Growth Asia Summit 2024 'big bets’: Amway highlights preventive health, plant protein and community building as key strategic focus areas
Since its “reframing” to a health and well-being company, Amway has identified various areas to focus on both in terms of product innovation and business development.
One of these is preventive health, which is driven by the “upheavals” that people went through during the pandemic and the increasing awareness that the biggest investment they can make is into their own health.
“Longevity is a recurring theme that is being understood worldwide. The future is looking to be governed by health span — the notion that people wish to live not just longer, but really healthier and longer, and preventing themselves from getting into a situation that would require treatment.
“How we can bridge the gap that exists between health span and lifespan is coming into play. While it is a growing concern for governments around the world, this space is also looking to be a huge opportunity for the industry. The preventive health sector is valued at about $432bn today and it is growing at a double-digit rate,” said Asha Gupta, Regional President, Asia and Chief Strategy & Corporate Development Officer, Amway.
She was speaking on the opening day of our Growth Asia Summit 2024 held from July 16 to 18 in Singapore.
Importantly, it is not just consumer awareness that is on the rise, but also actions taken to improve personal health and wellness.
In fact, Gupta shared that the top categories that are being searched and discussed on social media today are related to health and well-being.
“It’s not just content around basic health and nutrition, but people are digging deeper into things that help them eat and sleep better, to make sure their kids grow up healthier, plant-based nutrition etc.
“People are wondering what they can do for their body and mind that would allow them to age well and live a life worth living. And they are starting to take affirmative action to work towards their own health and well-being goals.”
On the other hand, the purchasing decisions of young consumers, specifically millennials and Gen Zs, are also impacting the food and beverage sector.
According to Gupta, there is a growing preference for low-to-no alcoholic beverages among this group, who are traditionally major consumers of alcohol.
“The younger generation today is choosing to avoid drinking or drinking way less. I was in France recently, and I noticed that the consumption of wine in a country that grows probably some of the best wines is declining. Data also shows that the per capita consumption of wine is going down.
“Although some of these trends look isolated at this point in time, we can expect them to grow bigger and wider, as people become more conscious of their health and well-being.”
Long-term investments
The global plant-based food market is projected to reach $162bn by 2030.
Amway’s dietary supplements brand Nutrilite claims to be “entirely plant-based”, and is actively expanding its portfolio of protein products.
“A human being’s daily protein needs is about 1 to 1.5g of protein per kilo body weight. When we do the math, it is difficult to consume that level of protein in a day. But it is important for healthy ageing and longevity. It is a space that I would encourage everyone to watch very closely.
“As plant protein is always seen as deficient [in nutrients], people tend to take more animal-based protein. However, plant protein as an alternative to animal protein is becoming a bigger trend. This is being led by increasing veganism and plant-forward choices. Even for meat eaters, they are incorporating more plant-based items into their diet.”
Gupta added that Amway is innovating beyond protein shakes, and leveraging its over 6,000 acres of farmland in the US, Mexico and Brazil, as well as its Botanical Research Centre in Wuxi, China to enhance its existing products and develop new botanicals.
“It is really about delivering bioavailability of protein and the benefits that one can get via animal protein through plant-based formats. For instance, through our R&D efforts, we have developed a white chia variety that is high in omega-3 and protein, which has been applied in our supplements and beauty products.”
Another area that the company has “invested heavily in” is gut health. This includes a partnership with Korean firm HEM (Human Effective Microbes) Pharma.
“Korea is a market where the evolution of gut health is probably the most advanced. Through this investment, we have been able to obtain the gut microbiome profile of the Korean population through faecal testing.
“The intentional focus on the gut microbiome has taught us a few critical things, including the ability to alter microbiota profile in five to six months through the right types of food and personalised probiotic.
“Personalised nutrition and supplementation are something that we are leaning very strongly into. What is stopping this from scaling in a big way is cost and consumers’ ability to afford this type of testing, but there is a big market that is starting to emerge.”
In addition, Amway is also collaborating with Singapore-based precision gut microbiome company AMILI, said to be South East Asia’s first and only gut microbiome transplant bank, and is building up the world’s largest multi-ethnic Asia gut microbiome database.
“These partnerships help us to innovate and work together towards unlocking the big opportunity that we see going forward.”
Power of community
Based on Gupta’s observations, people trying to pick up healthy habits usually do better and are more compliant with their regimen when they are surrounded by a like-minded community.
As such, Amway has been building communities, such as walking and rhythm cycling clubs, where consumers and direct sellers practise healthy habits together.
“Beyond scientific innovations and great products, the single biggest defining aspect of our business has been the power of people. We have more than a million business owners across almost 80 countries. Through our communities, we are able to amplify how one should eat better, sleep better, etc.
“We believe that when talking about health span and addressing a population group early on, we need people to do that. And we do this by empowering Amway business owners with nutritional knowledge, and in some countries such as China, certification. To date, over 80,000 sellers in China have undergone training to help others live a heathier life.”
Despite challenges in the Chinese direct selling industry, Amway has seen significant success in the market primarily due to its alignment with the government’s Healthy China initiative.
The company has also converted about 100 of its sales business centres into “professional counselling centres”, where consumers can visit to experience activities like yoga or simply gather to share about health and well-being.
Furthermore, Gupta underscored the importance and potential of the Chinese market, which has exhibited the biggest appetite for new product innovations.
Last October, Nutrilite launched its new anti-ageing line called iCell centred on cellular regeneration, which has seen “the biggest uptake in China”.
“The category that China is now leading for us is anti-ageing. It is a huge and important space for us to watch, and it is not just about skin anti-ageing, but anti-ageing at a cellular level.”
