Want China Times, Liu Fu-yu and Staff Reporter 2013-10-12
Amway representatives during the ground-breaking ceremony for the new project in Wuxi. (Internet Photo) |
Amway, the
American direct-selling company that markets health, beauty and home care
products, announced that it will begin construction of the world's first
Nutrilite botanical research center in Wuxi in eastern China's Jiangsu province
to make products targeting the multi-billion Chinese market.
The company
will invest up to US$25 million in this center to study the possibilities of
combining western biotechnology with traditional Chinese medicinal herbs, and
roll out new products targeting Chinese consumers.
Chen Jia,
deputy CEO of Amway's China Research and Development branch, said that China is
already the company's biggest market and the sales for health food is still
growing fast due to the government's help in promotion.
Amway
registered 50 billion yuan (US$8.2 billion) sales in 2006, which amounted to 80
billion yuan (US$13.1 billion) in 2008. Its sales currently exceed 100 billion
yuan (US$16.3 billion) and the figure is expected to triple in the coming five
years, Chen said.
The first
stage of investment will involve US$25 million for a processing plant on 700
acres of land in Wuxi. This will include a laboratory and an experimental farm,
with both units scheduled to begin operations in 2015. Meanwhile, the center
will not only facilitate further research into Chinese medicinal herbs, but the
general public will also be able to visit and experience the company's
products, Chen said.
No comments:
Post a Comment