Amorepacific to list green tea supplement on Amazon Global to kickstart international expansion
The VITALBEAUTIE Green Tea Probiotics supplement was first launched in March 2020 in South Korea, and to date has sold 15 million packs.
Most of the focus last year was its domestic market, listing the supplement on e-commerce sites including Amorepacific’s official online mall (apmall.com), as well as offline beauty stores like Arituam, and home shopping channels.
The supplement is also sold in China via international shopping platforms, and Vietnam through online and social selling.
US market
With a listing on Amazon Global, the company hopes to meet global consumer for probiotics, with the category ranking fourth in terms of sales on Amazon.
Sophia Kim, VITALBEAUTIE’s marketing communications spokesperson, told NutraIngredients-Asia: “We hope the entry to Amazon Global in July will be our starting point for our expansion into markets like the US.”
The Amazon Global store allows customers to purchase products from around the world through the country’s Amazon website, which then ships the product directly to them.
In the US, the probiotic strain (Lactobacillus plantarum APsulloc 331261) in the supplement was recently approved as a New Dietary Ingredient (NDI) by the U.S. FDA (Food and Drug Administration).
The NDI is a system which requires manufacturers of dietary supplements containing new dietary ingredients to submit a safety notification to the FDA before their products are introduced into the US market. The notification must include details of the manufacturing process, a description of the new dietary ingredients, the history of use or other evidence of safety establishing that they are expected to be safe.
Lactobacillus plantarum is obtained from fermented Jeju organic green tea leaves. Studies of this particular strain have shown its survival and persistence in the intestinal tract along with anti-inflammatory properties.
Products and future plans
The Green Tea Probiotics supplement is targeted at gut health.
There is another product under the VITALBEAUTIE brand called Green Tea Probiotics Post, which is targeted for immune support. It contains eight probiotic strains including Lactobacillus plantarum APsulloc 331261, as well as prebiotics, metabolites, enzymes and minerals like selenium and zinc for antioxidant support.
This Green Tea Probiotics Post product was launched in March this year and has since sold over one million packs.
It is also available in China and Vietnam through the same channels as Green Tea Probiotics.
According to Kim, the company hopes to launch Green Tea Probiotics Post onto the Amazon Global platform in the future.
In Vietnam, the firm will be expanding its footprint by entering drugstores.
Last year, Amorepacific established its Green Tea Probiotics Research Center under its R&D Center to deepen its study of green tea probiotic strains in respiratory and skin health as well as the microbiome.
