A
health food and ingredient exhibition in Thailand is the proof of this
MANILA, Philippines — Despite today's medical
breakthroughs and technological advancements, some still instinctively reach
for herbal teas, bee pollen or virgin coconut oil at the first sign of a
migraine, an itchy throat or indigestion. Just like fashion, where trendsetters
in the know have been going back to handcrafted items or organic fabrics, the
same can be said for health, wellness and beauty. The school of thought is that
most medication is filled with or made of chemicals that, when ingested on a
regular basis, can actually work against what they were originally supposed to
cure. The same can apply to beauty products—skin care, hair care, cosmetics,
even baby care—the ingredients of which can be so harsh, they're actually bad
for the skin, hair and baby. So in recent years, many concerned individuals
have gone back to the way our ancestors treated anything and
everything—naturally.
It was with this premise in mind that Health
Food Ingredients Thailand (HFIT) was organized. Launched last year, it was the
ASEAN's first international event focusing on health food and ingredients meant
to serve consumers' growing consciousness of leading a healthy lifestyle. It also offered excellent business
opportunities to ASEAN member states, which include Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, and,
of course, Thailand. This year, it will
be held in Bangkok from March 29 to April 1, 2012.
With its strong focus on the spa industry,
it's no wonder that Thailand has taken the initiative when it comes to all
things geared towards health and wellness.
According to Napawan Songprasertkul, managing director of Food Industry
Network Co Ltd, "The wellness industry clusters were worth US$1.9 trillion
in 2010 as revealed by the last comprehensive research on this sector conducted
by SRI International." And this sector comprises the following economic
areas—spa; complementary and alternative medicine; healthy eating, nutrition,
and weight loss; preventive and personalized health; medical tourism; wellness
tourism; workplace wellness; fitness and mind-body; and beauty and
anti-aging—which can all benefit from attending and participating in this trade
fair.
"The global organic food market is
forecasted to reach the US$60 billion mark in 2011, while the nutraceutical
market is estimated to hit US$151 billion in the same year," continued Ms.
Songprasertkul at a press conference held in Bangkok last January. And since
food composes up to 50% of the Asian consumer's expenditures, the exhibition
will be an excellent opportunity to tap this market.
Health is also an important category when it
comes to the subject of natural and organic ingredients. Lito Abelarde,
chairman of the Chamber of Herbal Industries of the Philippines, Inc. and
former chairman of the ASEAN Alliance of Traditional Medicine Industries, was
present during the press conference and confirmed that "the present
worldwide market size for traditional medicine and natural dietary-supplement
products for health and wellness has been estimated by the Stanford Research
Institute at about US$3 trillion—and this is growing further by leaps and
bounds.
"However, there is no reliable data as to
the present market size in the ASEAN region," he continued. "But
judging from the increase in the number of business companies in this region as
indicated by the growth of membership in national associations of companies
engaged in natural health products, it is obvious that the market size in the
ASEAN region has grown tremendously and continues to expand." He cited as
an example the membership of the Chamber of Herbal Industries in the
Philippines (CHIPI): "It has grown from just 11 companies in 2000 to over
85 as of the end of 2011, with more applicants waiting." He even pointed
out that some of these applicants are actually subsidiaries of well-known
pharmaceutical companies. “And these big companies are known to oppose natural
health products. [Obviously, now they] can no longer ignore the worldwide shift
of consumer preference for natural health and wellness products, and are now
starting to jump on the unstoppable bandwagon of natural traditional medicine
and dietary supplements for health, wellness and beauty products. [They realize
that] people around the world are simply no longer willing to leave their
health solely to doctors and synthetic pharmaceutical products."
The beauty industry is the same.
Internationally recognized companies, famous for their branded skin care and
cosmetics, have also acknowledged this shift. Adhering to standards set by
different countries when it comes to ingredient lists, many of them have added
product lines that carry the labels "natural" or "organic". But how much is truly natural or organic? To
address this concern, the HFIT this year decided to include an additional
exhibition of natural and organic beauty, fitness and wellness products called
BioBeauty & BioFit 2012. With ASEAN countries being rich in flora and
fauna, many of its peoples have used these natural resources for centuries for
total beauty care. Ms. Songprasertkul emphasized, though, that its focus will
be "on anti-aging and whitening, herbal medicine and drinks, weight
management, and aromatherapy. We are confident that these specific areas drive
the growth of the whole natural cosmetics industry," she added.
As Nuning Barwa, president of the Indonesia
Cosmetic Association, reminded us during her talk, "Indonesia is famous
for spa and beauty treatments such as lulur, mangir, ratus, and boreh, which
all use natural ingredients found in our country. And we have been doing this
for centuries, before we were ever familiar with any chemical
ingredients." And now we are all going back to everything natural.
The Health Food Ingredients Thailand (HFIT)
2012 and BioBeauty & BioFit 2012 will be held from March 29-April 1, 2012
at the Impact Arena, Exhibition and Convention Center in Bangkok, Thailand. For
more information and for those interested in exhibiting products, please visit
www.hfitexpo.com, www.biobeautyshow.com.
LIZA ILARDE
mb.com.ph
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