnesspositioned food and beverage value sales in 2013 were set to be accounted for by naturally healthy (NH) products, followed by fortified/functional (35%).
On the other hand, Barlin underscored Philippine government statistics showing growth rates of older age group (65 and over) at a faster 3.4 percent rate than the younger (0-14 years old) at 1.5 percent, and the working (15-64 years old) at 2.8 percent over the 40- year 1970-2010 period.
“The same trend holds true in Europe and the US,” said Barlin, a FilipinoAmerican business and civic leader who had been catering to the needs of the baby boomers, or those born from 1946 to 1964, whom she would refer to as “the forever young.”
The US, according to UK firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, spends $ 8,508 per person on healthcare, or nearly $3,000 more than Norway, the second-highest spender.
“The answer to all these problems is a healthy lifestyle, or preventive medicine,” stressed Barlin, whose “Say Mo Doc” health and wellness program on GMA News TV 11 at 8:00 to 8:30 a.m. on Sundays was conceived for that purpose.
“FRPI may not be able to provide the world’s ever-growing health and wellness needs, so we are advocating and propagating adherents of healthy lifestyle through our TV show to help reduce the number of future victims of chronic diseases,” Barlin added, citing the “Say Mo Doc” as accessible in the US via cable television.
“Say Mo, Doc” is a public health service program that promotes preventive medicine and total wellness by featuring doctors from various fields of specialization and technologies and best practices from all over the world – from the oldest and traditional to the newest and most modern – all in a bid to help reduce the number of the world’s current and future patients.
According to the Deloitte website, more than a billion people worldwide lack access to a healthcare system, and Europe will run short of 230,000 doctors in the near future. (BCM)