Magic mushroom

At the center of Gano Excel Phils.’ business is a red mushroom. Called Ganoderma, the mushroom has been added to all of the company’s products, starting with its first product, a 3 in 1 coffee product called Gano Café, which has been produced and sold in Malaysia since 1995.

"The mushroom not only heals illnesses but also promotes healthier minds and bodies," said assistant general manager Leo Estevez.

Today, Gano Excel has diversified its product lines to cover other nutritional food, health supplements and beauty products. Its newest product is a children’s line called Super Child Pack Plus. All products are sold through the company’s 200,000 distributors and 200 outlets.

"We have a better multi-level marketing program that our competitors. Our products are affordable and are healthy," said Estevez.

Distributor program

Entry into the Gano multiple marketing network is relatively easy. The applicant must be sponsored by an existing distributor. There’s a one-time membership fee of P300 and a minimum product purchase, which the distributor can, in turn, resell at 20% mark-up.

"We do not dictate on what items the distributor should carry. He knows what he needs and what he can sell and whom to sell the products to," said Estevez.

Since 1999, Gano’s distributor base has grown by 40% to 50% a year, resulting in a 15% to 20% growth in annual sales.

"Half of our distributors come in initially as part-timers. But as their sales and income grow, they start getting more deeply involved until they find themselves concentrating on the business," he said.

Depending on the distributors aggressiveness and determination, the average income profile of beginners is P400 to P500 on the first month, gradually increasing to P1,000 to P3,000 on the third and four month and to P10,000 to P15,000 by the seventh month. The highest sustained income of a distributor is P400,000 to P500,000 a month.

Opportunities

Gano products are imported from the Malaysian mother company, Gano Excel Enterprises. Ganoderma, for example, is grown in a greenhouse plantation that uses organic materials such as paddy husks, brown rice flour, and rubber tree scraps in cultivating the mushroom. It takes three months for the mushroom to mature.

The Malaysian factory has been certified for good manufacturing practices. Its health supplements have been licensed and certified by the Food and Drug Administration of the United States. It has also gotten approval to operate a multiple marketing network program in 17 states.

For Gano, the next step is to enter the European market.