Japan is big market for personal care products using local ingredients

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is looking at Japan as a potentially huge market for personal care products with indigenous ingredients like alum (tawas), lawat, gugo, calamansi and virgin coconut oil.

During his five-day visit to Manila, Japanese health and wellness expert Wakaba Nishida said Japan is a good market for beauty products made from local materials. Nishida likewise gave tips to Filipino exporters who would like to sell their personal care products to Japan.

"The Philippines, with its wealth of indigenous ingredients, is well positioned to take advantage of these market opportunities," DTI assistant secretary and director of the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) Fe Agoncillo-Reyes said.

Currently, virgin coconut oil is enjoying wide market acceptance as ingredient for cosmetic and personal care products like soaps, lotions, massage oils, beauty creams and shampoos. Virgin coconut oil is also known for its therapeutic qualities.

Latest figures from the Philippine Coconut Authority said exports of virgin coconut oil amounted to $1.6 million in 2005. It increased to 475 metric tons in 2005 from 1.8 metric tons in 2001.

The United States accounted for 93.79 percent of exports. Other overseas markets include Australia and Canada. CITEM said they would like Japan to be the next big market for virgin coconut oil.

"The Philippines has the potential to become the prime source of personal care products in the global market. All we need is a push," Reyes noted.

Industry statistics revealed that health and wellness is a $125 billion industry in Europe and the United States. "The demand for organic and natural personal care products in the world is expected to grow at remarkable rates — 34 percent in Europe, 30 percent in the US and 18 percent in Japan," Reyes said.

To help enter the Japanese market, DTI invited Nishida to lecture on quality standards of the Japanese market including packaging and exporting requirements. Included in her lecture was labeling information, shipment processes and packaging standards.

As part of the talk, she introduced samples of other international brands currently making waves in the Japanese market like popular beauty product brand Shiseido and Clinique.

The seminar served as a primer for BIO-Search, the government’s health and wellness show, in conjunction with International Food Exposition (IFEX) 2007.