Ahead of her time

Fourteen years ago, Ma. Carlita Rex-Doran won two awards during the annual Philippine Inventors Week – a second prize for an alcohol fuel and a third prize for a gugo or coconut-based shampoo.

Today, Rex-Doran’s alco fuel invention, which is odorless, smokeless and carbon-free, remains on the drawing board because of lack of financing. Her coconut-based shampoo has fared better.

Using the Forest Magic brand, Rex-Doran has expanded her product line to include soaps and herbal teas and the use of other organic ingredients such as papaya and calamansi or Philippine lime.

Forest Magic products were initially sold entirely through supermarkets. "When the sales volume went up, people began to copy my product formulations and to mass-produce them. These directly competed with Forest Magic on supermarket shelves," she said.

To reduce product copying and re-branding, Rex-Doran reworked her distribution strategy. Forest Magic is no longer sold in supermarkets. Instead, it is sold by direct-selling agents or in trade and inventors’ fairs. It also sold by entrepreneurs who cater to Filipino communities in Guam, Hawaii, Hong Kong, and Dubai.

Market share

Rex-Doran formulates and produces Forest Magic products at her semi-automated plant in Fairview, Quezon City. Many of her 35 employees have been with her for years and double as her direct sellers.

To maximize capacity, Rex-Doran also engages in contract production where she produces unbranded products. "This is also the arrangement with some buyers from abroad, who order the products in bulk and just repackage them with their brand names," she said.

Although the local herbal industry is a billion peso business, it is still dominated by backyard operators who use the existing spaces in their homes/farms to grow and process the herbs.

"Local formulators and manufacturers have less than 1% of the market. Around 15% is cornered by three leading foreign brands selling organic health care and food supplements," she said.

Special talent

Rex-Doran initially wanted to be a doctor. She completed seven years of chemistry and pre-nursing before she found herself working as a researcher for the AMA Group and then for McCann Erickson. Upon venturing on her own, she focused her research and development on readily available plants that could be used as main ingredients in the production of consumer products.

"I was producing ampalaya tea long before government recognized in 1996 local inventions made from ampalaya as either a health drink or a food supplement. It was only when dried Vietnamese tea were imported that the Department of Science and Technology paid attention to the local ampalaya tea industry," she said.

Rex-Doran has also formulated koji soy sauce for the exclusive use of Pinakamasarap Corp., the entire skin care for Amelita Cosmetics of Bangkok, and the herbal cosmetics line for Totalcare Ultraworld Corp.

For her own business, Rex-Doran is currently working on aromatherapy and some oils and essences, which are being tested by her masseur on walk-in customers and by her distributors/clients.