2021.05.24
The New Challenge of Health Functional Food Service
With the population aging, changes in lifestyle, and the outbreak of COVID-19, the upsurge of interest in health and wellness has triggered huge spikes in the demand for health functional foods around the world in recent years. According to Euromonitor, the Korean health functional foods market size alone was valued at KRW 6.1905 trillion last year and has exhibited a 19% increase from 2017. This year again, this growth is expected to continue to stable.
Amorepacific, the leading Korean beauty company, saw the potential of the health functional foods market quite a long time ago. In 2002, it created a new beauty food category with its VB PROGRAM, which was later turned into the brand VITALBEAUTIE. VITALBEAUTIE has developed up to 8,000 solid, scientific solutions through the study of the emotional and physical health of its customers as well as their changes in lifestyles, and with products that have been developed using original technologies including Cheonsamhwa technology and Ginseng Berry Standardization technology, the brand, and company, has strengthened its presence in the Korean health functional foods market.
This May, VITALBEAUTIE launched MY VITALBEAUTIE, the first personalized health functional foods service in Korea.
In this interview, VITALBEAUTIE brand manager Eric Yoo shares an insight into this new innovation.
Amorepacific, the leading Korean beauty company, saw the potential of the health functional foods market quite a long time ago. In 2002, it created a new beauty food category with its VB PROGRAM, which was later turned into the brand VITALBEAUTIE. VITALBEAUTIE has developed up to 8,000 solid, scientific solutions through the study of the emotional and physical health of its customers as well as their changes in lifestyles, and with products that have been developed using original technologies including Cheonsamhwa technology and Ginseng Berry Standardization technology, the brand, and company, has strengthened its presence in the Korean health functional foods market.
This May, VITALBEAUTIE launched MY VITALBEAUTIE, the first personalized health functional foods service in Korea.
In this interview, VITALBEAUTIE brand manager Eric Yoo shares an insight into this new innovation.
Q. VITALBEAUTIE launched the new personalized service, MY VITALBEAUTIE this month. What inspired this?
Everyone has different lifestyle and different health needs. There has been a lot of research that has been conducted to monitor and measure the needs of customers for personalized nutrition, instead of just providing the nutrients they lack. We have also done research for years to find a personalized nutrition solution, particularly by using Korean health statistics but we were unable to start the service because there was no law to back up us. Last year however, we were able to apply through the Korean-style Regulatory Sandbox* under the supervision of the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and thanks to that, we are now able to roll out the service.
*Korean-style Regulatory Sandbox: A framework that exempts companies or postpones them from the application of relevant regulations for new products and services for a certain period of time thereby allowing them to test out their innovation on the market
Q. Please tell us more about the MY VITALBEAUTIE service.
MY VITALBEAUTIE is a personalized health functional foods recommendation/sales service. It looks into the lifestyle and health conditions of customers, recommends a carefully curated selection of health functional foods considering the nutrients they lack, and sells products after subdivision and repackaging. It takes a scientific and data-driven approach to provide customers with their tailored health solution, for example one pack of health functional foods per day.
The service is currently available at Amore Store Gwanggyo, from 11:00 to 19:00, Wednesday to Sunday and customers can use Naver Booking to schedule an appointment for a free consultation, with the service costing around KRW 60,000 per month.
Everyone has different lifestyle and different health needs. There has been a lot of research that has been conducted to monitor and measure the needs of customers for personalized nutrition, instead of just providing the nutrients they lack. We have also done research for years to find a personalized nutrition solution, particularly by using Korean health statistics but we were unable to start the service because there was no law to back up us. Last year however, we were able to apply through the Korean-style Regulatory Sandbox* under the supervision of the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and thanks to that, we are now able to roll out the service.
*Korean-style Regulatory Sandbox: A framework that exempts companies or postpones them from the application of relevant regulations for new products and services for a certain period of time thereby allowing them to test out their innovation on the market
Q. Please tell us more about the MY VITALBEAUTIE service.
MY VITALBEAUTIE is a personalized health functional foods recommendation/sales service. It looks into the lifestyle and health conditions of customers, recommends a carefully curated selection of health functional foods considering the nutrients they lack, and sells products after subdivision and repackaging. It takes a scientific and data-driven approach to provide customers with their tailored health solution, for example one pack of health functional foods per day.
The service is currently available at Amore Store Gwanggyo, from 11:00 to 19:00, Wednesday to Sunday and customers can use Naver Booking to schedule an appointment for a free consultation, with the service costing around KRW 60,000 per month.
Q. Is there any reason to choose Amore Store Gwanggyo? Do you have any plans to further expand the service?
We think the beauty of MY VITALBEAUTIE lies in simplicity; making it simple to choose the right health functional foods saving much time and effort, and hopefully it benefits busy stay-at-home mothers and working moms for their health and their families. That’s why Amore Store Gwanggyo is the perfect place to start the service. It is located in an area with shops catering to working mothers and homemakers. Later, we will expand the service through both offline and online channels.
Q. In recent years, the Korean health functional foods market has been growing rapidly with many brands competing fiercely. What differentiates VITALBEAUTIE from those other brands?
Amorepacific has a long history in the field of beauty and health. Being the first in Korea to develop, sell and even export the ginseng tablet in 1972, Amorepacific has a wealth of knowledge and experience as well as the research infrastructure in place for the development of health functional foods. Plus, backed by Amorepacific and its infrastructure, VITALBEAUTIE is making the first and the best functional ingredients through the in-depth study of heritage ingredients including ginseng (red ginseng), green tea and beans. That's our strength, and that’s what differentiates us from other brands that are not equipped with R&D or production facilities.
Q. What are the best-selling products of VITALBEAUTIE and what do you think is the reason behind?
The recent increase in demand for collagen products has brought about a noticeable growth for our Super Collagen. It is the Korea's first collagen product that was approved by the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in 2010 for its skin benefits. Plus, it is a liquid ampoule type, which makes it much easier to take and be absorbed quickly into the body. Its skin hydration benefits are widely known among customers. It is also among the most well-known collagen products and in May, achieved three-digit growth in total sales.
Q. What's the future plan for VITALBEAUTIE?
We aim to be no.1 in the growing Korean inner beauty including weight loss supplements market, with the largest share, and for that to come about, we are aggressively expanding into the digital channel, most commonly used by women aged between 25 and 40. As part of our plan, we intend to introduce online exclusive versions of our star products and collaborate actively with endorsers and influencers to increase brand awareness. At the same time, we will expand our global footprint and deliver our products to customers in China and the ASEAN region, who are highly interested in K-beauty. Right now, we are doing our best to enter the global market and introduce our high-quality products and services to the world, as soon as possible through online and reverse overseas direct purchase channels.
Q. How do you see the future of the Korean and global health functional foods market?
The growing trend of self-medication will continue with the world population aging and more people want to save on their medical expenses. The Korean and global markets are expected to grow stably at an annual growth rate of 5 to 6% and become more competitive. However, with the increasing share of the population aged 65 years or over, the market will see more customers, and more diverse products to address their health concerns, which, in the end, will bring about more opportunities for brands and companies that are capable of meeting their needs.
The growing trend of self-medication will continue with the world population aging and more people want to save on their medical expenses. The Korean and global markets are expected to grow stably at an annual growth rate of 5 to 6% and become more competitive. However, with the increasing share of the population aged 65 years or over, the market will see more customers, and more diverse products to address their health concerns, which, in the end, will bring about more opportunities for brands and companies that are capable of meeting their needs.
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