Blackmores wants to make deep inroads into Asia

• Tweet
• Email

• Tweet
• Email

Australia-based Blackmores wants to double the contribution from the Asian market to its vitamin and dietary supplement business in a few years.

“We would like to see our future in Asia. Today, at least half of our

The Nation

employees are in this part of the world. In the next 10 years, at least 80 per cent of staff will be in Asia,” chairman Marcus Blackmore said during his visit to Bangkok last week.

The growth will be driven by the company’s expansion into promising markets within the region, especially China, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Asia is now the source of about 25 per cent of the company’s business, while 70 per cent comes from the home market. The region should account for half of its business in a few years.

Blackmores has been in Thailand for 25 years and the country is now the biggest market for it outside Australia. It also trades in many other markets in Asia, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Malaysia.

Last year, the food supplement industry here grew by 6-7 per cent, but Blackmores did much better at 25-30 per cent.

“Thailand is our most successful market,” Blackmore said. “A lot more Asian consumers learning about health. Women have also driven our business,” he said.

In Australia, 70 per cent of Blackmores’ customers are women.

Many markets in Asia, such as Thailand and Malaysia, have been learning about herbs for thousands of years. The company does not have to educate consumers…

Full story from The Nation at http://goo.gl/xVTmc